True and Lasting Power Comes From Sound Money and Sound Money Comes From Morality By: Curtis Ophoven 7/22/2010 - 24 Comments Sound money comes from economic policy that promotes individual moral decisions. Economic policy is created by legislators that are elected by the people in which the culture plays the largest role.    Your Ad Here Good and moral leaders come from a culture of morality that rewards honesty and integrity.  Leaders are a reflection of the culture. If the US is to remain a superpower we need to restore our moral heritage because that is the source of our economic policies, which result in sound money and our strength as a world leader.  Sound money means our dollar is worth its value, which is a result of high savings and production.  Without a strong dollar our nation will not remain a superpower.  And our current political leadership is destroying the value of the dollar every day. In exchange for the value of our currency, President Obama and team are trying to remain in power.  They are in effect destroying the nation from within.   In their pursuit of power they are sacrificing the value of the dollar by borrowing and printing trillions of dollars to grow and maintain the government’s vast power. Power is like freedom.  Without an understanding of how extremely rare and difficult is it to get, it cannot be properly defended and passed on to the next generation.  We need new leadership in America that value our long-term financial credibility above temporary power grabs, so that our children have a nation to inherit.    Related Articles Understanding The Economy: Part 3: America Must Fade from Prominence as a Superpower Promises, Promises, Promises - Obama Promises Economic Recovery Morality Needs to Increase to Replace Government Expansion Family and Business will Always be a Better Source of Welfare then the Government, When Are We Going to Stop Fooling Around? Morality Proceeds Economy, So Vote For Morality   Subscribe via RSS Copyright © 2010 PennyJobs.com. All rights reserved. << FREE >> Weekly Newsletter... Signup today and start receiving our free weekly newsletter! Reader Comments Comment 1 End Corp. Welfare Now Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 7:56:59 AM http://www.thenation.com/article/37889/no-oligarchy "The 400 richest families in America, who saw their wealth increase by some $400 billion during the Bush years, have now accumulated $1.27 trillion in wealth. Four hundred families! During the last fifteen years, while these enormously rich people became much richer their effective tax rates were slashed almost in half. While the highest-paid 400 Americans had an average income of $345 million in 2007, as a result of Bush tax policy they now pay an effective tax rate of 16.6 percent, the lowest on record. Last year, the top twenty-five hedge fund managers made a combined $25 billion but because of tax policy their lobbyists helped write, they pay a lower effective tax rate than many teachers, nurses and police officers. As a result of tax havens in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and elsewhere, the wealthy and large corporations are evading some $100 billion a year in U.S. taxes. Warren Buffett, one of the richest people on earth, has often commented that he pays a lower effective tax rate than his secretary. But it's not just wealthy individuals who grotesquely manipulate the system for their benefit. It's the multinational corporations they own and control. In 2009, Exxon Mobil, the most profitable corporation in history made $19 billion in profits and not only paid no federal income tax—they actually received a $156 million refund from the government. In 2005, one out of every four large corporations in the United States paid no federal income taxes while earning $1.1 trillion in revenue. But, perhaps the most outrageous tax break given to multi-millionaires and billionaires happened this January when the estate tax, established in 1916, was repealed for one year as a result of President Bush's 2001 tax legislation. This tax applies only to the wealthiest three-tenths of 1 percent of our population. This is what Teddy Roosevelt, a leading proponent of the estate tax, said in 1910. "The absence of effective state, and, especially, national restraint upon unfair money-getting has tended to create a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power. The prime need is to change the conditions which enable these men to accumulate power which is not for the general welfare that they should hold or exercise.… Therefore, I believe in a…graduated inheritance tax on big fortunes, properly safeguarded against evasion and increasing rapidly in amount with the size of the estate." And that's what we've had for the last ninety-five years—until 2010. Today, not content with huge tax breaks on their income; not content with massive corporate tax loopholes; not content with trade laws enabling them to outsource the jobs of millions of American workers to low-wage countries and not content with tax havens around the world, the ruling elite and their lobbyists are working feverishly to either eliminate the estate tax or substantially lower it. If they are successful at wiping out the estate tax, as they came close to doing in 2006 with every Republican but two voting to do, it would increase the national debt by over $1 trillion during a ten-year period. At a time when we already have a $13 trillion debt, enormous unmet needs and the highest level of wealth inequality in the industrialized world, it is simply obscene to provide more tax breaks to multi-millionaires and billionaires." by Bernie Sanders Comment 2 Steve Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 8:21:24 AM Need a job? Learn how to install Solar Panels. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/07/here-comes-the-sun-ten-million-solar-rooftops?cmpid=rss The solar industry accounts for about 46,000 jobs in the U.S., and is expected to rise to 60,000 by the end of 2010. North Carolina, a state that has embraced renewable energy development, projects that as many as 28,000 new jobs and a 10 million ton reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be achieved by 2030 if the state can draw 14% of its electricity from solar sources. Comment 3 Jen Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 8:38:29 AM @End Corp. Welfare Now - No, No, No, you have got it all wrong. More taxes is not the solution to our national budget that is growing by the trillions. Even if we increase the taxes on the rich this year and destroy millions of jobs in the process, next year the tax base will be even smaller and the government's income will drop even further - while the expense continue to grow as Congress and Obama expand the government in every direction. The solution is to stop the expansion of government and that means stopping Obama and Congress from expanding it. In Nov we begin this process of saving the nation as we vote the bums out of office. Comment 4 Liu Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 8:43:31 AM Come to China you doomers, we have vast territories of low population density (but not a lot of women) http://www.observer.com/2010/wall-street/new-doom "We all live in some kind of world we create for ourselves. And I think that what happened is that built into that world were very enlarged expectations about what life was going to be. There's been this sensation of excessive expectation that, frankly, became unsustainable." He had just returned from his ranch in the wilderness of central Idaho. "I just like it because it's massively low human density. It would be a place you could hole up in. But, gosh, I hope that doesn't happen." Last week, not very far from the hedge fund manager's ranch, the billionaire John Malone gave a little-noticed interview to The Wall Street Journal from Allen & Co.'s annual Sun Valley conference. Asked about the biggest risks to Liberty, his media conglomerate, Mr. Malone said his concern was this country's survival. "We have a retreat that's right on the Quebec border. We own 18 miles on the border, so we can cross. Anytime we want to, we can get away." His wife is more concerned: She's already moved her personal cash to Australia and Canada. "She wants to have a place to go," said Mr. Malone, No. 400 on this year's Forbes list of the richest people in the world, "if things blow up here." Comment 5 Chen Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 8:46:20 AM That's right, move to China now while you still use dollars. http://www.infowars.com/road-warrior-level-collapse-imminent-alex-jones-says-we-must-take-corrective-action-now/ "Move towards global currency as U.S. loses status, faces depression and sees dangerous cuts to services as economic instability sets in The United States as we know it has ended, Alex Jones warns, as the nation has lost its credit rating with China, its Dollar reserve status and faces saddling debt and cuts in programs and services" Comment 6 Romeriz Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 8:49:48 AM Just don't come to Spain or Portugal - its not safe here! http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/186769/Eurozone-Portugal-debts-spark-panic- EUROZONE: PORTUGAL DEBTS SPARK PANIC Comment 7 Sally Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 8:56:12 AM I would not think of moving to China or any other country in the world that bans or restricts firearms. Free men & women do not ask permission to bear arms. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others. Guns have only two enemies; rust and politicians. And finally: A free man cannot be defeated. He can only be killed. That becomes a much easier task if you've disarmed him first. Comment 8 Chen Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 9:03:02 AM Sally, you may not move to China but you'll wind up working for us some day. Chen http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/22-statistics-that-prove-that-the-middle-class-is-being-systematically-wiped-out-of-existence-in-america 22 Statistics That Prove That The Middle Class Is Being Systematically Wiped Out Of Existence In America Comment 9 Nomad Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 10:24:10 AM No support for small businesses http://www.mybudget360.com/small-business-loans-credit-card-contraction-banks-stick-it-to-small-business/ "The top 4 banks of Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citibank make up 55 percent of all banking assets.” If the government wanted to increase lending to small businesses why not do it directly? It could have been more efficient and cost effective to go directly to the source. But just like in housing, the middleman (i.e,. the banks) need to get their cut all along the way. They generate money by drowning the system in paperwork and charging interest and fees on every imaginable item. Wall Street with their i-banking syndicate are in the business of taking money at every point along the production continuum. The above data should not be shocking to anyone that has followed the crisis with open eyes. We also raise additional problems going forward because now Wall Street is favoring larger companies and banks going forward. There is now a stamp of approval for any too big to fail business (i.e., autos, banks, etc) and Wall Street will value smaller firms as having added risk even if they manage their operations wisely. Think of the massive consolidation that we saw with JP Morgan eating up WaMu, or Wells Fargo taking on Wachovia, or Bank of America with Countrywide. This all happened as smaller banks fail every Friday. Small businesses are in the same boat as most working and middle class Americans. The room to wiggle is getting smaller and talk of an economic recovery rings hollow. The only people shocked about lending contracting to small business are those who are too busy counting their bailout billions. Comment 10 Smithy Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 10:27:22 AM World at Risk of Folding in on Itself http://www.cnbc.com/id/38255206 The global economy is at risk of folding in on itself unless policy makers face up to the threats of inflation inflexibility and exchange-rate inflexibility, according to Arun Motianey, director of fixed income strategy at Roubini Global Economics. A Japan-like outcome is a big risk for the developed world with deflation a big danger, he said. Comment 11 RP Says: on Saturday, July 24, 2010 10:46:41 AM Competing currencies now being accepted in the USA http://www.connectmidmichigan.com/news/story.aspx?id=481793 see the following web sites to find out about the secret of money: http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/articles/edison html http://monetary.org http://webofdebt.com also see the videos "the secret of oz" and "the money masters", both are online. What you will find out is that we are in fact living under a feudal economic system Comment 12 blame game Says: on Sunday, July 25, 2010 7:28:25 PM http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203440104574402820278669840.html As the minimum wage has risen, the gap between the overall unemployment rate and the teen rate has widened, as it did again last month. (See nearby chart.) The current Congress has spent billions of dollars—including $1.5 billion in the stimulus bill—on summer youth employment programs and job training. Yet the jobless numbers suggest that the minimum wage destroyed far more jobs than the government programs helped to create. Congress and the Obama Administration simply ignore the economic consensus that has long linked higher minimum wages with higher unemployment. Two years ago Mr. Neumark and William Wascher, a Federal Reserve economist, reviewed more than 100 academic studies on the impact of the minimum wage. They found "overwhelming" evidence that the least skilled and the young suffer a loss of employment when the minimum wage is increased. Whatever happened to President Obama's pledge to follow the science? Democrats prefer to cite a few outlier studies known to be methodologically flawed. Comment 13 Fly Away Money Says: on Sunday, July 25, 2010 7:41:05 PM http://www.businessandmedia.org/commentary/2010/20100714135455.aspx There is flight of capital. Companies like Ford and Microsoft moving hundreds of millions of dollars to investments overseas. Mega-investors like Buffett are breaking long-standing, self-imposed prohibition on investing in non-U.S. companies in foreign lands. Insurers and health care companies are quietly buying up land beyond our borders. A major business story going unreported: the long, long list of iconic American brand companies closing countless stores, shops and restaurant locations here while expanding and opening outlets like mad in other countries. That means they are draining money out of local economies here and moving it over there. Starbucks. Wal-Mart. Etc. Can’t you hear this giant sucking sound? A June issue of New Yorker Magazine carried no fewer than five full-page ads inviting companies to relocate to Canada, where a healthier business climate, more encouraging tax environment, and better managed economy awaits. Canada. A group of U.S. doctors I know just sold off their patents on several medical devices – shuttering a small company employing nearly 200 people – to extract the money, for investment in a hospital in India. Comment 14 Dumb are us Says: on Sunday, July 25, 2010 7:53:35 PM Are we Idiots? http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/gm-using-bail-out-money-invest-brazil General Motors to Invest $1 Billion in Brazil Operations -- Money to Come from U.S. Rescue Program General Motors plans to invest $1 billion in Brazil to avoid the kind of problems the U.S. automaker is facing in its home market, said the beleaguered car maker. According to the president of GM Brazil-Mercosur, Jaime Ardila, the funding will come from the package of financial aid that the manufacturer will receive from the U.S. government and will be used to "complete the renovation of the line of products up to 2012." "It wouldn't be logical to withdraw the investment from where we're growing, and our goal is to protect investments in emerging markets," he said in a statement published by the business daily Gazeta Mercantil. Look at that! On top of it GM is saying Brazil shouldn't cough up the money since they are trying to grow their economy! Bail out money to GM should be immediately rescinded! Comment 15 Local 123456 Says: on Sunday, July 25, 2010 8:13:10 PM To Protest Hiring of Nonunion Help, Union Hires Nonunion Pickets http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704288204575362763101099660.html Comment 16 DEvon Says: on Monday, July 26, 2010 8:39:40 PM http://www.quicksprout.com/2010/07/26/10-mistakes-youll-make-when-starting-a-business/ 10 Mistakes You’ll Make When Starting a Business Comment 17 Alloy Says: on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 7:46:53 PM Graph: are the Rich really getting Richer? http://i.imgur.com/SJbOq.png Comment 18 This is not good Says: on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 7:52:30 PM Most of us were not alive during the Great Depression, but those who were remember how incredibly painful it was for America to deleverage and bring the economic system back into some type of balance. So if our current debt bubble is far worse, what kind of economic horror is ahead for us? The truth is that we are facing some circumstances that even the folks back during the Great Depression did not have to deal with.... http://seekingalpha.com/article/215927-the-one-economic-chart-that-really-matters?source=dashboard_macro-view Comment 19 Richie Rich Says: on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 8:11:23 PM http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/the-u.s.-middle-class-is-being-wiped-out-here%27s-the-stats-to-prove-it-520657.html?tickers=^DJI,^GSPC,SPY,MCD,WMT,XRT,DIA Of Course We are Getting Richer! Comment 20 What the bankers know that you don't Says: on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 8:14:44 PM The Death of Paper Money As they prepare for holiday reading in Tuscany, City bankers are buying up rare copies of an obscure book on the mechanics of Weimar inflation published in 1974. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/7909432/The-Death-of-Paper-Money.html Comment 21 Banker Suck Says: on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 8:17:51 PM That is how the largest theft in the history of the world was carried out. 300M people worked and saved their whole lives to set aside $2.5Tn into a retirement system that, if it were paying a fair compounding rate of 5% interest over 40 years of labor (assuming an even $62Bn a year was contributed), would be worth $8.4Tn today – enough money to give 100M workers $84,000 each in cash! The looting of FICA hid the massive deficits of the last 30 years in the Unified Budget. Presidents and Congresses were able to reduce taxes on the wealthiest Americans without complaint from the deficit hawks, because they benefited. The money went directly from the pockets of average Americans into the pockets of the rich. http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2010/07/phil-it-is-end-of-world-as-we-know-it.html Comment 22 Too Late Says: on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 8:21:19 PM Government Takeover of 401(k)s and IRAs? Bloomberg reports that the Obama Administration is considering measures to encourage Americans to convert their 401(k)s and IRAs into Government-provided annuities. The story has attracted a lot of negative commentary in the blogosphere: •Will Collier, Coming Soon: Substituting Government Annuities for Your 401(k)? •The International Forecaster, IRA's and 401k's to be Crammed Down While Tax Collections Plunge •The Market Ticker, 401k/IRA Screw Job Coming? •ROFASix, Is the Government Coming for Your IRA and 401k? http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2010/01/government.html Comment 23 Listen to the wind blowing Says: on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 8:23:26 PM http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/541131/201007211841/The-Tax-Tsunami-On-The-Horizon.aspx The 2011 Tax Tsunami On The Horizon Write a Comment Please keep comments civil and on-topic. Abusive or inappropriate comments will be removed without warning.  Name (required)     Email Address (required)     Website URL  Comment

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