When Work Is Punished: The Tragedy Of America's Welfare State

Via Don

 

Exactly two years ago, some of the more politically biased progressive media outlets (who are quite adept at creating and taking down their own strawmen arguments, if not quite as adept at using an abacus, let alone a calculator) took offense at our article "In Entitlement America, The Head Of A Household Of Four Making Minimum Wage Has More Disposable Income Than A Family Making $60,000 A Year." In it we merely explained what has become the painful reality in America: for increasingly more it is now more lucrative - in the form of actual disposable income - to sit, do nothing, and collect various welfare entitlements, than to work.

This is graphically, and very painfully confirmed, in the.........chart from Gary Alexander, Secretary of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (a state best known for its broke capital Harrisburg). As quantitied, and explained by Alexander, "the single mom is better off earnings gross income of $29,000 with $57,327 in net income & benefits than to earn gross income of $69,000 with net income and benefits of $57,045."

More @ Zero Hedge

Special Operations Petition: DEFUND Eric Holder, Investigate Benghazi

Sign @ SOS

Pew Poll: 6 in 10 Young Americans Want More Government

 

“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”

If conservatives wish to have any success in winning elections in the future, they must start reaching out to young Americans–and they must start now.

A Pew Research study released today brought to light some scary figures about young people that conservatives must confront, especially since the youth vote was the deciding factor in key swing states. Here they are:

• 44 percent of young voters identify themselves with the Democratic Party, whereas only 26 percent identify with the Republican Party and 30 percent as Independent.
• 33 percent of young voters identify their political views as liberal, whereas only 26 percent identify their political views as conservative.
• 53 percent of young voters approve of President Obama’s healthcare law.
• Young voters under 30 represented 19 percent of the voter turnout population in 2012, compared to 18 percent in 2008–meaning it’s growing.

But the most troubling of the information released in this study is that nearly 6 in 10 of the voters under 30 support a more expansive role of government in solving problems. We can’t expect this mindset to change unless we start mirroring the left’s campaign efforts on college campuses.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. While 33 percent of young voters support liberal political views, and 26 percent conservative, this leaves the remaining 44 percent. These are the students that haven’t made up their minds and are looking for answers–they can’t, and shouldn’t, be ignored. Conservatives should be on campuses exposing the lies and distortions that the left has duped them into believing. To name a few:

More @ Action AM

Taxes

Mystery: Virginia gun violence falls as gun sales soar

Mystery?  Mystery? Not to anyone with a brain.

 

Freedom preserved and less crime for everyone. Nifty, huh?

Gun-related violent crime in Virginia has dropped steadily over the past six years as the sale of firearms has soared to a new record, according to an analysis of state crime data with state records of gun sales.
The total number of firearms purchased in Virginia increased 73 percent from 2006 to 2011. When state population increases are factored in, gun purchases per 100,000 Virginians rose 63 percent.
But the total number of gun-related violent crimes fell 24 percent over that period, and when adjusted for population, gun-related offenses dropped more than 27 percent, from 79 crimes per 100,000 in 2006 to 57 crimes in 2011.
The numbers appear to contradict a long-running popular narrative that more guns cause more violent crime, said Virginia Commonwealth University professor Thomas R. Baker, who compared Virginia crime data for those years with gun-dealer sales estimates obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Correlation isn’t causation, of course, but what’s interesting about this research is how thoroughly it blows out the traditional causal argument of gun-control advocates. How thoroughly?
Thomas R. Baker, the professor who did this research for the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

More @ Hot Air

CRPD Update and Urgent Action Items

 
Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted 61-36 to take up discussion of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). For a full discussion of this treaty and its dangers, visit our CRPD page here.

We expected the treaty to be taken up, as it was. We also had reason to expect that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) would file for cloture at 5:00 p.m. That would likely put an end time on the discussion leading to an actual vote on treaty ratification as early as this weekend.

Thanks, I believe, to the efforts of concerned and active Americans just like you, the cloture filing was pushed back, then ultimately failed to take place yesterday at all. If we are correct in our assessment, this is very good news; we believe it signals that Senator Reid does not yet have the votes he needs to pass this treaty, as he had expected to!

This is exciting news, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Here is what we must do now if we are to reach victory over this treaty and preserve parental rights for all Americans, including those whose children have special needs:

Urgent Action Items

1. Thank the 36 Senators who voted against taking up the CRPD at this time. This is a very gracious way of encouraging them to stand strong and not back off of their position. Harry Reid and his colleagues will be trying hard to pull a few of these Senators away. We must persuade them not to bend.

Please find the list here and call or email their offices expressing your thanks for their courageous stand for American self-government and parental rights.

2. Call you Senators (again?) and urge them to vote “No” on CRPD. Proponents of the treaty are calling as well; our voice must be louder.

Find a script you can use here. You might also email them or call their district office in addition to their D.C. office.

The following senators are especially important targets. Please be sure they hear from you right away:

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX): 202-224-5922
Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN): 202-224-4944
Sen. Dean Heller (NV): 202-224-6244
Sen. Mike Johanns (NE): 202-224-4224
Sen. Jerry Moran (KS): 202-224-6521
Sen. Thad Cochran (MS): 202-224-5054
Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): 202-224-3954

3. Spread the word. Whether you pass this email along, speak out against #CRPD on Twitter, or post a comment on your Facebook page (or join the discussion on ours), please get the word out to as many concerned Americans as you can.

From 2:15 until almost 7:00 yesterday, the Senate focused on nothing but this treaty. Yet the only part of the whole thing that made the news is the fact that Bob Dole is in the hospital. The media will not cover this. We have to cover it ourselves, letting our friends know that instead of avoiding the fiscal cliff their senators have been trying to take parental rights away from parents of children with disabilities.

Thank you for standing strong and making your voices heard. Now we need to turn up the volume.

Sincerely,

Michael Ramey
Director of Communications & Research

Now you can buy a jar of Glenn Beck’s ‘urine’ with an Obama figurine inside

 

Renowned artiste Glenn Beck put an Obama bobblehead in a glass jar, “urinated” into it, called it art and is now selling it for the low, low price of $25,000. (While Beck initially claimed to have peed into the jar, it is actually beer, according to MSN.)

Beck created “Obama in Pee Pee” in response to a Boston artist who made a controversial painting of President Obama being crucified.

On his radio show Tuesday, Beck said that he didn’t like the painting because of the whole Obama-as-Jesus subtext, but that he supported the artist’s right under the First Amendment to create and display it.

“Art is in the eye of the beholder, and this guy has a right to do this. I think it’s offensive. I don’t think it’s close to reality, but whatever floats your boat. I support his right to do exactly that. I agree with him that people who are upset should not trump his right to be able to do it and be able to hang it wherever he wants — as long as it’s wanted there,” Beck said.

More @ The Daily Caller

Merry Christmas!

Via Peter

 

Twas the month before Christmas When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying Nor taking a stand.
Why the PC Police had taken away The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday'.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!

NC: PLEDGE to mentor a new hunter and get a FREE hat and bumper sticker!

 

PLEDGE to mentor a new hunter in 2012 and receive a FREE Hunting Matters!^™ hat and bumper sticker provided by the Hunting Heritage Program!

THE PLEDGE

"I hereby pledge to mentor a new hunter (youth or adult) on his or her first hunting trip between August 1 and December 31, 2012 as my contribution to preserving our hunting heritage in North Carolina.” (New hunter is defined as not having hunted in the past).

WHY

The majority of all hunters began hunting because someone (a hunting mentor) took the time to introduce them to the activity. Reflect back on the person who introduced you to hunting. If hunting really matters to you, become a hunting mentor and share the tradition. There is no better way to say thanks to the person that mentored you!

HOW

Participating mentors will need to complete an on-line campaign registration form. The mentor will receive a FREE hat and bumper sticker by PLEDGING to mentor a new hunter (youth or adult) on his or her first hunting trip between August 1 and December 31, 2012 (see Registration Requirements above).

FOLLOW-UP EVALUATION

Note: Registered mentors will be expected to complete a post-campaign survey in early 2013 to help the NCWRC better understand hunter recruitment and retention in North Carolina and as a means of evaluating Hats On.

More @ NC Wildlife

Cox and Archer: Why $16 Trillion Only Hints at the True U.S. Debt

 

Hiding the government's liabilities from the public makes it seem that we can tax our way out of mounting deficits. We can't.

A decade and a half ago, both of us served on President Clinton's Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform, the forerunner to President Obama's recent National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. In 1994 we predicted that, unless something was done to control runaway entitlement spending, Medicare and Social Security would eventually go bankrupt or confront severe benefit cuts.

Eighteen years later, nothing has been done. Why? The usual reason is that entitlement reform is the third rail of American politics. That explanation presupposes voter demand for entitlements at any cost, even if it means bankrupting the nation.

A better explanation is that the full extent of the problem has remained hidden from policy makers and the public because of less than transparent government financial statements. How else could responsible officials claim that Medicare and Social Security have the resources they need to fulfill their commitments for years to come?

As Washington wrestles with the roughly $600 billion "fiscal cliff" and the 2013 budget, the far greater fiscal challenge of the U.S. government's unfunded pension and health-care liabilities remains offstage. The truly important figures would appear on the federal balance sheet—if the government prepared an accurate one.

But it hasn't. For years, the government has gotten by without having to produce the kind of financial statements that are required of most significant for-profit and nonprofit enterprises. The U.S. Treasury "balance sheet" does list liabilities such as Treasury debt issued to the public, federal employee pensions, and post-retirement health benefits. But it does not include the unfunded liabilities of Medicare, Social Security and other outsized and very real obligations.

As a result, fiscal policy discussions generally focus on current-year budget deficits, the accumulated national debt, and the relationships between these two items and gross domestic product. We most often hear about the alarming $15.96 trillion national debt (more than 100% of GDP), and the 2012 budget deficit of $1.1 trillion (6.97% of GDP). As dangerous as those numbers are, they do not begin to tell the story of the federal government's true liabilities.

More @ WSJ