ledeagenda.com

From The Idaho Statesman:

Canyon County saw the biggest jump in jobless claims in Idaho in June, rising more than 1 percentage point to 12.2 percent, according to the Idaho Department of Labor. That was the highest unemployment rate for Canyon County since 1983 and the highest of any county in Idaho last month.

The statewide unemployment rate rose a half percentage point to 8.3 percent, while the nation’s unemployment rate edged up one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.5 percent.

In June, 3,400 workers in Idaho lost their jobs, bringing the total number of unemployed people in the state to 62,000 — a record, the Department of Labor said.

Unemployment in the Boise metropolitan area rose four-tenths of a point to 10.1 percent in June. Ada County’s rate rose two-tenths of a percentage point to 9.4 percent. Owyhee County recorded Idaho’s lowest rate in June at 3.5 percent.

What is not reported, however, is the drastic impact that this will have for the tax burden of those contributing to the Department of Health and Welfare.

Again, from the Statesman:

The Idaho Food Stamp Program has temporarily dropped its asset test for eligibility to help residents struggling with current economic conditions.

Previously, most people were not eligible for food assistance if they had more than $2,000 in assets, which most commonly consists of savings accounts or vehicles such as boats or RVs, according to a news release.

By temporarily dropping the asset test, Idaho joins 22 other states that have taken similar action. “People seeking food assistance today are some of our most responsible citizens‹they have always worked hard, paid taxes and helped other people in their time of need,” says Health and Welfare Director Richard Armstrong. “It is now time for us to help them as they search for work and struggle to keep a roof over their families’ heads. We are confident that temporary help today will reduce many of the stresses families are facing, so people can concentrate on finding work and becoming self-sufficient again. That’s what we all want.”

Beginning June 1, the state dropped the asset test for one year. By placing a temporary one year limit, state leaders hope the economy will recover and people will be able to find work and no longer need public assistance.

The Idaho Food Stamp Program supplements a family’s nutritional needs. In recent months, the program has experienced record growth, serving approximately 140,000 people in April, up 36% from the previous year.

So how large is the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare? It is the second largest section of the Idaho Budget, right behind the Department of Education. Should this 36% increase in food stamp enrollees continue the current $184,785,100 budget allocation will grow to an even more massive. $251,307,736. That works out to be $164.92 per taxpayer that is to be collected to fund the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

But, something else is amiss here the 36% increase in the number of people needing aid was under the OLD non-asset tested rules.

So, my real question is this: how much will the portion of our taxes that fund the Department of Health and Welfare increase now that the asset test has been thrown by the wayside? Let assume that the number of people who need welfare is directly related to the unemployment rate. This connection will be ambiguous at best, nor will it be tested for accuracy in this hypothetical scenario.

In June of 2008, right before the market really started it severe economic downturn, the unemployment rate was 5.5%. The most recent economic data, through March of 2009, puts the unemployment rate at 8.5%. Let’s also assume that the baseline was June of last year, a figure that represents fairly accurately Idaho’s historical unemployment rate.

Should this premise be accepted, even for a casual debate, then the rate of growth for the Department of Health and Welfare would be a whopping 155%.

The tax consequences? The current budget allocation would grow to a whopping $286,416,905. That would mean $187.96 in direct taxation for every man, woman and child just for the Health and Human services function that the government seeks to provide. For your average family of four, the tax burden will grow to $751.84. Compare that to the current $184m budget, which levies only a $485.04 burden for the family of four.

So, this begs the question: 1) Who authorized the Department of Health and Welfare to throw off the asset tests? and 2) How do they intend to recoup the costs associated with expanding this new benefit? The only answer, of course, in through increased taxation. Sadly, something even the Wall Street Journal has warned it’s readers is all but inevitable.

Stopping this ship from hitting the proverbial glacier will not be easy. We are literally staring death in the face, facing a crises that grows exponentially with every announcement of a new government program, new government assistance, or new regulations on the free market.

Many people have ratcheted up their self-reliance preparedness in the last few months. The sales of guns, ammunition, food storage, and the most essential lifestyle survival gear have gone through the roof as people are seeking peace of mind for increasingly turbulent and unpredictable times. The United States Mint has even had to suspend the sales of proof and uncirculated Gold and Silver American Eagles to meet the demand for bullion gold and silver purchases.

The nation is gripped with fear; we are out of control. The shackles or restraints on the Government by the Constitution will be willfully and blatantly ignored until otherwise stopped. The fear is that there will be no end to the increasing level of governmental control, regulation, and intrusion into our private lives. If necessary, it seems, the Constitution will be rendered moot after the fact once the laws are in place for complete governmental control.

And to be honest, this fear is justified. I mean, think about it, what sort of basic human needs will the government not provide for you? For the impoverished, we have welfare, for the homeless we have community housing, the sick, national health care, for the environment, Cap and Trade. Every aspect of our lives, from waking to eating to sleeping to working to commuting to rearing children to investing to food safety, you name it. All will be under the command of the government control grid.

We are all waiting. Getting prepared. But for what?

Our Founding Fathers have faced this fear before. After countless oppressions and struggles and a brutal war for independence, we gained freedom, liberty. That sacred trust was that our social compact with one another, the Constitution, would uphold Natural Law. That is, our Founders placed their trust in a system that inherently said our rights end where another person’s begin. We are to be free from force and compulsion to the greatest extent possible. Our rights were to be a positive prohibition against government action.

The sales of gold, guns and food are all going through the roof for a reason: we all recognize that unless we all take sudden and immediate action to stop this overwhelming tide of socialism our country will be lost forever. We are fearful of losing our own self-control, and to be prepared, many are stockpiling basic human essentials in an effort to prevent the loss of free will.

Like our Founders, we have a mighty rEVOLution to engage. And with rEVOLution comes responsibility.

First, we need a cause.

For my part in the battle, I have chosen to become involved with the Campaign For Liberty. Many of my dear readers are probably rolling their eyes right now (another C4L post Luke?). The Campaign For Liberty’s mission is to, “promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity”. In other words, the Campaign is picking up were Ron Paul’s Presidential bid left off.

I am not suggesting that the C4L is the only political organization worthy of involvement. In fact, I think it will take many different organizations working together and finding agreement on a whole host of issues to find solid, cohesive momentum in a single direction. The point is to find a group that you can relate to and get involved.

For the record, Americans For Prosperity, The American Liberty Alliance, and Freedom Works all seem to be legitimate organizations seeking to gear Americans towards liberty and against socialism. There may be more, feel free to list them in comments, these are just the ones that seem to be the most organized, the broadest in agenda and most national in scope.

Second, we need the candidates and campaign volunteers.

I would like to suggest that the bailouts, the stimulus package, hell the whole gambit of spending and government expansion over the last decade, has inspired a whole new generation of political candidates. Many of them are operating under the broad and as-yet undefined mantra of the Freedom Movement. RJ Harris, Adam Kokesh, Peter Schiff and Rand Paul are a few stepping forward for the first time. But know this: the movement is nationwide, and at nearly every level.

In the loosest possible terms I will define the Freedom Movement’s purpose as this: to maximize individual liberty through strict adherence to the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. From there, every candidate will differ, but the goal is the same: a sudden and dramatic change of course from the direction of Bush/Obama socialism.

The Titanic sank because it spotted the iceberg a mere 350 yards to late. What will the fate of the USS Constitution be? By getting involved passionately, aggressively, and uncompromisingly, we may have just enough time left to change the course of history. And this time, we might actually get strict adherence to the Constitution.

“Proclaim Liberty throughout the land and to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.”- Lev 25:10

Political Affiliation: Republican Constitutionalist Libertarian

Ok I’m frustrated, angry even. Is there no Republican who has a sense of morality or values? Where is our leadership?

I thought we had hit bottom with the nomination of John McCain. Sadly, it seems, we still have a long, long way to go.

CNN: Gov. Sanford steps out on wife, duties as Governor, for week long extra-martial affair in Argentina.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

To make matters worse, he was one of a very-few handful of Republican Party leaders who had the courage and conviction to truly stand up and fight the bailouts and stimulus spending.

Every single time we start to find a political stride, rebuild our message and return to our values this happens. I am not saying we need to be judgmental, or even moralistic. But what I am saying is this: do we really have time for all this corruption, greed, arrogance, graff and adultery?

Sanford… I saw him as 2012 Presidential material. I thought he might stand a chance to unite the libertarian and conservative wings of the Republican party. I thought he could satisfy both the Palin and Paul supporters who remain locked-in to their candidates (myself, being a Pauler, included).

SANFORD: WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY FROM THE PERILS OF FINANCIAL RUIN AND SOCIALISM AND YOU SEE FIT TO STEP OUT ON YOUR WIFE, YOUR DUTIES AS GOVERNOR, FOR A LUSTY HIKING TRIP?

Uggh…

I wonder if it’s a setup. A compelling case could be made for targeted political character-assassinations against those who are fighting socialism, the bailouts and tyranny. But still, that’s no excuse.

We need men to be men. We need Christians to follow Christ. Our resolve, being tested mightily, needs to be the strongest it has ever been. We cannot let these trifles to enter our lives, not now, not ever. Men: every act against your duties as a man, a father and a husband makes our burdens greater and weakens our resolve. There can be no place for this, far, far too much is stake. Perfection must be our goal, both personally and politically. Now is the time that everything must be on the table, nothing held back.

We must be reminded that our Lord God has promised corruption and tyranny to all who stray from His ideals:

“But you, O God, will bring down the wicked

into the pit of corruption;

bloodthirsty and deceitful men

will not live our half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.”  (Psalm 55:23)

I have called for repentance before. I repeat that call today.

Let us return to the Constitution. Let us return to Liberty and Freedom. Let us mean it when we say that our ideals are limited government, smaller taxation and personal freedom. Let us be men of such wisdom and character that we earn our way to lead this nation out of the wilderness. Let us make our hope that divinely inspired document, the Constitution.

From WSJ:

The Obama administration is proposing the creation of a new office within the Treasury Department to coordinate policy in the state-regulated insurance sector, according to a near-final draft of the plan.

The office would be charged with gathering information about the insurance sector and negotiating international agreements, according to the draft. It would also be empowered to consult with the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on insurance matters if a failing insurer needs to be resolved by the government. Legislative action would be required to establish the new office.

The proposed insurance office is a far cry from the federal regulation of the industry that some insurers had been seeking. Large property and casualty firms and life insurers have pushed for years to have an optional federal charter but have been met with stiff opposition from smaller firms and insurance agents.

Or this…

From The Hill:

Senate lawmakers from both parties raised questions on Thursday about one of the main elements of President Obama’s proposal to restructure the financial system: granting more power to the Federal Reserve.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner defended the proposal and the Fed’s role as a “systemic risk regulator” at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

But committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) continues to have questions about granting the central bank authority to oversee “systemic risk.” Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) took aim at the Fed for failing to regulate lending practices among large firms at the center of the financial crisis. Shelby questioned the administration’s plan to vest more power in an agency that traditionally has tried to maintain its independence in setting monetary policy.

Or this…

From Mercury News:

Progressives must keep demanding a single-payer health care system to ensure that the reform package Congress eventually votes upon at least has a robust public option, Rep. Barbara Lee told local health care and community leaders Monday.

About 250 people attended the national heath care plan discussion that Lee, D-Oakland, hosted in the Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church on West MacArthur Blvd. Joining Lee on the dais were several Bay Area health policy experts, most of whom extolled a single-payer plan — in which one source of money, most likely the government, pays all health care providers — but acknowledged that’s essentially a political impossibility.

But they said pushing for a single-payer plan will build support for the proposal unveiled last week by the Democratic chairman of the Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees, which at least includes a public alternative to private insurance.

“At no point can we be silent,” Lee told the crowd, adding President Barack Obama wants “a democratic movement of people” to push for the best possible plan under the political circumstances. “Health care should not be driven by a profit motive. I don’t believe it should be an industry — I believe it’s a human right.”

Where does the Constitution grant Congress the right to take action in these areas?

Where does the Constitution grant Congress to overrule our inalienable rights AGAINST government interference?

There are 18 specific, enumerated powers given to Congress and two clauses to allow action on these powers- the interstate commerce clause and the general welfare clause.

Where does President Obama claim to draw his power from? Where does he claim legitimacy for his actions? We need to only look at a key line from his Inauguration:

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Translation: ”expedience’s sake” seems to be whatever fits Obama’s socialist agenda.

*Sigh*Virginia State Police: Assesing Potential Threats Of Violence  Note: This one is too large to upload, save a hard copy.