U.S. ‘Debt Held by Public’ Tops $14,000,000,000,000; Up 122% Under Obama

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Family Security Matters

TERENCE JEFFREY

 

The federal government’s “debt held by the public”-as opposed to its “intragovernmental debt”-has topped $14,000,000,000,000 for the first time in history, according to the latest numbers released by the U.S. Treasury.

As of the close business on Aug. 10, the “debt held by the public” was $13,987,862,462,404.79, according to the Treasury. By the close of business on Aug. 11, it had risen to $14,012,831,105,933.15. By close of business on Aug. 12, it had increased again, hitting $14,012,909,909,536.53.

When President Barack Obama was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2009, the federal government’s debt held by the public was $6,307,310,739,681.66.

Since then, it has increased by $7,705,599,169,854.87-or 122 percent.

“Deeply Troubled” DHS System Blows Millions, Feds Want Extra $1 Bil

JUDICIAL WATCH

Years after the U.S. launched an automated Homeland Security system essential to keeping the nation safe, it’s a malfunctioning flop that’s so far swallowed a mind-boggling $1.7 billion and needs an additional billion and several more years to perhaps get it to work. That’s not even the best part. A number of federal audits have documented the serious problems with this costly failure in the last few years and officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have simply ignored the government investigators’ findings and recommendations.

The program is known as Electronic Immigration System (ELIS) and was launched by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the DHS agency that oversees lawful immigration to the country, in 2012. It was supposed to improve the current method of processing forms for benefits, visas and refugee requests at USCIS, which has more than 5 million people on visa waiting lists. In its latest report highlighting the serious flaws with ELIS, the DHS Inspector General attaches a letter to USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez blasting his agency for blowing off all of the watchdog’s past investigations. “This is our sixth review of a deeply troubled program which has, over its life, wasted hundreds of millions of dollars,” DHS IG John Roth tells Rodriguez. “In the course of our audit work, and that of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), USCIS has continually minimized the shortcomings of the program and resisted independent oversight.”

In fact, the agency watchdog writes that he’s “perplexed at USCIS’s non-concurrence,” which he points out is not rational, is contrary to department policy and suggests continued effort to promote disagreement rather than collaboration towards the shared goal of bolstering effectiveness and efficiency in agency operations. Despite this blatant negligence, the cash hasn’t stopped rolling and now DHS claims it needs another three years and an additional $1 billion if there’s any chance of getting ELIS to work properly. In its current form, the automated system “lacks critical functionality,” isn’t “user-friendly,” and has “significant performance problems” processing cases, according to investigators. Until the agency makes all the needed improvements-and there are many-it will be unable to meet its national security goals, the IG report affirms.

Socialism Is Coming to America

 

 

Independent Sentinel

Yoav Frommer, a leftist who teaches American history in Israel, argues in the Washington Post that Bernie Sanders’ democratic socialism could become the view of the majority of the Democrat Party. Actually, some of us think it already is. Frommer says the Democrat party was built on socialism.

In the near future, it is likely we will have a President Bernie Sanders and a socialist congress. If Bernie was young, handsome, witty, couldn’t you see him winning right now? What Democrat would rail against him and his views?

Haven’t we watched the man on the street interviews where most can’t recognize a photo of the Vice President and who think New Hampshire is on Long Island?

Europe has devolved into Socialism and PC. The U.S. stands alone but we are only a little behind Europe. The entire EU model is socialism on speed with technocrats under Angela Merkel running the show.

Socialism is apparently very attractive. All those freebies, all that wealth for everyone, and all that we have to do is ask the rich to pay a little bit more. It hasn’t worked ever, anywhere in the world, but the dream continues. We mustn’t forget that those who want the freebies outnumber those of us who don’t. It’s a decided disadvantage.

Liberal Media Finally Notices Real Unemployment Under Obama Is Still Above 10%

The Gateway Pundit

The real Obama unemployment rate is above 10%

The number that’s released by the Labor Department, the 5.6% unemployment number, does not count the millions of people who were unable to find a job gave up looking for work.
Via Rush Limbaugh:

And, now even Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton is reporting on this horrid reality:

Here’s something that many Americans — including some of the smartest and most educated among us — don’t know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.

Right now, we’re hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street about how unemployment is “down” to 5.6%. The cheerleading for this number is deafening. The media loves a comeback story, the White House wants to score political points and Wall Street would like you to stay in the market.

None of them will tell you this: If you, a family member or anyone is unemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job — if you are so hopelessly out of work that you’ve stopped looking over the past four weeks — the Department of Labor doesn’t count you as unemployed. That’s right. While you are as unemployed as one can possibly be, and tragically may never find work again, you are not counted in the figure we see relentlessly in the news — currently 5.6%. Right now, as many as 30 million Americans are either out of work or severely underemployed. Trust me, the vast majority of them aren’t throwing parties to toast “falling” unemployment.

There’s another reason why the official rate is misleading. Say you’re an out-of-work engineer or healthcare worker or construction worker or retail manager: If you perform a minimum of one hour of work in a week and are paid at least $20 — maybe someone pays you to mow their lawn — you’re not officially counted as unemployed in the much-reported 5.6%. Few Americans know this.

Yet another figure of importance that doesn’t get much press: those working part time but wanting full-time work. If you have a degree in chemistry or math and are working 10 hours part time because it is all you can find — in other words, you are severely underemployed — the government doesn’t count you in the 5.6%. Few Americans know this.

Stimulus Redux: Obama Wants New Tax To Put America Back To Work Building Roads

Weasel Zippers

A Stimulus a year since Obama took office. On deck the summer of recovery.

Via Washington Examiner

President Obama is expected to reveal a plan to tax offshore profits to fix the U.S.’s infrastructure.

Obama will propose a mandatory 15 percent tax on corporate profits kept abroad in order to fix roads, bridges and other infrastructure around the nation, according to a White House document obtained by Politico.

The proposal will impose taxes on the $2 trillion in profits kept outside the U.S. to “make critical new investments in our roads, bridges, transit systems and freight networks as part of a $478 billion, six-year surface transportation reauthorization,” according the plan’s summary.

Hiking taxes on capital gains as well as ending a loophole that benefits wealthy when their heirs inherit there assets will also be proposed.[…]

This year’s proposal will also include a $176 billion increase in spending on federal highway and transit programs.

Keep reading

Ted Cruz Wins SOTU Postgame with ‘More Cowbell! More Cowbell!’

gifsoup.com

Flopping Aces

Megyn Kelly asked Sen. Ted Cruz if he thinks President Obama was setting the stage for the next presidential candidate.

“Oh, I think he was trying to and he hopes that the next candidate engages in the same far-left policies. This is a man of the left,” Cruz said.

“You know, it reminds me of the classic Saturday Night Live skit with Christopher Walken, where there’s a band playing and his solution to every problem is ‘More cowbell! More cowbell!’” Cruz said. “For President Obama ‘More cowbell’ is ‘More taxes! More government!More taxes! More government!’”

Kelly laughed and said, “The audience knows!” She said the focus group in the studio “is familiar with the skit.” The camera cut to the laughing audience.

“It’s the same failed policies that don’t work and we ought to come together. Economic growth is a bipartisan objective and I think Congress needs to lead,” Cruz continued.

Read more

 

Obama Is Going To Propose Two “Free” Years Of Community College For Students…

Weasel Zippers

Get ready to pay for this, too.

Via Politico:

President Barack Obama on Friday will propose making two years of community college free for students.

In a White House video posted Thursday evening, Obama said he wanted to offer “a little preview” of his plans for the Jan. 20 State of the Union address.

“What I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who’s willing to work for it,” Obama said. “It’s something we can accomplish, and it’s something that will train our workforce so that we can compete with anybody in the world.”

The proposal would make two years of community college free for students with a C+ average who attend school at least half-time and who are making “steady progress” toward their degree.

Keep Reading…

Fire Speaker Boehner

Establishment Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner promised to fight Obama’s unconstitutional “executive amnesty” tooth and nail. However, as he has done so many times during his tenure as Speaker, Boehner broke this promise. It is time to fire John Boehner and replace him with a limited government constitutional conservative who will keep his promises and protect American jobs and American exceptionalism.

U.S. National Debt Has Officially Hit $18 Trillion

The Daily Sheeple

According to the U.S. National Debt Clock, America’s debt has now officially hit $18 trillion.

“Woo hoo! Time to par-tay!” said no rational American ever.

At the time of writing this as you can see from the screen cap below, it was $18,007,108,596,026 to be exact.

That means every time a baby is born in this country, his or her share of the debt would be over $56,000 before the poor little dear even opens his or her eyes all the way.

The debt per taxpayer? $153,726 and counting…

Keep that in mind when you read about how our government is set to pass another gigantic $1 trillion spending bill next week.

Mind-Blowing Recent Examples of Federal Government Waste

Moonbattery

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has released his annual list of government spending projects. These projects tend to be funded by the countless federal agencies that crowd the Debt Star without direct approval by Congress, thereby avoiding accountability to those of us left to finance them. CNS News has collected a few samples:

• Swedish massages for rabbits: $387,000
• Teaching Mountain Lions to Ride a Treadmill: $856,000
• Studying how many times “hangry” people stab a voodoo doll: $331,000
• Studying the gambling habits of monkeys: $171,000
• Producing the children’s musical: Zombie in Love: $10,000
• Funding a “Stoner Symphony”: $15,000
• Subsidizing Alpaca Poop: $50,000
• Synchronized Swimming for Sea Monkeys: $307,524
• Produce a “Hallucinatory” Roosevelt/Elvis show: $10,000
• Funding Climate Change Alarmist Video Game: $5.2 million
• Teaching Kids to Laugh: $47,000
• Developing a real-life Iron Man Suit: $80 million
• Tweeting at Terrorists: $3 million
• Predicting the End of Humanity: $30,000
• Funding Kids Dressing Like Fruits and Vegetables: $5 million
• Help Parents Counter Kids’ Refusals to Eat Fruits and Veggies: $804,254
• Lost electronic devices from NASA: $1.1 million
• Studying if Wikipedia is Sexist: $202,000
• Asking heavy drinkers not to drink through text message: $194,090
• Government Funded Ice Cream: $1.2 million

Click through for annotations.

Not even a Supreme Court Justice could find the constitutional authority to spend our confiscated money on any of this demented crapola.

Meanwhile, the national debt rockets toward $18 trillion, a number too vast for the human mind to properly comprehend, with no sign of slowing despite the steady upward creep of taxation.

Our money.