Scotti Hughes - The Fed Reserves Quantitative Easing Policy

The Federal Reserve effectively said, we’re going to keep the punch bowl out, and keep whatever you make of this “recovery party” going.

The hope, of course, is all this buying of Treasury notes and bonds helps already low interest rates, go even lower. This is the third time the Fed has gone to this financial wishing well.

Frankly it’s getting old, but for now, Bernanke and company are the only game in town, and for the markets, the only hope they have. They’re not seeing much leadership out of the White House and Congress.

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Scottie Hughes - Detroit: Rock City Has Hit Rock Bottom

Welcome to the post-sequester apocalypse. As much as President Obama will have us believe otherwise, the greatest financial catastrophe in the coming days will not be of Washington’s making at all.

If you’re looking to see what a policy of liberalism can do to a city, look no further then Rock City. Despite one of the most aggressive ECD campaigns featuring celebrities Eminem, Jeff Daniels and Tim Allen, not even Hollywood can save Detroit from going broke. It is on the verge of being taken over by the State of Michigan in hopes of saving the city from bankruptcy.

President Obama on October 13, 2012 stated that he “refused to let Detroit go bankrupt.” Well, Mr. Obama then you better be willing to write a very big personal check.

With over $3.8 billion in federal stimulus funds to the city in 2009, President Obama claimed during his reelection bid to be the city’s savior. On the same day that the world is supposed to end with the much-ballyhooed sequester going into effect, Detroit’s financial woes are the inevitable result of liberal tax and spend policies. These policies have led to an annual budget deficit of $100 million, which includes a total of $14 billion in employee retirement liabilities and unfunded pensions. In order for the City to be in the black again, (something they have not been since 2005), Detroit would need $1.9 Billion over the next five years to pay off other long-term liabilities.

As Bob Woodward has discovered, the paternity of the sequester lies squarely with President Obama. It was devised as a trap for the Republicans. The same can be said about the plan of action in regards to Detroit, which was nothing more then smoke and mirrors just to delay what was predictably going to happen. This result was inevitable considering Detroit has always been a city plagued with liberal policies and run by the labor unions.

This is only the beginning. Cities around the country like Stockton, CA, Jefferson County, Alabama and Harrisburg Pennsylvania are Cities traveling down the same path. These cities all share the common trait of continuously electing Democrat majorities to control their local Government. Like a string of dominoes, they are destined to fall one by one. When the states can no longer bail out the cities, who will be there to bail out the states? For example in California’s case, what happens when a State cannot rescue its own municipalities? Does the Federal Government step in and take over a State or does our Federal Government look to foreign investors to bail those States out?

The good news is, with every major bankruptcy or bad economic news that is announced it seems our stock market usually has an opposite effect and reaches for the sky. Chairman Bernanke and his minions at the Federal Reserve hope that this manipulated surge will continue the charade of growth in today’s economy giving the American people the false sense that our economy was not effected.

How quickly will the tribulations of the March 1st sequester be forgotten, once the upcoming consequences of what raising the debt ceiling on March 27th might yield. However, with the Federal Reserve printing no less then 85 billion dollars per month, this economic fairy tale has no chance for a happy ending for the City of Detroit and I fear the rest of the Country as well.

Scottie Hughes

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Andrew Klavan - Obamanomics 101 - Understanding How the Obama Economy Works

As President Obama explains his economic policy (or explains away the consequences of that policy), City Journal's Andrew Klavan cuts through all the spin with this very, very important primer on both Obamanomics and the truth about capitalism.

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Austin Hill - Three Years On - Obamacare Has Become Irresistible

It has been federal for three years. It has brought chaos to the labor markets. It has cost people their livelihoods and it is more unpopular than ever.

So why does “Obamacare” (officially known as the “Affordable Care Act”) remain so irresistible for so many of our fellow Americans? Because at its core Obamacare is not about health care, so much as it is about the redistribution of wealth, and for those who are on the receiving end of the redistribution the agenda is completely irresistible.

When the federal government doles-out cash, it’s difficult to say “no.” That’s why many of our nation’s top business consulting firms are cashing-in, as state government officials hire the consulting firms to figure out how to set up the new federal health care bureaucracies, complete with their own state-specific websites and call centers.

How difficult and costly could it be, do you suppose, to set up a website and a call center for the residents of one individual state? In the world of private enterprise, most small to midsize companies doing business within a specific region of the U.S. would be foolish to spend much more than a hundred thousand dollars for their customer service website and the infrastructure for a call center, and in many cases the project could be completed for much less.

But with Obamacare, the “customer service” element has become more of a “corporate welfare” element. Companies, careers, and personal fortunes are being made by people who are the states, as firms bill the individual states millions of taxpayer dollars for the website and call center set-ups (and the Obama administration frequently offers to reimburse the states for the set-up costs).

Take for example a company called Leavitt Partners, LLC. Founded by the former Republican Governor of Utah (and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services) Michael Leavitt, the company describes itself as a “healthcare intelligence business,” and is focused solely on state-by-state Obamacare compliance (they have already completed Utah’s insurance exchange start-up).

We’re talking here about Michael Leavitt, the former Utah Governor who last year endorsed and campaigned on behalf of Mitt Romney, the presidential candidate who pledged to “end” Obamacare. Yes, that Michael Leavitt is making millions advising the states on how to comply with the monstrosity that his pal Mitt wanted to eliminate.

How much money is in play for these companies? Consider that last fall representatives from Leavitt’s company traveled north and proposed to build an exchange for their tiny nieghboring state of Idaho, a state with a population of less than 1.7 million people. Once the Leavitt representatives unveiled their proposed price tag to build an exchange - $70 million-an incredulous member of Idaho’s state insurance task force asked “does Governor Leavitt really believe that this is a good idea?”

Company associate Brett Graham replied with the nuanced explanation that “Governor Leavitt doesn’t like the feds dictating to the states,” however, the Governor also believes that the states should “stand inside the circle with the feds rather than stand outside of it”- which was an artful way of saying “yes, Governor Leavitt likes this and wants to get paid to show you how to do it.”

Leavitt’s proposal was not the most expensive that the sparsely populated Idaho received. The global accounting and consulting firm KPMG weighed-in with a price tag of $77 million, and when a state official asked what the residents of Idaho would get in return for such a large expenditure, KPMG representative Andrew Gottschalk was vague: “It’s hard to explain exactly what you get…It’s hardware, it’s software, there’s infrastructure, there’s people and staffing” he stated. “There would likely be a call center. It’s all kinds of things… there’s a lot of stuff….but it’s hard to be specific.”

States spending millions of taxpayer dollars, and receiving “all kinds of things” and “a lot of stuff” in return. That’s our present-day reality with Obamacare. Along with Leavitt Partners and KPMG, global consulting firms Maximus and Mercer are also cashing-in. These firms employ well educated, highly skilled professionals with JD’s, MBA’s, and advanced degrees in information systems and healthcare management, most of whom would undoubtedly reject the idea that they are welfare recipients. As the Maximus corporate website states, “we leverage our extensive experience and strong commitment to ethics to provide high quality services and solutions.”

Along with the Obamacare cash that’s flowing in to private consultants’ accounts, there’s the money that’s being handed-out to state and county governments under the auspice of Medicaid expansion. A key component of Obamacare was to have mandated that the individual states reduce eligibility requirements for Medicaid, and expand the number of participants in their respective programs. However, the United States Supreme Court overturned that component of the Obamacare law, so expansion of Medicaid is an elective choice for each of the states.

But not to worry, the President has made the expansion of the federal Medicaid welfare program irresistible, as the Administration is offering to pay 100% of the expansion costs for the first three years, for states that agree to the expansion this year. That’s why, for example, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has refused to allow an Obamacare insurance exchange in his state, nonetheless agreed to the Medicaid expansion – when you can get the fed’s to pay for people’s “free” healthcare, that alleviates the state and county agencies from paying for it. It creates an addiction to federal spending, but if you’re in charge of a state or federal agency, it makes sense on some level.

This is the reality of Obamacare. It’s wildly unpopular for the masses, but irresistible for those on the receiving end of the money grab.

Austin Hill

Austin Hill is an emerging American voice, addressing culture-defining questions through books, talk radio, web, speaking, and interviews. His recent books "White House Confidential" and his new title "The Virtues Of Capitalism" show his range from whit-infused writer to thought-provoking expert on the intersection of philosophy, religion, politics & culture. Hill helps to make the complex seem simple when exploring capitalism, socialism, and other "Isms".

He is an editorial contributor to national publications such as U.S. News & World Report, a columnist with TownHall.com, and is a popular expert-host on radio from leading stations in Washington DC, Chicago, Phoenix and Los Angeles, and nationally with networks such as Fox NewsTalk Radio.  He hosts the "Austin Hill Show" weekday mornings at Fresno, California's Talk Radio 105-9 KMJ-FM,  and weekday afternoons at Boise, Idaho's Newstalk 580 K I D O radio.

Hill holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and a Master's Degree in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Biola University in California.

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Austin Hill - Obamanomics And The Jewish Deli Dilemma

Did you hear the big news from the world of small business? Jewish delis are closing in both Los Angeles, and New York City.

The trend has been a long time in the making, especially in New York City where Jewish delis’s used to number in the thousands and now total less than one hundred. Yet the Los Angeles Times reported this “news” just this past week, and the details that the report included – and the details that were ignored– point to some far greater problems.

The article, written by Journalist Tiffany Hsu, notes that the decline of the L.A. area Jewish delis “seems to be accelerating partly because of health concerns over the schmaltz-spread fare...” This may very well be the case – certainly American adults are inclined to being more “health conscious” with their dietary choices, rather than less, and food categories of all types that are perceived to be un-healthy are probably headed for a declined in consumption.

From there, the article suggests that “skyrocketing” food costs have driven some delis out of business. That may be true, too, but what has caused that to happen? The article suggests that “mass exports” of food to Japan is the culprit on the price spike. The story also blames the decline of LA-area Jewish delis on “the recession,” “too much competition” from other restaurant sectors, and the notion that younger consumers “don’t understand delis and comfort food.”

It was only one small news story in the LA Times. But let’s think through some of the ideas in this news story – ideas reported as “facts” – and consider what they mean from an economic standpoint. Consider, for example, the notion of “too much competition.” What exactly does this mean?

Obviously the more competitive a marketplace is, the more difficult it is for any particular business entity to survive and thrive. But how do we know when the level of competition is appropriate, and when it is “too much?”

Americans are accustomed to fierce competition in other arenas – in sports, especially, and even in the arts and entertainment. Similarly, most of us would never say “my favorite team didn’t make it to the Super Bowl this year because there was too much competition in the NFL.”

But when it comes to local small businesses, we often succumb to this vague, un-defined notion that there is this magical amount of competition that’s “just right,” and if our favorite business can’t compete, then therefore there is “too much” competition.

Yet in our free market economic system, we understand that competition is a good thing. If competition means that certain business entities or entire business categories decline because of the competition, then so be it. It is fairer and more just to allow businesses to rise and fall according to the market demands of consumers, rather than imposing artificial “limits” on the number of people who are to be permitted to participate in an industry.

But what are we to make of this idea that the delis’ failure is because consumers “don’t understand?” If a consumer chooses to “not understand” any particular business, and therefore chooses not to patronize it, then that consumer has made their choice – haven’t they? We’re all better-off if, win or lose, we honor and respect the choices of consumers, rather than presuming that they are ignorant if they make a choice that we don’t like.

And guess what the LA Times article about the delis completely ignored? The impact of government policy on small businesses. Nowhere did it reference the expansive and onerous mandates placed upon business via Obamacare, the impact on business owners of the President’s payroll tax hike, or his income tax increases on “rich people.”

No, the LA Times apparently wasn’t interested in how the President’s income tax hikes have taken money away from what the I.R.S. designates as “Subchapter S Corporations” (sometimes abbreviated as “S-corps”), and how this has effectively taken money directly out of small corporations, many of which operate small businesses. Likewise, the article made no reference to the fact California voters approved an increase in state income tax rates for “rich people” (thus leading to even less revenue in Subchapter-S Corporations) on their ballot last November, nor did it acknowledge that California has for years been on a trajectory of higher and higher unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation mandates for businesses.

It is perhaps more comfortable to pretend that our current government policies are not problematic, and blame the struggling economy on “too much competition” and consumers who “don’t understand.”

But how many more delis must fail, before we get honest and acknowledge that government is our problem?

Austin Hill

Austin Hill is an emerging American voice, addressing culture-defining questions through books, talk radio, web, speaking, and interviews. His recent books "White House Confidential" and his new title "The Virtues Of Capitalism" show his range from whit-infused writer to thought-provoking expert on the intersection of philosophy, religion, politics & culture. Hill helps to make the complex seem simple when exploring capitalism, socialism, and other "Isms".

He is an editorial contributor to national publications such as U.S. News & World Report, a columnist with TownHall.com, and is a popular expert-host on radio from leading stations in Washington DC, Chicago, Phoenix and Los Angeles, and nationally with networks such as Fox NewsTalk Radio.  He hosts the "Austin Hill Show" weekday mornings at Fresno, California's Talk Radio 105-9 KMJ-FM,  and weekday afternoons at Boise, Idaho's Newstalk 580 K I D O radio.

Hill holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and a Master's Degree in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Biola University in California.

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Approaching the Fiscal Cliff - Analyzed by Jedediah Bila - Ed Butowsky - Sean Hannity

“Fiscal cliff” is the popular shorthand term used to describe the conundrum that the U.S. government will face at the end of 2012, when the terms of the Budget Control Act of 2011 are scheduled to go into effect.

FISCAL CLIFF Versus POLITICAL WILL
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Fiscal Cliff - The Economics
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The Day The Dollar Died

"The price of gold reaches an all time high,despite the devaluation of the dollar and the floating of the Japanese Yen….Germany suspends all monetary exchange indefinitely after buying billions of dollars in a desperate attempt to shore up the traditional currency-leader…International financial experts openly admit that the only way to stave off global economic economic chaos is to institute a new world money system… Computer technology enables every individual in the world to be issued a single credit card and to insure against loss, theft or forgery, its number can be photographically impressed upon the forehead and wrist,visible only under…."
Willard Cantelon Written in 1973

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Austin Hill - Entrepreneurs Weigh In: What Do We Need Over The Next Four Years?

“…What the hell is he doing asking for another four years?”

Governor Chris Christie (R-New Jersey) was speaking on behalf of Mitt Romney in Virginia last week. He was talking about, and to, Barack Obama. “…If you don’t think you can change Washington from inside the White House, let’s give you the plane ticket back to Chicago you’ve earned.” With President Obama and his challenger running so close – and with so many states in-play – fiery rhetoric from the campaign trail is to be expected.

Yet Governor Christie raises a legitimate question. Besides the obvious reasons – first term Presidents are eligible to run for a second term (and most of them to), and President Obama thinks he is better suited to be President than Mitt Romney –what, really, is another four years of Barack Obama supposed to be about?

Americans who are the least bit interested in anything remotely resembling economic recovery and prosperity – yes, even Democrat Americans – should take a look at the facts. The evidence is overwhelming that President Obama’s policies over the last three and a half years are stifling our economy now, and will likely send us in to a slowdown in 2013.

That’s not mere partisan political rhetoric. Last week Reuters business news reported that Americans will face a “tougher 2013,” economically speaking, and they identified two of President Obama’s policies as the direct reason for the added difficulty.

For one, payroll taxes are set to rise on January 1. President Obama agreed to a temporary payroll tax cut back in 2009, but he insists that it needs to be raised again, and has insisted that he’ll let this lower payroll tax rate expire at the end of this year. According to the analysis reported by Reuters, this will take an estimated $125 billion out of our private sector economy, and will likely mean less consumer spending, less profitability for businesses, and a lower GDP.

And then there’s Obamacare. The President himself isn’t even trying any longer to pretend that his “health reform” law isn’t a tax, and thoughtful analysts in the world of business news can’t pretend either. According to Reuters, the new taxes on healthcare providers, insurance companies, and employers that provide health insurance to their workers will cause healthcare costs to shoot up nearly 7% in 2013 alone. This, combined with already stagnant wages, and the estimated $125 billion taken out of private household budgets because of the President’s payroll tax increase, all add up to more economic hardship for middle and lower income Americans.

In the same week, CNN Money published a report entitled “Entrepreneurship Is Weaker Than Ever.” The report noted that across the country, local government regulations are damaging small businesses and new start-ups. But it also claimed that “uncertainty in the market” – fears of rising taxes, IRS agents penalizing individuals and businesses for alleged Obamacare violations, and the lack of investment capital – were creating huge disincentives for would-be business owners to jump in.

And then there was The Atlantic, and Yahoo! Finance, that both jointly published an in-depth article with a striking title: “What Kills Small Business? Let’s Ask Them.”

The article states that “69 percent of small business owners and managers say that complicated government regulations are ‘major impediments; to the creation of new jobs.” The article also provided this analysis:

“When over two-thirds of job creators tell us how to create jobs in an economy that desperately needs them, candidates and elected officials should not only listen, they should also tell us precisely where they stand on these ideas. How government regulates commerce -- and not just whether government regulates commerce -- should be a major issue in this election. It would tell us a lot about how the candidates, if elected, would make critical day-to-day decisions that shape law, regulation, and, ultimately, the economy.”

These are some powerful words. And they are not emanating from “conservative” media outlets – if The Atlantic has any ideological leanings, it’s generally regarded as “left of center.” And while Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer is well known for her unquestioning support of President Obama and the Democrat Party, even the business news division of her media content operation can’t ignore that the President that she has helped to bankroll is doing serious damage to the economy (that’s how bad things have become).

Back in January of 2011 (after the President’s self-described “shellacking” at the polls in November of 2010), President Obama spoke at a General Electric plant in Schenectady, NY and tried to convey that he really does support free market enterprise, stating that “we’re going back to Thomas Edison’s principles… We’re going to build stuff and invent stuff…” The sad irony was that the speech was made days before the Obama Administration officially outlawed one of Thomas Edison’s greatest inventions, the incandescent light bulb.

Now, as he campaigns for re-election, the President clings to his “Forward” and “We can’t go back” phrases, and reminds us that he killed Osama bin Laden. Yet the stifling of our economy from the Obama Administration’s legacy of threats and fees and fines and taxes and bans on businesses, is undeniable.

Entrepreneurs and business owners are crying-out to be saved from the Obama oppression. Do American voters care?

Austin Hill

Austin Hill is an emerging American voice, addressing culture-defining questions through books, talk radio, web, speaking, and interviews. His recent books "White House Confidential" and his new title "The Virtues Of Capitalism" show his range from whit-infused writer to thought-provoking expert on the intersection of philosophy, religion, politics & culture. Hill helps to make the complex seem simple when exploring capitalism, socialism, and other "Isms".

He is an editorial contributor to national publications such as U.S. News & World Report, a columnist with TownHall.com, and is a popular expert-host on radio from leading stations in Washington DC, Chicago, Phoenix and Los Angeles, and nationally with networks such as Fox NewsTalk Radio.  He hosts the "Austin Hill Show" weekday mornings at Fresno, California's Talk Radio 105-9 KMJ-FM,  and weekday afternoons at Boise, Idaho's Newstalk 580 K I D O radio.

Hill holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and a Master's Degree in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Biola University in California.

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Anne from PA - Obama Supporters Actually Hate Obama's Policies

Luke Rudkowski hits the streets of NYC to find out where Obama supporters really stand on his policies. Now he did this in an underhanded way where the policies where presented to be Romney's, but this was only done to get an honest opinion. The reactions when the truth was uncovered varied but they were very telling to say the least.

Here are some of the sources that were mentioned throughout the interviews:

1st question, part 1 - Obama, in Europe, signs Patriot Act extension

1st question, part 2 - Warrantless Spying Skyrockets Under Obama

2nd question - President Obama Signed the National Defense Authorization Act - Now What?

3rd question - Secret 'Kill List' Proves a Test of Obama's Principles and Will

4th question - Drone wars and state secrecy -- how Barack Obama became a hardliner

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Mitt Romney - The Obama Plan

If Barack Obama is reelected, what will the next four years be like? From the debt rising even higher to Obamacare being here to stay, it's clear that we can't afford four more years.

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Barack Obama - Tax-payer Investments in Green Energy

36 companies that have received federal support from taxpayers have either gone bankrupt or are laying off workers and are heading for bankruptcy.

This list includes only those companies that received federal money from the Barack Obama Administration’s Department of Energy.

1. Evergreen Solar ($24 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
2. SpectraWatt ($500,000 - Filed for Bankruptcy)
3. Solyndra ($535 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
4. Beacon Power ($69 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
5. AES’s subsidiary Eastern Energy ($17.1 million)
6. Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)
7. SunPower ($1.5 billion)
8. First Solar ($1.46 billion)
9. Babcock and Brown ($178 million)
10. EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
11. Amonix ($5.9 million)
12. National Renewable Energy Lab ($200 million)
13. Fisker Automotive ($528 million)
14. Abound Solar ($374 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
15. A123 Systems ($279 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
16. Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($6 million)
17. Johnson Controls ($299 million)
18. Schneider Electric ($86 million)
19. Brightsource ($1.6 billion)
20. ECOtality ($126.2 million)
21. Raser Technologies ($33 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
22. Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
23. Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
24. Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
25. Range Fuels ($80 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
26. Thompson River Power ($6.4 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
27. Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
28. LSP Energy ($2.1 billion - Filed for Bankruptcy)
29. UniSolar ($100 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
30. Azure Dynamics ($120 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
31. GreenVolts ($500,000)
32. Vestas ($50 million)
33. LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($150 million)
34. Nordic Windpower ($16 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)
35. Navistar ($10 million)
36. Satcon ($3 million - Filed for Bankruptcy)

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Barack Obama - One Term Presidency

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Friday (10/12/2012) defended the White House approach to the deficit as his department officially confirmed a fiscal 2012 deficit of $1.089 trillion.

That figure is $207 billion less than in 2011, and $238 billion less than forecast in February.

The fact the deficit remains above $1 trillion for the fourth year in a row, despite President Obama's pledge to cut it in half by now, is a major headache for Obama’s reelection campaign.

Obama Pledges to Cut the Deficit in Half By the End of His First Term in Office.

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Americans for Prosperity - The Dinner Table

Government spending is producing massive amounts of debt that is crippling our nation’s economic future. We now owe more than $16 trillion, up 50% under President Obama.
Businesses aren’t confident to invest and expand in the United States because of our nation’s dismal debt outlook

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Governor Mitt Romney with sons - CPAC Colorado

AURORA, CO - The mood among more than 1,500 conservatives here at CPAC's Colorado conference is buoyant today, for obvious reasons. When four of Mitt Romney's sons came onstage earlier today and introduced their father for an unexpected appearance, the standing-room-only crowd went wild. Conservatives' enthusiasm batteries have been re-charged.

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Deneen Borelli - U.S. Government Is Enslaving Citizens With Debt

Today marks the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, but our Government is continuing to enslave its citizens with mountains of debt and obligation. Fox and Friends Weekend Host, Alisyn Camerota sits down with Deneen Borelli - Author of Best Seller "Blacklash" / Freedom Works Outlook Director to offer insight of why so many citizens are now indentured to the federal government.

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Dennis Miller - I think the country looks like crap right now!

Dennis Miller will tell us what we learned, if anything, from President Obama's recent appearance on "The Late Show." with David Letterman.

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Agents of Change

Americans who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 share why they're changing their vote in 2012 and will be casting their ballot for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in November.

The debt of the United States has grown to a startling $16 trillion dollars — the largest total in our nation's history.

As the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reported, the Obama Administration has racked up 4 straight trillion-dollar plus annual budget deficits.

Unemployment has remained over 8% for 43 straight months — a first since the Great Depression. The real unemployment rate — taking into account those who have stopped looking or who are working part-time and want more work — is almost 15%. More than 23 million Americans are out of work or underemployed.

Because of this troubled economy, the number of Americans receiving food stamp assistance — more than 46 million in all — is at a record high, according to the government.

The United States has slid from 3rd in ease of starting a new business to 13th in the world, trailing unlikely competitors like Rwanda and Macedonia.

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Austin Hill - Downgrade Nation: Seeing Through The Charade Of Presidential Politics

The U.S. Federal Reserve initiated more economic stimulus. And the very next day the U.S. Government received another debt downgrade.

Did one lead to the other- or is there more to the story?

Amid last week’s headlines of Islamic terrorist attacks and domestic bomb threats, the news about another U.S. debt downgrade may have seemed anticlimactic. Yet this additional downgrade for the U.S. has been a long time in the making, has long-term ramifications, and was not triggered by the Federal Reserve alone.

After months of speculation, pressure, and mostly bad economic data, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced last Thursday that he would launch a third round of economic stimulus code-named “QE3” (several media outlets, including CNBC and Yahoo! Finance, quickly nicknamed it “QE infinity” owing to its open-ended, no-end-in-sight nature). The plan, as Mr. Bernanke explained, is for the Federal Reserve to purchase $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities every month, and to do so for as long as he thinks it is necessary.

Of course, it was only five months ago that the Egan-Jones Ratings company downgraded the U.S. Government because of its profligate spending and total lack of interest in reducing its deficits, lowering it from a ”AA+” to a “AA” rating. After last week’s announcement about even more deficit spending by the Federal Reserve, our government continued its downward spiral on credit-worthiness by achieving Egan-Jones ‘ latest evaluation: a rating of “AA-.” Each of the other major credit ratings companies (Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor) gives the U.S. a slightly better rating, yet all of them forecast negative outlook” for our government’s credit worthiness.

In making its downgrade announcement, Egan-Jones stated that our government’s decision to issue more currency and to artificially depress interest rates by purchasing mortgage-backed securities will likely do very little to expand America’s actual gross domestic product, yet at the same time it will likely reduce the value of the dollar. The agency further noted that this decision will increase the cost of commodities, which in turn will hurt the profitability of businesses, and will increase the prices of consumer products thereby reducing consumer purchasing power.

The team at Egan Jones seems to be seeing things clearly, and, if nothing else, is displaying a sound grasp of some very basic economic ideas. Just as a drunken person cannot drink their way back to sobriety, no entity of any sort – no individual, no household, no organization nor any government – can borrow and spend its way out of debt. And the more indebted one becomes, the less trust-worthy one becomes with creditors – which ultimately leads to less prosperity.

What is perhaps most striking about Egan Jones’ response to the Fed is that it was the complete antithesis of the collective response from the stock market. Investors, traders and brokers were so exuberant over Chairman Bernanke’s choice to spend more of our non-existent tax dollars that the Dow was driven to a 5-year high on Thursday. Those who are entrusted to offer honest assessments of our government’s credit worthiness see the U.S. as inviting more trouble upon itself. Those, on the other hand, who are not so concerned with honest assessments, are apparently quite happy to trust in the gamesmanship and hocus-pocus of politicians and government bureaucrats- despite the preponderance of evidence that such government manipulation of the marketplace produces only short-term pleasure and a lot of long term pain.

And herein resides the greater problem for the United States and its debt: credit ratings agencies, foreign governments, and private individuals around the world are watching our country and observing our near-total lack of “political will” to get our fiscal house in order. Granted the Chairmanship of the Federal Reserve is, at least in theory, a non-political position in our government, and its occupant is not beholden to electoral politics. Presumably Chairman Bernanke has chosen to act in this way because he believes it is the right thing for him to do (although his choice to implement such a short-sided policy within two months of a presidential election has nonetheless raised doubts about his independence of the President).

But the fiscal recklessness of our government does not begin and end with Bernanke. It rests with the President and the Congress primarily – and especially with President Obama, given that he and his party controlled both the Executive and Legislative branches of our government for two years, yet he chose to harness that power for to create more government spending and debt and not less.

Our current presidential campaigns also give the impression abroad of an “out of touch America.” Vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan dares to address our dangerous condition, but only in the most minimal of terms – and for this he has been labeled “the Flim Flam Man” by the New York Times’ Paul Krugman, and is accused of allegedly hurting children, the elderly, and ethnic minorities with his proposed reductions in entitlements.

Add to this the reality that our President’s foreign policy is going up in flames before a global stage – yet he remains politically viable and popular – and it’s not difficult to understand why other countries are getting nervous. The real question in this, however, is when will Americans get nervous – nervous enough – that they demand fiscal sanity from their elected leaders?

It won’t happen between now and the next election day. But will it happen soon enough-before the politicians have done irreparable damage?

Austin Hill

Austin Hill is an emerging American voice, addressing culture-defining questions through books, talk radio, web, speaking, and interviews. His recent books "White House Confidential" and his new title "The Virtues Of Capitalism" show his range from whit-infused writer to thought-provoking expert on the intersection of philosophy, religion, politics & culture. Hill helps to make the complex seem simple when exploring capitalism, socialism, and other "Isms".

He is an editorial contributor to national publications such as U.S. News & World Report, a columnist with TownHall.com, and is a popular expert-host on radio from leading stations in Washington DC, Chicago, Phoenix and Los Angeles, and nationally with networks such as Fox NewsTalk Radio.  He hosts the "Austin Hill Show" weekday mornings at Fresno, California's Talk Radio 105-9 KMJ-FM,  and weekday afternoons at Boise, Idaho's Newstalk 580 K I D O radio.

Hill holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and a Master's Degree in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Biola University in California.

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