In the wake of the Treasury Department’s newly released summary of federal spending for 2012, it’s now possible to detail just how profligate the Obama years have been. Here’s the upshot: Under Obama, for every $7 we’ve had, we’ve spent nearly $11 (or, to be more exact, $10.95). That’s like a family that makes $70,000 a year — and is already knee-deep in debt — blowing nearly $110,000 a year.
Monthly Archives: October 2012
Weekly Jobless Claims Drop Proves to Be Short-Lived – US Business News – CNBC
Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment benefits jumped 46,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 388,000, the highest in four months. The increase represents a rebound from the previous week’s sharp drop. Both swings were largely due to technical factors.
more via Weekly Jobless Claims Drop Proves to Be Short-Lived – US Business News – CNBC.
Welfare spending jumps 32% in four years – Washington Times
Welfare spending has grown substantially over the past four years, reaching $746 billion in 2011 — or more than Social Security, basic defense spending or any other single chunk of the federal government — according to a new memo by the Congressional Research Service.
The steady rise in welfare spending, which covers more than 80 programs primarily designed to help low-income Americans, got a big boost from the 2009 stimulus and has grown, albeit somewhat more slowly, in 2010 and 2011. One reason is that more people are qualifying in the weak economy, but the federal government also has broadened eligibility so that more people qualify for programs.
more via Welfare spending jumps 32% in four years – Washington Times.
RealClearPolitics – 2012 Election Maps – Electoral Map
Whoopi Attempts Gotcha On Ann Romney, Wrongly Says Mormonism Forbids Military Service | RealClearPolitics
Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of “The View on ABC, failed at an attempt to get Ann Romney with a “gotcha” question on Mormonism and military service. Romney, who appeared as a guest on the mid-day talk show, had to correct Goldberg on her faith’s view on military service. Goldberg wrongly said that service in the armed forces was forbidden by the religion and was promptly corrected by Mrs. Romney. Transcript below.
PolitiFact Wisconsin | Romney says Obama also has investments in Chinese companies and through a Cayman Islands trust
One of the many tense moments in the second presidential debate turned on a new topic in the race: President Barack Obama’s pension account.
Here’s how it came up: Early in the face-off, Obama scoffed at Mitt Romney’s pledge to crack down on unfair trading practices by China, saying Romney is currently invested in companies “that are building surveillance equipment for China to spy on its own folks.”
continued via PolitiFact Wisconsin | Romney says Obama also has investments in Chinese companies and through a Cayman Islands trust.
Govt spent $1.028 trillion on welfare in FY 2011 | The Daily Caller
The government spent approximately $1.03 trillion on 83 means-tested federal welfare programs in fiscal year 2011 alone — a price tag that makes welfare that year the government’s largest expenditure, according to new data released by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee.
The total sum taxpayers spent on federal welfare programs was derived from a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on federal welfare spending — which topped out at $745.84 billion for fiscal year 2011 — combined with an analysis from the Republican Senate Budget Committee staff of state spending on federal welfare programs (based on “The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government Finance”), which reached $282.7 billion in fiscal year 2011.
more via Govt spent $1.028 trillion on welfare in FY 2011 | The Daily Caller.
Welfare spending jumps 32% in four years – Washington Times
Welfare spending has grown substantially over the past four years, reaching $746 billion in 2011 — or more than Social Security, basic defense spending or any other single chunk of the federal government — according to a new memo by the Congressional Research Service.
The steady rise in welfare spending, which covers more than 80 programs primarily designed to help low-income Americans, got a big boost from the 2009 stimulus and has grown, albeit somewhat more slowly, in 2010 and 2011. One reason is that more people are qualifying in the weak economy, but the federal government also has broadened eligibility so that more people qualify for programs.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, who requested the Congressional Research Service report, said it underscores a fundamental shift in welfare, moving away from a Band-Aid and toward a more permanent crutch.
more via Welfare spending jumps 32% in four years – Washington Times.
Mitt Romney’s Bailout Bonanza | The Nation
This investigation was supported by the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute and by the Puffin Foundation. Elements of it appear in Palast’s new book, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps (Seven Stories). Research assistance by Zach D. Roberts, Ari Paul, Nader Atassi and Eric Wuestewald.
Mitt Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout has haunted him on the campaign trail, especially in Rust Belt states like Ohio. There, in September, the Obama campaign launched television ads blasting Romney’s November 2008 New York Times op-ed, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” But Romney has done a good job of concealing, until now, the fact that he and his wife, Ann, personally gained at least $15.3 million from the bailout—and a few of Romney’s most important Wall Street donors made more than $4 billion. Their gains, and the Romneys’, were astronomical—more than 3,000 percent on their investment.
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