JustThinking.us

I mean it Kathleen, this is far enough !!! 

It's for your own good !!!!

The following are just some of the items within the President's proposed 2011 budget:

Provides a $3 billion increase in K-12 education programs, plus up to $1 billion in additional
funding if Congress successfully completes a fundamental overhaul of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Together, these measures would represent the largest
funding increase for ESEA programs ever requested.

Provides $1.35 billion to expand Race to the Top for school districts as well as States to carry
out systemic reform, and $500 million to continue the Investing in Innovation program to test,
validate, and scales up effective approaches to student learning. 

Increases the number, and improves the distribution of, effective teachers and principals,
by investing $950 million in competitive grants to States and school districts that build
comprehensive systems to recruit, prepare, retain, and reward effective teachers and
principals.

 Provides $429 million, the highest funding level ever, for competitive grants through the
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.

Provides $50 million for a new “Healthy Food Financing Initiative” to bring grocery stores and
other healthy food retailers to underserved communities. 

Provides $7.4 billion for the National Science Foundation, an 8 percent increase over the
2010 enacted level, as part of the President’s Plan for Science and Innovation.

Drives the creation of the industries and jobs of the future by doubling funding for
multidisciplinary research targeted at next-generation information and biological technologies.

Provides $19 million in graduate and undergraduate fellowships and scholarships for a joint
initiative with the Department of Energy to inspire tens of thousands of American students to
pursue careers in science, engineering, and entrepreneurship related to clean energy.

Creates a new $766 million, cross-agency sustainability research effort focused on renewable
energy technologies and complex environmental- and climate-system processes.

Increases funding by 14 percent for a new consolidated program aimed at building the
science and technology workforce by recruiting and retaining undergraduate students from
under-represented groups. 

Adds $6 billion to NASA’s budget over five years and draws upon American ingenuity to
enable us to embark on an ambitious 21st Century program of human space exploration.

Provides $3.3 billion total for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds.
This will allow States and Tribes to initiate approximately 800 clean water and 500 drinking
water projects nationally, continuing a major Federal commitment to water infrastructure
investment.

Provides new funding to support the Administration’s commitment to mitigate climate change.

Provides grants for States and Tribes to administer delegated environmental programs at $1.3
billion, the highest level ever.

Builds on the historic past increase in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), for
a 20 percent total increase since 2009.

Invests over $8 billion in the Internal Revenue Service’s enforcement and modernization
programs, while continuing to drive innovation and responsiveness in taxpayer services. The
Budget supports significant new revenue-generating initiatives that will target critical areas of
non-compliance, and enhances a multi-year modernization strategy that will deliver a vastly
improved IRS within the next five years. 

Provides $4 billion for a new National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund, which will
invest in high-value projects of regional or national significance.

Establishes a new $30 million Federal transit safety program to address critical needs.

Invests in modernizing the air traffic control system by increasing funding for NextGen by
more than 30 percent.

Helps communities to become more livable and sustainable by allocating $527 million for the
Department’s investments as part of the President’s multi-agency Partnership for Sustainable
Communities.

Sustains large-scale, multi-year support for high-speed rail, with $1 billion to fund promising
and transformative projects. 

Increases funding for the President’s Global Health Initiative, including increased efforts to
reduce mortality of mothers and children under five, avoid unintended pregnancies, and work
towards the elimination of some neglected tropical diseases. As part of this effort, the Budget
also expands support for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to prevent new HIV
infections while providing care and treatment to millions of people, and for the President’s
Malaria Initiative to dramatically reduce the prevalence of this disease.

Increases funding for the President’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative to help poor
countries improve the nutritional and income status of millions of people living in extreme
poverty and suffering from hunger by 2015.

Increases aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan to revitalize economic development and confront
the resurgence of the Taliban.

 Stays on track to fully fund Land and Water Conservation Fund programs by 2014 by
providing nearly $620 million to acquire new lands for national parks, forests and refuges,
protect endangered species habitat, and promote outdoor recreation.

There is no nice way to say it.

 

"This is very bad."

Among those things slowing down my posting lately, is the following quote by Richard Russell who has written and published the Dow Theory Letters for many years.  This quote is the first questioning I've seen from a serious, well respected, and heavily followed source of President Barack Obama's competance.  

Criticism of Obama, up until this instant have always been proceeded by qualifiers having to do with The President's obvious intelligence, communication skills and his seeming niceness, before fault finding on his specific policies could begin.  

 “I've been thinking about President Barack Obama and the nation's problems. My conclusion, in all honesty, is that Obama was unqualified for the job. Unlike Reagan, Obama had no deep-seated convictions about anything other than he would spread the wealth and go down in history as the people's hero.

 “When it comes to economics, I'm afraid that the President is lost. It's all so clear now that we can't spend ourselves back into prosperity, although some dour souls insist that we are spending ourselves into virtual bankruptcy. Even the American public understands that, but the prez doesn't.

“On economics, Obama is a rank amateur. He thought he could listen to a collection of name-economists and come up with the right answer. Unfortunately, Obama listened to the former head of the Princeton economics department an erudite young man named Ben S. Bernanke. Ben was considered to be our reigning top-expert on the Great Depression. Bernanke's solution to the whole mess was simple -- first save Wall Street and then release a massive amount of liquidity into the system. If there wasn't enough inflation in the system, then flood the system with liquidity and hopefully inflation will return. Anything to hold off dreaded deflation.” – Richard Russell, Dow Theory Letters, 01-26-10

 Up until this instant, while it had been OK to question The President's competance at the bar over a beer, in the elevator, or over the telephone while sitting there with your feet on the desk,  no credible public source had felt the need, or found the stones, ... take your pick, ... to question the man's abilities.

 Now comes the following from The Wall Street Journal.

The SEC on Friday January 29, 2010 created new rules for money market funds.  

Since all of the money you think of as cash, that is not parked in your wallet or on deposit at your local bank is invested in a money market fund, you need to be on to this.

The facts are here.

The more cynical, shrill and possibly realistic assessment provided by R.E. McMaster follows.  The McMaster quote links to a GLG analysis of the rule having to do with "Breaking the Buck".

 Thanks to the SEC, US money market funds can now suspend redemptions if they so please. Good luck to investors who have their hard earned funds in money market accounts when the next financial meltdown hits. Excuse me, but whose money is it? 

And yes, my observant friend, the sky blue font at the top is suggestive of my thoughts on this item.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 the SEC offered the following,

"Companies must consider the effects of global warming and efforts to curb climate change when disclosing business risks to investors."  Bloomberg 01/27/2010

At the risk of becoming redundant.