Saturday, February 18, 2012

Who Owns the US National Debt


With the rapid rise in the U.S. government debt and its recent approval to go further tax payers are confused as to who owns the debt and what might be their motivation for taking on more. The above link shows 10 largest holders of the US national debt.

The holders of the debt are:

1. The privately owned U.S. Federal Reserve is the largest holder at 6.3 trillion. It goes on its balance sheet as an asset. . This means that the nation has a debt that is used to fund ambitious programs and it creates and asset in the Fed at the same time. I wonder what a CPA would think of that.

2. China is the second largest with $1.1 trillion. This seems to indicate that they have the ability to influence significantly the value of the dollar and thus the ability for the U.S. to compete.

3. The third holders of the U.S. debt, at $1.1 trillion are investors and Savings Bonds. The investors are made up of estates, corporations, trusts and businesses. They will look to be repaid with some profit.

4. Japan holds $1.0 trillion and is one of our largest trade partners.

5. Pension funds have $0.8 trillion, which is looked at as secure and needed for the retirement of workers.

6. Mutual funds hold $0.7 trillion. These are primarily held by investors and others. It has been declining since December 2008.

7. State and local governments hold $0.5 trillion, which has held relatively constant in since 2006.

8. Another country that holds U.S debt is the United Kingdom at $0.4 trillion. This has been increasing dramatically in the last few years.

9. Banks and credit unions hold $0.3 trillion, but the amount has been falling in the last year.

10. Insurance companies hold $0.3 trillion.

The top 10 entities are mostly organizations within the governments or other U.S. based entities or companies. Only $2.5 trillion is held by other countries. It is surprising how many entities like the Federal Reserve have been financing the enormous growth of the debt. It makes one feel that we are madly spending and have eager buyers of the debt. The Congress or legislative branch authorizes debt increases. The bureaucracy spends and spends. No checks and balances exist and it controls the entities that buy the debt. Taxpayers will be left holding the bag

Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act

The Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act




Ed. Note: Cross-posted from the Department of Justice blog. Learn how you can take action to stop violence against women at WhiteHouse.gov/1is2many.

Marking the 17th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) helps us both appreciate the great strides that have been made in addressing all types of violence against women and recognize the fact that more needs to be done to create a society free from domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) remains committed to addressing these crimes in a broad and comprehensive manner.

The concept of a coordinated community response is one of the most critical and visible achievements of VAWA.   In the years since VAWA’s enactment by Congress in 1994, we have witnessed a sea-change in the ways that communities respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.  VAWA encourages communities to bring together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds to share information and to use their distinct roles to improve our responses to and prevention of violence against women. These groups include, but are not limited to: victim advocates, police officers, prosecutors, judges, probation and corrections officials, health care professionals, leaders within faith communities, and survivors of violence.  New programs and amendments have strengthened the law and enhanced our work.

We continue to be grateful to this administration and its role in bringing greater attention to and awareness of these crimes.  The ongoing support of the President and Vice President inspires and encourages us in our day-to-day work. In his Proclamation marking the 15th Anniversary of VAWA, President Obama described some accomplishments and important tasks ahead.  His words continue to strengthen our resolve:
…Communities recognize the special needs of victims and appreciate the benefits of collaboration among professionals in the civil and criminal justice system, victim advocates, and other service providers. With the support of VAWA funds, dedicated units of law enforcement officers and specialized prosecutors have grown more numerous than ever before. Most importantly, victims are more likely to have a place to turn for help — for emergency shelter and crisis services, and also for legal assistance, transitional housing, and services for their children.
Despite this great progress, our Nation’s work remains unfinished. More families and communities must recognize that the safety of our children relates directly to the safety of our mothers. Access to sexual assault services, especially in rural America, must be increased. American Indian and Alaska Native women experience the highest rates of violence, and we must make it a priority to address this urgent problem. We must also work with diverse communities to make sure the response to violence is relevant and culturally appropriate. We must prevent the homicide of women and girls who have suffered from domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Far too many women in our communities and neighborhoods, and across the world, continue to suffer from violence. Inspired by the promise and achievement of the Violence Against Women Act, our Nation stands united in its determination to end these crimes and help those in need.
We invite everyone to add his or her voice to putting an end to violence against women.  Specific opportunities are available in many communities during the four observance months: October (Domestic Violence Month), January (Stalking Awareness Month), February (Teen Dating Violence Month) and April (Sexual Assault Awareness Month). For more information about OVW or these awareness months, please visit http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/.

We remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.

Susan B. Carbon is the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

What to do?

What to do?

Some time ago I criticized the Tom Green County Democratic Party Elite for not providing and alternate view to counter the view of local Republicans. After all democracy needs participation and conflicting opinions in order to function.
 
This is the list of suggestions I came up with. It is not complete and has not been rewritten from the my first draft.

1) Oppose those who seek to divide the community along the lines of race. Work towards getting race identification removed from voter registration.

2) Publically show opposition to views publically expressed by groups such as the TEA Party. "Justice has not just to be done it needs to be seen to be done." You are not trying to convince TEA Party members or supporters to change their minds, you need to discredit the TEA Party, etc in the eyes of the public.

3) Stop letting the Standard Times set your agenda. No more articles from the Tom Green County Democratic Party Chairperson debating with the Republican Party Chairman printed side by side in the paper. Write letters to the editor or use press releases at your discretion on issues which are relevant.

4) Recruit support from the younger generation. The Angelo State University and high schools. Encourage this group to participate in politics and vote. Democrats made no statement to support those who protested KKK advertising in the ASU newspaper.

5) Work with candidates to make sure they understand candidate registration rules and costs. Help candidates to fill out forums correctly and submitted on time.

6) Don’t patronize one particular business when having monthly meetings. Don’t require attendees to spend money to attend and participate. Don’t hold meetings in a church or other religious setting.

7) Oppose the change of polling places. The change violated article five of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requiring states with a history of racial discrimination to seek permission from the Federal Government.

8) Have open meetings where voters can directly ask questions. Be come skilled at handling these situations. After time trouble makers will be identified. No one buys the excuse that you are weeding out repeating questions. If the candidate answers the question most likely a question will not be asked again.

9) Do not invite Republican candidates to your candidate forums. If I want to hear the Republican view I will go to the republican candidate forum.

10) Support and recognize elected candidates on a monthly basis. Work with city candidates to propose ways of saving tax payers money instead of letting the city staff run things.

11) Support a hired/appointed San Angelo police chief and a full time San Angelo city mayor. Support better financial reimbursement for city council members.

12) Support better qualifications for city and county police forces. No more GEDs

13) Speak out in favor of prisoner reform and the promotion of reform and rehabilitation in Texas prisons. Tom Green County is a place to start. Harsh punishment for all only creates more hardened criminals and gangs. Repression breads rebellion.

14) Support state wide standardized testing in Texas schools. Support high standards of learning.

15) A branch Texas Teachers Association is a must in Tom Green County/San Angelo.

The redistribution of water.

The redistribution of wealth may not get unanimous support among the America people however the redistribution of water should.
A major undertaking the size of the building of the freeway system needs to be enacted on the federal level with support from the states. A water diversion and storage system needs to be developed to capture the over abundance of water which causes annual flooding along the Mississippi and other water ways. This excess water needs to be captured, stored and distributed to areas of our nation which suffer from lack of water.
After the water is captured and stored in reservoirs a system of distribution pipelines need to be built to carry the captured excess water to states, such as Texas, which suffer from periodic droughts.
A redistribution of water resources to areas of the country which need the water and the prevention of destruction caused by flooding would provide an economic boost to all areas of the USA.