What exactly happened Wednesday, and what does it mean? The world's banks just got a new line of credit at a cheaper rate.
Has the crisis in Europe been solved? No. Those countries are all just as broke as they were. This is designed to give them time to perhaps put their austerity measures into place so they can begin to work their way out of it.
There are demonstrations in Greece. The citizens feel that since their government got their last advance after putting the measures into place, they don't really have to do anything anymore.
Will the European Union break up and many of the countries go back to being responsible for only themselves? There is a better than 50 percent chance that will happen. A country is able to support its total debt (public and private) based on its GDP.
As the Great Recession continues, citizens are reducing their debt load while governments borrow more. The total debt ratio in the United States (296 percent of GDP) doesn't change much. The alleged stronger countries in the world have similar high numbers: Japan, 471 percent; United Kingdom, 466 percent, Switzerland, 313 percent. But an Italy (315 percent) or a Spain (366 percent) doesn't have the economic size or resilience to make it work.
This is going to be a long process. The central banks' action is a good first step, but it doesn't fix anything.
JIM MONROE
TREASURER, SOUTHERN COMMUNITY BANK
Winston-Salem
Gun owners are responsible
Winston-Salem City Council members are hypocrites with respect to carrying concealed handguns in parks ("Hidden guns banned in 52 parks," Nov. 22). They complained that Raleigh took away their ability to control local parks without any concern for what they want, and then they didn't allow any constituents to speak.
But the new law only allows people who have concealed-carry permits to carry in parks. Criminals can still be arrested for illegally carrying firearms there. Permit holders have a background check from the FBI, take eight hours of training on use-of-force laws, and pass a shooting qualification.
Contrary to what Police Chief Scott Cunningham talked about — having firearms present escalating the threat of force — it does the opposite. Concealed-carry permit holders know there is a deadly weapon present. Because of this knowledge, we have to back away from any altercation, including just a verbal one, because we could lose the right to self-defense by being a willing participant. We will walk away from a potential confrontation.
North Carolina has had concealed-carry permits for 16 years. The threats of "blood in the streets" have never materialized. That is because concealed-carry permit holders are among the most law-abiding citizens we have.
I will end with a question: If we are fully vetted by the sheriff, state and FBI, and are considered responsible enough to carry firearms to defend ourselves and our families, what changes when we cross an arbitrary line on the ground?
DOUG BADGER
Winston-Salem
Correspondent of the week
That debt
It appears as if the American people will not face up to the fact that our country is $15 trillion in debt, and increasing every day. Thanks to our politicians of both parties for the past 60 years for funding programs by raiding the Social Security "trust fund," for example, and not providing the proper funding for all the entitlement programs, and the many "pork barrel" expenditures that all the politicians favor. We now have to face the fact that every one of us, whether on Social Security or in the private or public sector, will all have to sacrifice dearly to either pay our way out of our debt, or collapse as a country, much like most of the European countries are probably going to have to do if they can't control their debt. If the U.S. were to tax at 100 percent the so-called "top 1 percent," or all millionaires, this tax income wouldn't even come close to taking care of our debt, let alone all of the "entitlements" we currently spend money on that the U.S. doesn't have.
Doesn't anybody understand this? It seems everyone screams that they don't want their funding reduced and nobody will face up to the reality of the situation. But everyone will have to suffer if we want to continue to exist as a country.
You cannot make the military the scapegoat — if we don't properly fund defense, all will be lost anyway. It's time for clear thinking on everyone's part.
HOWARD MOFFATT
Winston-Salem
Sum It UpIt appears as if the American people will not face up to the fact that our country is $15 trillion in debt, and increasing every day. Thanks to our politicians of both parties for the past 60 years for funding programs by raiding the Social Security "trust fund," for example, and not providing the proper funding for all the entitlement programs, and the many "pork barrel" expenditures that all the politicians favor. We now have to face the fact that every one of us, whether on Social Security or in the private or public sector, will all have to sacrifice dearly to either pay our way out of our debt, or collapse as a country, much like most of the European countries are probably going to have to do if they can't control their debt. If the U.S. were to tax at 100 percent the so-called "top 1 percent," or all millionaires, this tax income wouldn't even come close to taking care of our debt, let alone all of the "entitlements" we currently spend money on that the U.S. doesn't have.
Doesn't anybody understand this? It seems everyone screams that they don't want their funding reduced and nobody will face up to the reality of the situation. But everyone will have to suffer if we want to continue to exist as a country.
You cannot make the military the scapegoat — if we don't properly fund defense, all will be lost anyway. It's time for clear thinking on everyone's part.
HOWARD MOFFATT
Winston-Salem
Was the state legislature right in allowing concealed weapons in public parks?
there is no freedom without noise - and no stability without volatility.
ReplyDeleteexactly
ReplyDeleteBobby, you missed my excellent discussion on homosexuals showering with heterosexuals last night.
ReplyDeleteI still contend that it's problematic. I predict that there will be civil law suits coming in the future reletive to the issue, especially because of the change in don't ask, don't tell policy in the military. In that regard, the government has put itself in a position of protecting primarily military women from unwanted sexual advances in bathrooms and showers but not men. Particularly since the military is mainly made-up of men.
This the contrary to the 'equal protection clause' of the constitution. The very clause that gays used to change the don't ask, don't tell policy.
Here's what my idol had to say about it. Do hear or see any hypocrisy in his words or mannerisms?
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/barney-frank-straight-soldiers-must-shower-gays-not-women-men
Buckboot, you are so stupid that your keyboard laughs at you.
ReplyDeleteOne in five US military personnel are women. One in three of those have been raped or sexually assaulted by other service members.
Rush...you flaming moron. How does that change what I posted?
ReplyDeleteYou so pathetically stupid, that you think you're smart. What a psychosis!
I've recently spoken to some women about the bulldykes that frequent gyms/locker rooms/showering facilities. And they too are concerned about their safety with all the bulldykes and transgender people walking around inside.
ReplyDeleteWe are constantly talking about sexual orientation. Yet, we never talk about it terms of what's going on in these showering facilities.
ReplyDeleteI think the Sandusky scandal has put new light on the subject. We (primarily the media) always say 'pedophile'. Why does the liberal media always leave out the 'homosexual' component of the phrase. These men are drawn to little boys, not little girls, so they are homosexuals.
Lte1...some good observations. The "European Union"- a contradiction in terms- is pretty much a dysfunctional group of people who are not related but all own the same checking account. This union will not survive in its current form..it simply can't. Greece will default as Greece has done before in the last couple of centuries. The default cycle will continue to other nations like Portugal which is draining its pension funds to meet payments on current debt. History produces some odd events. NATO was formed after WW2 to keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down. Today, the Russians are out, the Americans are still there and the Germans are on top.
ReplyDeletewhitewall.....did you see where the FED loaned out 7.7 trillion dollars to banks, and part of it went EU banks?
ReplyDeleteMr. Badger:
ReplyDeleteLiberals make their decisions based on rumor and hysteria, not facts. The politically correct world is their gyroscope in decision making.
The people that take the time to get a gun permit are not the people that shooting up convenience stores in robbery attempts etc. In fact, out of the thousands of gun permits that have been issued, there have been few incidents of irresponsible behavior. But that doesn't fit into a liberal democrat's mold of gun ownership, so that must be wrong.
We've found out in recent weeks that homosexual pedophiles go where the children are. Parks are seen as a place of opportunity for these perverts. An armed, responsible citizen would be a positive attribute, not a negative one. It's too bad that the naive city council members didn't see that fact.
Please note that the majority of the city council members are Democrats. Need I say more?
Lte3..that debt. Would you want to face up to a debt like that? Most people know it at some level. Others know it but don't care as long as nothing changes in their lives. Still some know nothing of it because they know virtually nothing about anything beyond their cell phones, music downloads, fashion accessories and the like. Most of the world is awash in debt and America is no exception.
ReplyDeleteI doubt much of anything will be done about it, even though we can see the problem played out in Europe right now. We will act when we get hurt and we have not been hurt yet by any stretch of the imagination. You want politicians to do something? If they do they die. Tell the truth---die anyway. Our economy will not collapse in so much as our dollar will collapse as virtually no buyer of our debt will want devalued dollars paying near zero return in the face of an impossible debt load. After the dollar collapses, then the debt bubble will collapse which will be unprecedented in human history. Maybe everything then will be written off and forgotten and we start over, along with the rest of the world, in developing a stable currency system based on something besides paper money and debt. A rough number of years in coming.
Bucky...was this part of the event last week where the Fed coordinated with several other central banks to break the liquidity freeze in Europe?
ReplyDeleteNo.....this was apparently done with few people knowing about it. Even our resident smart-ass didn't seem to know to much about it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2011/11/28/we-didnt-know-about-the-feds-7-7-trillion/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-28/secret-fed-loans-undisclosed-to-congress-gave-banks-13-billion-in-income.html
ReplyDeleteAccording to the above article, Bloomberg uncovered the 7.7 trillion deal from a FIA request which was made possible by something in Dodd/Frank. It was not due to the Fed audit as I posted last night. I still believe Ron Paul still got a provision inserted in Dodd/Frank to audit the Fed so maybe more information about wheeling and dealing with our monies will be forth coming.
Wordly......I've always thought ole Ron Paul was a little nutty, but he was right on the money with the Fed. The Fed needs/needed to be watched closely. It appears we may be too late. Our money will probably be devalued as a result of these loans.
ReplyDeleteThe Obama Administration/Bernanke may have destroyed our country with these loans, and nobody really knew about it.
Democrats are like crack addicts with money.
Chairman Bernanke is a Republican and the decisions he makes at the federal reserve do not have to be approved or ratified by the president or anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government, nor does the fed receive any funding appropriated by Congress.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and Bernanke never talks to Obama. You might want to do a little more research there Mr. Bob. Take a closer look at Dodd/Frank.
ReplyDeleteMany gays accuse others of being intolerant. Here's a quote from an openly gay, sitting member of congress:
ReplyDelete“I don’t have a problem with the recommendation. If people don’t want to shower with gay people, then they better not play sports, they better not belong to gyms, they better not go to colleges where not everybody has their own bathroom,” said Frank
Further evidence that gays are attempting to force their lifestyles on others. In short, they are the ones that are intolerant.
Buck:
ReplyDeleteThe vast majority of the borrowing from the Federal Reserve discount window came prior to Obama's inauguration. Dodd/Frank just enabled us to find out about it.
Only a small portion was moved back in 2008. The rest has been moved more recently.
ReplyDeleteOn another note: Nobody moves $7.7 trillion dollars without approvals at the highest level of government. Let's don't kid ourselves here. I'm sure we'll hear more about it in the coming weeks, or as soon as the liberal media decides to report it.
Mr. Frank:
ReplyDeleteJust because I want to go to college, play sports, or go to the gym, doesn't mean I want to have my package and my pipes checked out by some horny homosexual.
Capice?
You are so much more interesting as a commentator when you discuss the issues and refrain from repeating your intolerance regarding one particular issue.
ReplyDeleteYour mind is set. Made up. We get it. You're not going to changes others minds with your constant rants about that subject, but when you play nice, others do welcome and respect your opinions on other topics.
Wordly....I've covered guns, federal loans, and homosexual intolerance today.
ReplyDeleteI am playing nice.
You've obviously bought into the politically correct world that believes we shouldn't discuss homosexual misconduct. I have not.
It's in the news practically everyday. Take a gander at some of the headlines.
Stab....I don't know what the deal is with the Womble accident. Usually, if it's the other person's fault, the non-celebrity if you will, they would have already announced it.
ReplyDeleteWomble looks like he's been in the bag a few times in his life. I hope he wasn't out pounding them down before the crash-11 pm on a Friday Night...yeeeeh haaaaaa!
The Racial Justice Act that he sponsored was and is an abomination. I guess we're just waiting to hear if Bev is going to veto or approve the repeal or not.
Since she signed it in 2009, and she's up for election next year, my guess, being that's she nit wit Democrat, she'll veto the repeal.
It doesn't really matter. She'll be voted out in a few months anyway. So much for the first female governor of N.C.
I hope neither driver was impaired. It is interesting that so few details have been released.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Journal's article which I know you don't read Bucky.
But authorities have not yet said which car crossed the centerline or released other details of the crash.
According to court records, Carmichael pleaded guilty to driving with his license revoked and was cited for unlawful use of highways in 2002. Unlawful use of highways is a legal term that could reflect infractions such as making a U-turn on a highway or leaving a vehicle in the right of way. Court records detailing Carmichael's incident were not available Saturday.
Court records also show that Womble pleaded responsible for improper equipment for a speedometer in a 1997 speeding infraction.
Authorities have not said which, if either, drive
Anytime someone famous has screwed up, they usually trickle out information.
ReplyDeleteI hang out sometimes with a few VIPs in the black community, and it was abuzz with talk about the crash yesterday.
"I hang out sometimes with a few VIPs in the black community..."
ReplyDeleteAstonishing! Just when you think you've heard it all, Senor Buckdrivel proves that you haven't.