Beat the bankers at their own game with the Ultimate Bank Secrecy Account



Grant Hall



I want to tell you about a fascinating man I have known for over six years who has probably forgotten more about privacy than most privacy advocates know.  His name is Grant Hall and he has just published his latest book on the subject: Privacy Crisis Banking; Bank Secrecy Plan & Resource Guide to Protect Identity, Money, and Property.  If you are looking for the ultimate in privacy protection, Grant will show you how it’s done in the volume’s 175 pages. 

If you want to secure your money and property without giving up your Social Security number or other personal information, there is a way.  Grant will also show you how to do your banking, cash checks, even open up a safe deposit box while remaining essentially anonymous.  And his system puts you in a position where your identity cannot be stolen in the future.  There are certain financial institutions that provide this secrecy, which also includes your business, and they can be found in the book.

According to the author, Privacy Crisis Banking “teaches self-reliance and keeps ‘owners’ in control of money, property and businesses.”  With an economy that still hasn’t recovered and a banking system that has historically taken advantage of its customers, plus there have been numerous breaches of security, this gives the free thinking person a way to put their mind at rest over their assets.

Getting inside the book, Grant launches the first chapter with an account of a barter company, Liberty Services that was shut down probably because it emphasized in its offering the devaluation of the dollar and the benefits of barter, when what it offered was a voluntary means of exchange by individuals and businesses.  Proof that your resources are not safe, even when there is no cash involved.

We are told of the massive trolling of our personal data by government and business computers to learn every aspect of our daily activities and lifestyle.  The question of who we are, revealed by IDs like our Social Security numbers, driver licenses and more.  There are personal stories of actual experiences of those seeking this complete secrecy, including some who have used Grant’s system with success.  And each chapter ends with a “Summary” and “Notes.”

If you are worried about what is happening to your private information, particularly in your banking habits, you must read Privacy Crisis Banking.  I guarantee you two things; you will not walk away from its pages without a new appreciation for the value of your personal data, and you will have developed a new candid suspicion of those in whose hands it resides.

Buy from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble online or your local bookstore.  

Democratic Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wants tougher gun laws

According to Brady Campaign Acting President Dennis Henigan, “The recent multiple shooting in Carson City, Nevada occurred despite the presence of an armed citizen. So did the mass shooting in Tucson.”  In other words this whole concealed-carry concept by the NRA and its boneheaded members is just hogwash.

Along with the other half of the founding Mayors Against Illegal Guns, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Menino is heading to the U.S. Congress to try and convince a bunch of unreasonable conservative gun bubbas—and even some Democrats—In both houses that the loose gun situation is out of control.  Menino and Bloomberg formed this coalition in 2006 and it has now grown to over 500 mayors in 40 states. 

Glock 19

They are asking for an overhaul of the background-check system for gun purchases which allowed such massacres as the one at Virginia Tech which killed 32 people, injuring 17 others, and the most recent in Tucson, Arizona killing 6 and injuring 13, including U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords from Arizona.  They both, known to be mentally ill, easily obtained a Glock 19 to do their dirty work, which emphasizes the need for more regulation.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns is supported by the Campaign to Fix Gun Checks, a non-profit organization to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.  The group says, “It’s time for common sense reforms to Fix Gun Checks and stem the tide of gun murders that leaves 34 Americans dead every day.”  With Arizona gun laws the loosest in the U.S., it is a wonder there haven’t been more incidents in that powder keg state.

And now a bill approved by The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee in October is expected to go before the full House and be passed as early as today.  Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey and Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York are asking President Obama to veto the bill if it comes to his desk.  The bill would make it easier for people to carry concealed handguns across state lines, observing the laws of their ownership state. 

This would immediately unleash a bunch of gun carrying fanatics from the state of Arizona across the country supported by laws that allow them to do just about anything they chose with their firearms.  People in that state can carry a concealed weapon without having a permit or any education in the handling of a gun.  It’s like buying bread at the local supermarket, only a loaf of bread won’t kill you.  It is lunacy at its highest level.



Mind you, these laws that allow guns on the street in anyone’s hands exist “…despite such evidence as the recent study by a Stanford economist demonstrating that right-to-carry laws do not decrease the overall level of crime and perhaps even increase it.”  You might remember that when Jared Loughner started shooting in Tucson, two gun-carrying cowboys came to the rescue and almost shot each other.

This fact is also supported by findings from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence which counters the National Rifle Assn. desire to allow gun owners to carry their guns anywhere they want to.  According to the Brady group, “The more lax the gun laws, the more likely that dangerous people will acquire handguns, as a recent report by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence profiling 13 murderers who held concealed-carry permits makes clear.”

The Brady Campaign is also fighting the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, H.R. 822, sponsored by Congressmen Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Heath Schuler (D-NC).  They also have a report out featuring the profiles of some of the worst concealed-carry killers including Jared Loughner, “…Paul Michael Merhige, who is charged with killing four family members on Thanksgiving in 2009, and Marqus Hill, who had had his license revoked but got it back and is charged with shooting a man 13 times, killing him.”

The Brady campaign also listed three primary reasons this bill would be dangerous for all.

1.    The legislation would override current state laws.

2.    It would force states to allow untrained visitors with guns like those from Arizona.

3.    New widely varying standards would apply in states with stricter rules.



Vigilante justice we don't need



According to Brady Campaign Acting President Dennis Henigan, “The recent multiple shooting in Carson City, Nevada occurred despite the presence of an armed citizen. So did the mass shooting in Tucson.”  In other words this whole concealed-carry concept by the NRA and its boneheaded members is just hogwash.

The wealthy get wealthier and the poor get poorer

We’ve hit a record in this country cultivating an environment where the poor can proliferate.  In the latest report from the U.S. Census, 1 in 15 people have joined the “poorest poor,” which means their income is less than $5,570, $11,157 for a family of four.  Also revealed is the fact that “…more Hispanics, elderly and working-age poor have fallen into poverty.” 

The 2010 population was 308,745,538 with 46.2 million individuals, or 15 percent, in poverty.  We’re supposed to be the greatest nation in the world but with 6.7 percent of its citizens the poorest poor?  Something’s not right.  However, the U.S. looks good compared with most of the world, until you consider that the majority of these are third-world countries.

 

Robert Moffitt, a professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University said, "There now really is no unaffected group, except maybe the very top income earners."  And since we just can’t seem to shake these recession blues, this trend is likely to stay with us for a while.  Inner-city Black ghettos are turning into Hispanic barrios.  And a sun-belt that has recently experienced prosperity is now seeing poverty emerge.  Around 20.5 million Americans comprise the poorest poor, which is almost 50 percent of those at the poverty level.

There were 40 states plus the District of Columbia that saw the poorest poor rise since 2007.  Not one of the states saw a decrease.  D.C. experienced the highest rate at 10.7 percent, and then Mississippi and New Mexico.  Nevada, surprisingly, had the biggest increase from 4.6 percent to 7 percent.  And an industrial Midwest today continues in the doldrums of extreme poverty.  There shouldn’t be a doubt in anyone’s mind that a huge economic inequity exists.

By ethnicity, the latest Census figures provide a breakdown of those earning less than $15,000 annually.  Whites represent 9.9%, Blacks 21.3%, Asians 11.4%, American Indians 15.9% and Hispanics 14.1%.  This income group represents 6.2 percent of U.S. families. 

When you look at the education attained by Americans age 25 plus, some of these figures aren’t hard to understand.  15.2 percent of the public did not finish high school.  29.2 percent did finish high school but only 17.5 percent went on to get a bachelor’s degree.  Considering the advances in technology, and the fact that many U.S. companies have outsourced the middle to lower level jobs overseas, these are most likely the new entries into the poorest poor population.

It is hard to comprehend how a great country like we live in could have allowed things to get so bad.  With 15 percent of our population in poverty and 6.7 percent representing the poorest of the poor individuals making $5,570 or less, the conditions are ripe for revolution.  The Occupy Movement has made its move and is all about the financial inequities of the American system.  If Occupy can be translated into votes, 2012 may be the start of something new and different in respect to the sharing of the wealth.

DING DONG! The bigot is gone

Racist JT Ready with Russell Pearce

AZ State Sen. Russell Pearce, of course. Beaten out of his office by another Mormon Republican from Mesa, AZ, who said he was going to bring class to the position.  The inference obviously that Pearce had none, which is well known outside the Arizona Tea Party and the ranks of double-digit IQs that support Pearce.  Jerry Lewis, a complete newcomer, received 53.4 percent of the vote to Pearce’s 45.4.  It seems to me eight percentage points represent a mandate the bigotry of the Russell Pearce legacy.

To boot, the man was the Arizona State Senate President, and perhaps one of the most influential politicians in the state’s history.  He also introduced the anti-immigration Bill SB1070, which had its most strict features on illegal aliens struck down by a federal court.  Pearce is also the first officeholder in Arizona to be recalled. 

According to Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek, Earl de Berge of the Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center, a nonpartisan polling company, said “There is a deep dissatisfaction in Arizona for what is viewed as politics in the extreme.”  As a resident of Arizona, I cannot agree with this statement.  From the Governor throughout the Republican side of the State Legislature, there is nothing but extremism apparent.  Just look at the state’s gun laws.  And these people did not get into office without an extremist public electing them.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat from Arizona, said, "With Sen. Russell Pearce's defeat in this recall election, everyone who practices the politics of fear and division was put on notice.”  Whether these lawmakers are bright enough to realize this is another thing entirely.  One thing is certain, Arizona pseudo-Gov. Jan Pearce will never get it.  She has vigilantly, virtually all by herself, put the redistricting of the state on hold by removing the Commission’s chairman Colleen Coyle Mathis.

But before leaving the demise of Arizona’s favorite racist despot, it is appropriate to show some last minute dirty tactics of Pearce supporters.  The candidate’s Tea Party supporters launched a deceptive robocall to Hispanic voters to draw them away from opponent Jerry Lewis.  A man with a Spanish accent says:

“Voters beware. If you plan to vote this Tuesday, you should know that both candidates for State Senator, Russell Pearce and Jerry Lewis, are Republicans. The only other candidate, Olivia Cortez was forced to withdraw last month. You can protest this one-sided election by writing in your own candidate.”

And the Tea Party’s Ron Ludders, who commissioned the message, says “This is an educational situation, totally,” adding, “There’s nothing sinister about this.”  Without a doubt, this is the epitome of “Give me a break!”

So at the end of the day we can gloat over one down, one to go.  Next, impeach Arizona’s bogus Gov. Jan Brewer.  Could the country’s meanest Sheriff Joe Arpaio be next?

Ditching your big bank is the way to go

Not just because 650,000 consumers have switched to credit unions since September 29, but because the American public is tired of being manhandled by these behemoths of greed.  The latest stupid move by not-to-bright Bank of America was the instigator of this latest rush away from institutions like them, Wells Fargo, Chase and Citibank.  B of A wanted to charge its customers $5 per month to access their own money by using their debit card.  Other banks thought of it, even tested, but decided no.

Even more have deserted the big guys and moved to smaller banks where service is much better, and they are not so greedy.  The bank dumping movement began officially on November 5, prompting another 40,000 to join credit unions.  This, combined with the larger figure is more than credit unions add in a whole year, expressing the ire of consumers in the U.S.  We switched to a smaller bank a couple of years ago, but they have eventually been acquired by BMO Financial Group of Canada.  We’ll see?

Derivatives time bomb

Occupy Wall Street formed “Dump Your Bank Day” which started on November 8.  The Occupy Movement has been very vocal over the big bank menace citing the consolidations going on for 20 years resulting in a concentration of four large banks.  They are JP Morgan, Citibank, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, and they add up to 40 percent of the total assets of the commercial banking system.  On the other hand there is risk involved in their trading of derivatives.  JP Morgan Chase and Citibank combined hold 54 percent of derivatives contracts.

Investopedia defines derivatives as: “A security whose price is dependent upon or derived from one or more underlying assets. The derivative itself is merely a contract between two or more parties. Its value is determined by fluctuations in the underlying asset. The most common underlying assets include stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates and market indexes. Most derivatives are characterized by high leverage.” 

The key here is the term “high leverage.”  Companies in that category are considered to be at some financial risk, in some cases bankruptcy.  So on top of everything else, the extra fees and charges by big banks, they could also tank if the derivatives market goes bad.  Both the above banks think their risks are manageable but Davis Paul, Pres. Of Fiscal Strategies Group, isn’t so sure.  He cites “…the corruption of the culture of commercial lending as banks embrace the trading culture that is central to the derivatives world.”



According to Marcy Gordon writing for the Associated Press, “Federal regulators bowed to pressure from big banks seeking a quick exit from the financial bailout program and did not uniformly apply the government's own conditions set for repaying the taxpayer funds.”  Get this; the banks wanted this quick exit so they could avoid any limits on executive’s compensation.  Taxpayers pay for the bailout and these greedy bastards go home with our money.  No wonder Americans are deserting the big banks in droves.

In all fairness to the system, the taxpayer will recoup the $245 billion invested in banks and will make an additional $20 billion in profits.  But it’s just the arrogance of this industry that has galled the American public as they continue to dump the culprits.

Impeach Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer



AZ Gov. Jam Brewer exposed



I hesitate to address the woman as Governor, which is because I feel she has never acted nor performed as the position demands.  Her incompetency is so blatant that Brewer’s time in office can best be described as a period of counter-productivity for the state of Arizona.  I can’t remember it ever being this bad in any state nationwide.  There is even a recommendation from Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) that she should be impeached over the redistricting mess.

I can say this because I have lived in the state of Arizona for almost twenty years, having lived before that in the South, Washington, D.C, Chicago and Los Angeles, where I witnessed some weird politics at times.  But nothing like the tyrannical government of Jan Brewer.  Both George W. Bush and the Windy City’s Richard J. Daley could have taken lessons from this woman, except that they at least had some modicum of intelligence; well at least Daley did.   

In case you haven’t heard, Brewer and her lackeys in the state legislature moved to remove Independent Colleen Coyle Mathis from the redistricting commission because she drew the wrong lines that put the GOP and some of its newest additions to Congress in jeopardy.  Mama Quayle, wife of former Republican V.P. Danny, even lobbied Brewer for her sonny boy Ben.  Pathetic.  This pitiable woman who sits in the Arizona state capitol building was in New York promoting her stupid book when all the redistricting furor was going on.



From what Israel said, the Dems are going all-out with “every strategy to correct this “…trampling of a fair and independent process."  The DCCC is going after House members in California, Illinois and Florida.  Arizona was not mentioned and that may be because this redistricting already puts Rep. Ben Quayle’s seat at risk, or they think the state is hopeless.  It is hard to imagine that voters would not see the ineptness of most GOP House members since they became a majority there.

So if progressives can’t get the attention of an apathetic American public by spelling out their ineptitude, maybe the approach is to start proceedings to impeach or recall politicians like Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce and Jan Brewer.  We could move on to national figures like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell.  Why didn’t we think of this for the GWB administration?  The political world is changing daily, and regardless of the trend to the right nationwide, I am not convinced that this country is so conservative it is willing to overlook the inequities in our social makeup.   

If you still don’t agree with the idea of impeaching Jan Brewer, you must listen to this audio, which should make up your mind for good.  It is from the Alan Colmes show on conservative, I repeat conservative, Fox radio.

Have you been exposed to mail order diseases?

You may have and not even know it.  That’s because some lunatic parents are ordering measles through the mail to intentionally infect their child and this friend, if you can call them that, subjected you and your children to the disease by you just being in their house.  They most likely got it from a Facebook group called, “Find a Pox Party in Your area.”  These nut cases aren’t satisfied with refusing to vaccinate their children, once again exposing the community to whatever they might catch.

And this is one moronic idea you can’t blame on the junk mail industry.  These new entrepreneurs are the Joneses next door, who were no doubt scared by the debunked vaccinations causing autism study that came from a doctor in Great Britain, who lost his license to practice medicine over the issue.  Doctors and other medical experts are concerned that these families still don’t get it, and continue to do stupid things like intentionally exposing their children to measles, chicken pox, mumps, whooping cough and more.

It is hard to understand how any responsible parent—and this does not imply that any of these wackos are that—could accept completely unknown organisms from strangers and intentionally infect their children.  To me this seems like sheer lunacy, the type that bears an investigation which could lead to removing the children from these homes.  My local Phoenix TV station did an excellent job of exposing these fruitcakes, actually talking to some of the participants.

KPHO-TV investigative reporter Morgan Loew noted that one doctor said this is dangerous.  Dr. A.D. Jacobson said chickenpox is “extremely contagious” and should not be sent through the mail.  This after Loew told him of the Facebook page that read, "I got a Pox Package in mail just moments ago. I have two lollipops and a wet rag and spit."  Another said, "This is a federal offense to intentionally mail a contagion.”  Yet another woman said, "Tuck it inside a zip lock baggy and then put the baggy in the envelope :) Don't put anything identifying it as pox."

You have to see the video below to believe it:

ABC News reports that medical authorities and doctors are warning parents that the practice of sending these diseases through the mail is “not only unsafe but illegal.”  They reconfirm the danger of trying something this critical to the child’s health when receiving it from a complete stranger. 

In the same report, another medical specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Isaac Thomsen, said what is being sent through the mail may not even be effective for transmitting the diseases.  But Thomsen warned further that “…lollipops could carry other more dangerous viruses, like hepatitis.”

Infant with measles

A Tennessee U.S. Attorney says that what these families are doing “…carries a sentence between less than a year to 20 years if convicted…”  With the precarious financial situation at the U.S. Postal Service right now, you would think they would jump at prosecution in obviously blatant violations of the law to protect their reputation.  Another question arises, does the neighbor’s mail containing dangerous pathogens infect my mail?

This whole thing is so bizarre that it is hard to understand why law enforcement hasn’t jumped in to stop these lamebrains from starting a plague across the U.S.  Although probably farfetched, this group has exhibited their willingness to skirt both the law and current medical practices, which makes them as dangerous as the stuff they are passing around the country.  They should be stopped now!

Afraid of losing your job? So is Congress…not yours, theirs

Now is your chance to speak your mind by voting out the blockheads in Washington in 2012 by the hundreds.  Yes, a clean sweep is necessary, although there may be a few that deserve salvaging.  I can’t come up with any names right now, but am sure some will surface as the fall elections draw near.  It would also be a good time to write your congressional representative to prepare them for the unemployment line, and you can reach them through the following sites: HOUSE; SENATE.

And for those of you who have complained about Congress in general but sort of condoned what your own lawmaker did, the experts say that the recent blundering of this esteemed body might change your mind on even that attitude.  In a September New York Times/CBS News poll, just one-third of the registered voters planned to send their representative back to Congress.  Only 6 percent of the same group believes in the re-election of Congress in general.

But a surprising statement in the New York Times article says that most operatives and analysts believe the Republicans will keep their majority in the House and challenge control of the Senate.  Considering the poll numbers coming from the same people covered in my Nov. 3 blog post, this allegation is hard to accept.  With only a 9 percent approval of Congress, and a majority of the public who feel income inequality must change, getting rid of a Republican majority is the only way to accomplish this.

But history contends that the party in the White House is the one to blame, and that is President Obama and the Democrats.  What I don’t comprehend is why the American public does not understand how Mr. Obama has been faced with the GOP of “NO” throughout his administration, making his job near impossible.  Where the President must be faulted is in his apparent inability to stand up to conservatives and insist on what he believes, and what the public wants.

What is worse is if we end up with another division in Congress that would allow a continued Washington standoff, the same kind of Catch-22 we have been going through the last three years.  This could result in a frustration of voters that provides no majority for either party in neither the Senate nor the House, producing a situation far worse than we have experienced to date.

Here are two good reasons most GOP candidates should be flushed from Congress. 

• First, they want to cut taxes when the country is in dire need of revenue, and ease regulations when that clearly didn’t work in the financial industry.
• Second, they want tax cuts for the wealthy strongly opposed by even some Republican voters.

Economist Bruce Bartlett, who worked for both the Reagan and H.W. Bush administrations, says cutting regulations to produce jobs is “nonsense.”  And this view is supported by both government and industry studies.  It’s the law of supply and demand that has held up hiring by most companies.  Reasons for layoffs found only 1,119 were due to regulations, where there were 144,746 because of poor business demand.

Applying these factors to the most popular Republican candidates, Herman Cain would significantly cut taxes for the wealthy while doing away with more regulation.  Mitt Romney made the unbelievable statement, “Don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom."  Tell that to the family who has just lost their home and ask them who they will vote for.

Reckless parents endanger children by not vaccinating

Measles are back.  Mumps are back.  Whooping cough is back.  All thanks to senseless parents that have decided not to vaccinate their children for these diseases, or delay vaccinations from the recommended schedule.  So far this year there are 152 cases of measles, double a typical year; the biggest outbreak in 15 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  In the pre-vaccine days, this disease killed between 3,000 and 5,000 Americans a year.

These irresponsible families claim the right to decide what is best for their children, but overlook the fact that what they are doing is affecting their entire community.  And this could spread nationwide if these crazies continue their crusade.  It all started with a nutcase doctor in Great Britain who published a study saying that a combined measles-mumps-rubella shot caused autism.  Many U.S. parents panicked and stopped their children’s vaccinations.

There were over twenty studies showing no link between the vaccines and autism, the incorrect study was retracted, and the doctor who submitted it was stripped of his license to practice medicine.  Yet alarmist parents continue to resist vaccinating their children: “…40% of parents say they have deliberately skipped or delayed a shot for their children.” 

This continued denial after debunking the autism study is possibly due to the book, The Vaccine Book, by pediatrician Robert Sears, who says "I'm not a proponent of mandatory vaccination for schoolchildren.  …vaccines should be a parent's choice.”

 

Forty-nine states allow parents to pass on vaccinations for religious reasons; 21 for their own individual reasons.  “From 1991 to 2004, the number of unvaccinated children in states allowing philosophical exemptions more than doubled,” according to a study in Journal of the American Medical Association.  And then there are those unvaccinated travelers bringing disease into the U.S. 

Diseased child

Cancer survivor Catherine Anderson, 41, contracted measles from a fellow passenger, even though she had measles as a child.  This was made possible because her migraine medications suppressed her immune system.  Children with cancer are even more vulnerable.

In another national survey it was found, “…that more than 1 in 10 parents vaccinated their children outside of the recommended schedule developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”  Others did not trust the recommended schedule and it was found that 13 percent used an alternative schedule.  A whopping 81 percent of parents who skipped or delayed vaccinations didn’t “agree” that what they were doing was harmful, thus, a complete lack of awareness of the consequences to the community.

The lead author of the study, Amanda Dempsey, says prior experience, or lack of, with the diseases could contribute to the attitude.  Those they would most likely skip were flu and chicken pox.  Dempsey also confirmed one of the reasons for skipping the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was the bogus study on autism.  Also, they may never have seen someone with the disease and therefore can’t relate to the effects.  Doctors and scientists say this creates a dangerous situation where these parents fear the vaccine more than the disease.

Some pediatricians refuse to treat children that aren’t vaccinated.  But the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not to “fire” them, rather they should work with them.  But this could pose a conflict.  If the doctor treats, does that mean he or she condones not vaccinating the child?

NEXT: Parents exposing their children with mail order diseases

Who do you trust? Not your government?

There are polls on Congress, the President, and government in general everywhere, coming out on almost a daily basis.  They reflect a rabid distrust in the system that runs our country and that is not good.  Only a pathetic 9 percent of the voting population thinks Congress is doing a good job.  Only 22 percent of voters strongly approve of Barack Obama’s job.  These are both recent surveys taken by Rasmussen, a conservative leaning research organization.

But the worst, coming from the New York Times/CBS News poll, found Americans’ highest level of distrust ever in their government.  Close to half of the public agree with the Occupy Movement in that it represents the will of the people.  A whopping two-thirds of the public want wealth spread more evenly in the U.S.  (There’s that old Social Democracy rearing its head again)  Seventy percent of Americans think Republicans favor the rich, 66 percent object to corporate tax cuts and want increased income tax on millionaires.

I could stop right here and have illustrated the dismal support Uncle Sam has from his constituents.  But unfortunately, there is much more.  Case in point, income inequality is greater today than it has been since the 1920s.  According to David Leonhardt in the New York Times, this is due to two broad categories: market forces and institutional forces.  The former a result of increased productivity and technology moving some workers up the ladder into better paying jobs.  The latter deregulation, decline of unions and the retardation of the minimum wage.

Another whopping 89 percent of Americans distrust government to do the right thing, and 74 percent think the country is going in the wrong direction.  In the NYT/CBS poll, 84 percent disapprove of Congress, but the President’s approval rating is 46 percent but with an identical disapproval rating.  More than half of the public are concerned over his plan to create jobs; the key complaint out there right now, especially if you are jobless.

If you are out of a job, the income inequity issue is simply not acceptable.  “Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats, two-thirds of independents and just over one-third of all Republicans say that the distribution of wealth in the country should be more equitable…”  (There’s that Social Democracy talk again)  With the disapproval of Congress jumping 22 percent since the first of the year when Republicans took over the House, people are definitely looking for a different, improved style of government.



And one of the primary reasons is that the top one-percent of earners more than doubled their incomes over the last three decades with those at the other end struggling to find jobs, put food on the table and keep their house out of foreclosure.  This report from the Congressional Budget Office also states that “…government policy has become less redistributive since the late 1970s, doing less to reduce the concentration of income.”

Other points in the study:

·       The most affluent fifth of the population received 53 percent of after-tax household income in 2007

·       People in the lowest fifth of the population received about 5 percent of after-tax household income in 2007

·       People in the middle three-fifths of the population saw their shares of after-tax income decline by 2 to 3 percentage points from 1979 to 2007

We are where we are today due to an eight-year run in the White House by George W. Bush and his ultra-conservative policies, followed by a brief period of respite in which Democrats did nothing.  Then, the GOP gains control over the House, with hefty numbers in the Senate that thwarts almost everything President Obama attempts to accomplish…just because it’s him.

But progressives have awakened and they are tuned in to 2012, alongside an American public that is fed up with the present government.  It should be an interesting year.