Remarks by the President on Unemployment Insurance

Rose Garden 10:55 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. Right now, across this country, many Americans are sitting at the kitchen table, they’re scanning the classifieds, they’re updating their resumes or sending out another job application, hoping that this time they’ll hear back from a potential employer. And they’re filled with a sense of uncertainty about where their next paycheck will come from. And I know the only thing that will entirely free them of those worries –- the only thing that will fully lift that sense of uncertainty –- is the security of a new job.

MY RESPONSE: That's right there are many Americans looking for a job, more than ever before, more than even during the Great Depression. In actual numbers not in percentage. But, still there are too many Americans out of work! Yes, they are uncertain about their futures, in a time where when you call your mortgage company to ask for a little more time to bring your payments up to date, and you hear a voice with an Indian or Pakistani accent and you know he is in some call center in New Delhi, or some other distant location. Knowing that the majority of Manufacturing jobs have left the country and are residing in Mexico, Indonesia, or Malaysia.

THE PRESIDENT: To that end, we all have to continue our efforts to do everything in our power to spur growth and hiring. And I hope the Senate acts this week on a package of tax cuts and expanded lending for small businesses, where most of America’s jobs are created.

MY RESPONSE: Spur the economy? you mean your stimulus packages that have sent billions of our money to 3rd world nations? Tax cuts? I thought you and your cronies said tax cuts were voo-doo economics? or is that only when Reagan or Bush asks for tax cuts? Maybe when you bailed out the big financial houses you could have used that leverage to cut the interest rates they charge the people who bore the burden of paying for their blunders. Do you even realize why most of America's jobs are created by small businesses? I'll tell you the big businesses are cutting back not expanding and as they cut back the nation falters even more. Your policies have crippled the Auto Industry. Your buddies who lined you campaign pockets with the dues of the unions, have attacked Detroit demanding even more benefits and more pay, for their rank and file who instead of seeing more jobs, see their jobs go overseas as the Nationally backed automakers in socialist Europe and Uber Capitalist Japan and South Korea.

THE PRESIDENT: So we've got a lot of work to do to make sure that we are digging ourselves out of this tough economic hole that we've been in. But even as we work to jump start job growth in the private sector, even as we work to get businesses hiring again, we also have another responsibility: to offer emergency assistance to people who desperately need it -- to Americans who have been laid off in this recession. We've got a responsibility to help them make ends meet and support their families even as they’re looking for another job.

MY RESPONSE: We? We can't dig out of a hole! when you dig in a hole one of two things happen, the hole gets deeper or just bigger. No wonder we in this mess, you idiots give us shovels when we need fill dirt. But, don't do us any favors there, with your track record we are likely to be buried. If you want to jump start job growth, scrap the IRS! replace it with a 10% National sales tax (exempting Food, Medical and the first $50,000 of home purchases or $500 of rent) take away the burden you and your past economic half wits have heaped upon us. Link tax revenue to spending not earning! Let every American take home his or her entire paycheck (including what our employers have to match) that would mean every American working would take home 30-40% more pay. Then all that extra money coming in means they would be spending it. Then a domino effect would drive the economy into hyperdrive. As spending increases, demand for goods increase, which means production increases, and finally jobs increase, which starts the cycle all over again. It is simple economics. By the way, really stimulate our economy bring back tariffs and make American made products more attractive.

THE PRESIDENT: That’s why it’s so essential to pass the unemployment insurance extension that comes up for a vote tomorrow. We need to pass it for men like Jim Chukalas, who’s with me here today. Jim worked as a parts manager at a Honda dealership until about two years ago. He’s posted resumes everywhere. He’s gone door-to-door looking for jobs. But he hasn’t gotten a single interview. He’s trying to be strong for his two young kids, but now that he’s exhausted his unemployment benefits, that’s getting harder to do.

MY RESPONSE: No, No, No! that is BS unadulterated BS! Has Jim applied at Wendy's? Burger King? Taco Bell? or is he too good to work fast food? They are always looking for good managers. He needs to show his kids the character in himself, that says I'll do whatever it takes to provide for my family. I will tell you why he didn't! those jobs made it more attractive to sit on his butt and collect a check larger than what they McDonald's will pay. Maybe now instead of waiting for someone else to help him, he'll help himself.

THE PRESIDENT: We need to pass it for women like Leslie Macko, who lost her job at a fitness center last year and has been looking for work ever since. Because she’s eligible for only a few more weeks of unemployment, she’s doing what she never thought she’d have to do -- not at this point, anyway. She’s turning to her father for financial support.

MY RESPONSE: What's wrong with families taking care of their own, they did it for years.... I have known people who consider it shameful to receive welfare. Not long ago (the 1950's) Indianapolis posted the names of those on welfare on billboards around that city, and the welfare roles decreased. We have made every attempt to remove the stigma of being supported by the government, we handed out Debit cards that look like credit cards to replace food stamps. Cashiers at grocery stores don't know the difference and let their customers buy alcohol and cigarettes with "MY" money. Then Medicare uses "MY" money to treat their over burdened Liver and smoke filled cancer ridden lungs. They eat steak, on "MY" money and you have taken so much of mine I eat hamburger and chicken.

THE PRESIDENT: And we need to pass it for Americans like Denise Gibson, who was laid off from a real estate agency earlier this year. Denise has been interviewing for jobs -– but so far nothing has turned up. Meanwhile, she’s fallen further and further behind on her rent. And with her unemployment benefits set to expire, she’s worried about what the future holds.

MY RESPONSE: Why was she laid off? Oh yeah, you and your cronies in Washington, created an environment where real estate values were over inflated. As you made it easier and easier for people who had no business buying houses they couldn't afford, buy bigger and better houses, hoping when the house of cards you created came crashing down. Then to make things worse, as the housing and finance industry faltered, someone had to pay and once again Washington reaches into the pockets of working Americans, decreasing our buying power, driving down demand, making production go down, causing industry to lay off workers or close shop and opening in other countries where minimum wage is less than $1.00 a day. causing the cycle to repeat and our country to get that closer to becoming a third world nation.

THE PRESIDENT: We need to pass it for all the Americans who haven’t been able to find work in an economy where there are five applicants for every opening; who need emergency relief to help them pay the rent and cover their utilities and put food on the table while they’re looking for another job.

MY RESPONSE: Look at your history, the fall of Rome, the fall of the Soviet Union had one common ideal "You cannot tax your way into prosperity"

THE PRESIDENT: And for a long time, there’s been a tradition –- under both Democratic and Republican Presidents –- to offer relief to the unemployed. That was certainly the case under my predecessor, when Republican senators voted several times to extend emergency unemployment benefits. But right now, these benefits –- benefits that are often the person’s sole source of income while they’re looking for work -– are in jeopardy.

MY RESPONSE: "You cannot tax your way into prosperity"

THE PRESIDENT: And I have to say, after years of championing policies that turned a record surplus into a massive deficit, the same people who didn’t have any problem spending hundreds of billions of dollars on tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are now saying we shouldn’t offer relief to middle-class Americans like Jim or Leslie or Denise, who really need help.

MY RESPONSE: Those tax breaks should affect all Americans, at the same rate. Under a national sales tax those who spend the most pay the most. Those who spend the majority of their income on food and shelter pay the least. The Rich who buy a $1,000,000.00 mansion will pay $95000 in taxes on that home the Poor who buy a $100,000 home will pay $5000 in taxes (1/20th of what the rich will pay for a mansion 10 times more expensive) and the family in rural Appalachia who buy a home for $50,500 will pay $50.00 (almost 1/100,000th of what the rich will pay for a mansion 20 times more expensive).

THE PRESIDENT: Over the past few weeks, a majority of senators have tried -– not once, not twice, but three times –- to extend emergency relief on a temporary basis. Each time, a partisan minority in the Senate has used parliamentary maneuvers to block a vote, denying millions of people who are out of work much-needed relief. These leaders in the Senate who are advancing a misguided notion that emergency relief somehow discourages people from looking for a job should talk to these folks.

MY RESPONSE: Again you want to give our money to other people so you look like the heroes. IT IS "NOT YOURS TO GIVE", IT IS OURS! (read Not Yours To Give by David Crockett in my Heroes and Roll Models blog) if you want to override the congressional vote, put it to us the American people let us vote on it.

THE PRESIDENT: That attitude I think reflects a lack of faith in the American people, because the Americans I hear from in letters and meet in town hall meetings –- Americans like Leslie and Jim and Denise -- they’re not looking for a handout. They desperately want to work. Just right now they can’t find a job. These are honest, decent, hardworking folks who’ve fallen on hard times through no fault of their own, and who have nowhere else to turn except unemployment benefits and who need emergency relief to help them weather this economic storm.

MY RESPONSE: If they don't want a handout, don't give it to them, if they want secure jobs, give it to them. This Economic Storm, is not a natural phenomenon, it is a Frankenstein Monster created by a collection of mostly Lawyers who can't speak English without twisting the meaning of words

THE PRESIDENT: Now, tomorrow we will have another chance to offer them that relief, to do right by not just Jim and Leslie and Denise, but all the Americans who need a helping hand right now -- and I hope we seize it. It’s time to stop holding workers laid off in this recession hostage to Washington politics. It’s time to do what’s right -- not for the next election but for the middle class. We’ve got to stop blocking emergency relief for Americans who are out of work. We’ve got to extend unemployment insurance. We need to pass those tax cuts for small businesses and the lending for small businesses.

MY RESPONSE: I agree it is time to stop holding Americans hostage to Washington politics. It's time to hold Washington hostage to the American Voters. We don't need to give away money we don't have, we don't need to expand the deficit. We need to create jobs, and relieve the American Tax-payer of his Global Burden.

THE PRESIDENT: Times are hard right now. We are moving in the right direction. I know it’s getting close to an election, but there are times where you put elections aside. This is one of those times. And that’s what I hope members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will do tomorrow.

MY RESPONSE: We are moving in the wrong direction, we need to turn this contraption around and quit trying to dig our way out of a hole that eventually become so deep that the side collapse and bury us all.

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks very much.

MY RESPONSE: Thanks very much. and remember "You cannot tax your way into prosperity"

A Response Concerning Price Controls On Interest Rates

I received an Email expressing concern that I was advocating price controls when I stated that interest rates should be capped at 10%. I was. I have no reservations over the federal government when they take steps to “provide for the common good” as is directed by the preamble of our constitution. I also look to the oath of office sworn by our presidents and senators to defend against all enemies both foreign and domestic. Let me outline the reasons I have against usury (the practice of lending money at astronomically high rates).

Let us first look at the religious reasons

1) Jews are forbidden to lend at interest to one another. Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 23:19-20, Leviticus 25:35-37.

2) The Prophet Ezekiel includes usury in a list of “abominable things,” along with rape, murder, robbery and idolatry. Ezekiel 18:19-13.

3) Medieval Canon Law Usury is punishable by ex-communication

4) 1306-1321 Dante pens “The Inferno,” in which he places usurers at the lowest ledge in the seventh circle of hell – lower than murderers. “to live without labor was denounced as unnatural, and so Dante put usurers in the same circle of hell as the inhabitants of Sodom and other practices of unnatural vice”

5) 1483-1547 Martin Luther compared the taking of usury with theft and murder, as does the Scriptures.


But, let's go in another direction. How about our own history

1) Early 18th Century American colonies adopt usury laws, setting the interest cap at 8%.

2) After 1776 all of the States in the Union adopt a general usury. Most states set the interest limit at 6%.

So apparently our forefathers had no qualms about price controls when it came to interest rates and what would be considered usury. As we became more liberal with the concept of loaning money it soon caused our society to make money more available by making it more attractive for the banks to lend out, Thus allowing the banks to make more money off of our money that was sitting in their vaults.

1) Early 1900's a move to deregulation causes 11 states to eliminate their usury laws. Nine more states raise the usury cap to 10% or 12%. Banks are not making personal loans. “Salary Lenders” fill the need by “purchasing” a worker’s future wages in exchange for a high fee – equal to a lending rate of 10% - 33%.

2) 1916 A Uniform Small Loan Law allows specially-licensed lenders to charge higher interest rates—up to 36%—in return for adhering to strict standards of lending.

Obviously these practices help set the stage for the great depression loans were made at high rates, and the money used to buy stocks that when the paper tower collapsed, worthless stocks became as worthless as the paper loans used to purchase them. People ended up upside down with no way of paying off their debts. You would have thought we would have learned our lesson, but, no the great depression was alleviated by of all things World War 2. And when that was over......

1) 1945 - 1979 All states adopt special loan laws that cap interest at higher than the general usury rate—at 36%—but cap it nevertheless.

2) 1978 The US Supreme Court decides that national banks may export the state interest rate law of their home state into any state where they do business. In response, South Dakota eliminates its interest rate caps. Several credit card issuing banks move to South Dakota and operate nationally with no interest rate cap.

3) 1980 Congress preempts state interest rate controls on all first lien mortgages. This enables predatory mortgage lenders to make seemingly affordable loans, like adjustable rate and interest-only loans that lead to foreclosure for many.

4) 1994 Congress adopts the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994, which provides some substantive protections to home mortgage borrowers with interest rates or points that are extraordinarily expensive, but sets no limits on what can be charged for these loans.

5) 1994 -2005 Many states and cities try to protect their citizens by adopting state statutes and local ordinances to curb predatory lending, but preemption claims by the federal government impede their efforts. Numerous bills are introduced in Congress to protect consumers in a wide range of transactions, including rent-to-own, credit cards, payday lending, and predatory mortgage lending, but none of these bills makes it to a hearing.

6) 2001 - 2007 Predatory and mainly subprime lenders make home loans to people who cannot afford them, boosting their own profits in the short term. Many of these loans are packaged and sold to Wall Street.

7) 2005 after extensive pressure from the industry, the federal government changes bankruptcy laws, making it harder for consumers to discharge debts and get a clean start in bankruptcy.

8) 2006 Congress passes the “Talent Amendment” which to caps interest on loans made to active military personnel and their families at 36%, reacting to findings that high-cost payday lenders had been targeting the military.

9) 2007 Foreclosure rates begin to increase dramatically as a result of predatory mortgage lending. The launch of Americans for Fairness in Lending (AFFIL), a national multi-organization collaborative message and action campaign designed to raise public awareness and generate outrage about predatory lending.

10) 2008 Unpaid mortgages cause mortgage-backed securities on Wall Street to continue to "go bad," triggering widespread economic downturn in both the United States and around the world. Some commercial and investment banks go bankrupt, and some are the object of government "bailouts."

So how can we stand by and watch the financial system wreck havoc on our economy. Think of this when loans were at rates of 12 -16% Banks paid us 5-6% interest on our savings. As loan rates have climbed what has happened to our return rate? How much do you get paid on money sitting in your savings account? Your Money Market account? Or your CD's?

Price controls on banks? Maybe if they lent their money more responsibly..... They wouldn't need it. Maybe if we look deeper into who owns the banks...... we will see more politicians and lawyers. Just think our forefathers thought 6% interest was too much, now we have 36% and more.... Remember Income tax was originally set at 3% and how much do you pay now? Maybe we should set price controls.

Bankruptcy

The bitter truth is more Americans consider bankruptcy every day. One of the main culprits, are the banks. The banks and credit card companies have raised interest rates through the roof as our law makers sit idly by watching with little or no concern for the welfare of the nation. What should we do to correct these issues?

1) Congress must pass legislation regulating the maximum interest rate chargeable (usury laws are state laws that specify the maximum legal interest rate at which loans can be made. Congress has opted not to regulate interest rates on purely private transactions, although it arguably has the power to do so under the interstate commerce clause of Article I of the Constitution. Congress has opted to put a federal criminal limit on interest rates by the RICO definitions of "unlawful debt" which make it a federal felony to lend money at an interest rate more than two times the local state usury rate and then try to collect that "unlawful debt". It is a federal offense to use violence or threats to collect usurious interest. Such activity is referred to as loan sharking, although that term is also applied to non-coercive usurious lending, or even to the practice of making consumer loans without a license in jurisdictions that require licenses). I would purpose that an interest rate greater than 12% (1% per month) would be a reasonable rate.

2) There should be 3 levels of Bankruptcy.

A) when the Bankruptcy Judge deems that debts are spiraling out of control, yet the person or persons filing are by their own actions responsible for their condition (i.e. Not as under natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, or other regional disasters also known as an act of God, or personal disaster such as catastrophic illness, criminal victimization of person or family member or any other situation deemed by the judge as pertaining to the issue of debts). When so deemed all interest rates are suspended and payments made only upon the principle. During the time frame set out by the judge, payments will be constructed to pay off those debts by the end of that said time (i.e. if the debtor owes $12000 in outstanding debts and the judge rules the bankruptcy duration as one year the debtor shall pay to the court $1000 per month; exceptions for payoffs may be imposed by the judge to include mortgages). Level A, bankruptcies may be universally applied to areas affected as National Disaster Areas so designated by the President, without the payoff clause enacted. Thus minimum payments must be made; again all payments during this time would be interest free. Under Level A bankruptcies new debts may be incurred, however, these debts will be exempt from the no interest clause with the exception of new medical debts or recovery loans (loans made to recover from natural disasters). Level A bankruptcies may not be carried on the debtor’s credit report past the payoff date.

B) When the Bankruptcy Judge deems that debts are spiraling out of control, and the person or persons are responsible for their condition. The Judge will review the debts, and be charged with determining whether such debts may be released or restructured. Any debts which are released and having assets will at the discretion of the Judge be dissolved by surrender of said assets to the creditor. The Judge will then assign a recovery fee to be collected by the court and disbursed to creditors. The recovery fee shall be made over a period of time not to exceed 7 years and no less than 1 year, where the debtor shall make payments according to the terms put down by the Judge. Under Level B Bankruptcies, no new debts may be incurred without appeal to the court until said time that the recovery fee is satisfied. Any windfall assets received by the debtor must be reported to the court and assessed by the judge, pending determination of the new conditions which may at the Judge’s discretion give grounds to restructuring or dissolution. Level B bankruptcies may only remain on the debtor’s credit report for no more than 3 years past the recovery fee payoff.

C) When the Judge determines that the situation is beyond control and the condition is his or her responsibility. He may dissolve all debts and order collection of all assets (exemptions of a primary home valued no greater than the National Median price and a single vehicle also valued no greater than the National Median price). At said time, this Bankruptcy shall bear full impact and may remain on the debtor’s credit report for a full 10 years. Any windfall assets received within the 10 year period may be confiscated by the court to be disbursed to creditors...

3) Unlawful or unfair collection of debt shall be addressed by the courts. In these proceedings, should the court find fault with the collection agency or the creditor, said debts may be forgiven, reduced, or restructured (assigned a lower interest rate).