This is a very cool representation of the federal budget.  It’s best viewed in full screen mode and you can zoom in/out to see additional detail.

Death & Taxes 2010

Updated: Death & Taxes 2011 link

Like I’ve said in the past, I’m not against some sort of health care reform/change to address current and future issues.  I’m just not understanding why everything in this administration has to be rushed through for approval….without open and “thorough” review.  I’m not saying debate it to death, but any sort of health care reform will impact a huge area of our economy and we should not be attempting to “fast path” it through the process. 

Premiums Aren’t Going Down Under Obamacare

This is a pretty unsettling video that shows how our government is devaluing the dollar with it’s fiscal policy and actions.  Some of my more liberal friends seem to focus on Glenn Beck being in the video, as opposed to the data.  So here’s another source which provides basically the same message.

http://hnn.us/articles/60041.html

I mean…come on…is this approach really indicative of the caliber of people currently making national fiscal decisions?

From the HS Dent Blog:

“By Rodney Johnson⋅ November 12, 2009

The WSJ – and everyone else – is reporting this morning that the Obama administration is considering taking unused TARP funds and applying them to the federal deficit.  Everyone who suggested or went along with this should be publicly marked with the scarlet letters ”FF” for Fiscal Failure, which would allow us to know very quickly who can and who cannot get involved with fiscal policy.  The TARP funds were authorized by Congress, but were created by borrowing, which of course is part of the national debt.  To suggest that you will borrow more through one program in order to pay down borrowing through another program is nonsense.  It is nothing more than a political show to make observers think that we are doing something constructive, when in fact we are not.  The logical and boringapproach is, if you don’t need all the TARP money, don’t borrow it in the first place.”

I’ve never understood how anyone can claim that they know how to calculate (with any level of accuracy) how a job is “saved”.

” The federal government sent Bob Bray $26,174 in stimulus aid to fix a fence and replace the roofs on public apartments in Blooming Grove, Texas, a town of fewer than 900 people outside Dallas. He hired five roofers and an inspector to do the job. But the number of jobs he reported to the government looked very different — 450 jobs….”

Analysis finds stimulus confusion