Free Republic

P.L. 113-46, The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, runs out on January 15th, 2014. * The continuing resolution (CR) funds the federal government until January 15, 2014 at the same level as in fiscal year * It also suspends the limit on the federal government’s debt until February 7, 2014. * The act sets up a process for verifying the incomes of people who apply for health insurance subsidies under Obamacare, the topic of the original version of the bill. *It provides back pay to the 800,000 government workers who were furloughed during the shutdown. * It also creates a joint...

Reuters may get the award for the worst headline of the year. “Detroit pension cuts ‘function of mathematics’ -investment banker.” It just told me that Detroit pension would be cut. But what you learn later in the article is pretty shocking: “Buckfire, a Detroit native and investment banker with restructuring experience, later told the court the city plans to pay unsecured creditors, including the city’s pensioners, 16 cents on the dollar. There are about 23,500 city retirees.” 16 cents on the dollar? Well, that is what happens when municipal government spends too much money (inefficiently) and suffers a decline in...

According to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau, 49.2 percent of Americans received benefits from one or more government programs in the fourth quarter of 2011. govtbene And, of course, When Obamacare is fully implemented on Jan. 1, 2014, Americans earning up to 400 percent of the poverty level will qualify for a federal subsidy to buy health insurance. Speaking of more and more people of the government dole, RealtyTrac estimates that 47% of the nation’s foreclosed homes are currently occupied. The percentage actually tops 60% in some hot housing markets, like Miami and Los Angeles. Those still living...

There is the recent internet sensation (not Miley Cyrus) … the Angolan Witch Spider! Allegedly, it feasts on dogs and cats and took several gunshots to kill. And was found in Texas. Sure-You-Want-To-Move-To-Florida The reality is less interesting. The photo was a fake. Here is the actual photo of the spider in question. Wolfie-(1)-c-2012-Paul-Santa-Maria-(Proof) Remember the dreaded “sequester?” Allegedly, 2.14 million jobs were at risk. And the Federal government partial shutdown? Allegedly, 700,000 jobs were at risk in the Greater Washington DC area. Here is the September 2013 unemployment number for Washington DC and Arlington VA: 5.40%. True, the unemployment...

If a US default on interest and principal payments were to happen, make no mistake it would be a default of choice. Obama’s choice, that is. But he wouldn’t be the only one defaulting. Nor is he the only one to blame here. In order for the United States government to default on paying interest on the debt that we owe, a series of decisions would have to issue from the White House that would prevent those payments in the first place. There is enough money to prevent default, just not enough to keep the rest of the government...

If a family were to purchase a home with a $200,000 mortgage at 2.5% to be paid off in 15 years, the monthly payment would be $1333.57, or $16,003 per year. If a government owes a debt of $17 Trillion on which it pays principle and interest at a rate of 2.5% to be paid off in 15 years, the monthly payment would be $113.35 Billion, or $1.36 Trillion per year. So after 180 monthly payments the total payoff would be $20.4 Trillion, but let’s not get too deep into the weeds. The USA is averaging a deficit of about...

“Congress Set to End Fiscal Impasse as Boehner Concedes“ Sigh. So what was the reaction in financial markets from the surrender by Mitch McConnell (RINO-KY) and John Boehner (RINO-OH)? Particularly after the “terrifying crisis” that Democrats, the media and Gall Street professionals were screaming about? First, the 10 year US Treasury yield fell 6 basis points in the afternoon. Hardly an earth shattering change from the alleged “brink of default.” ust10psurr Second, US Credit Default Swaps are at 40, almost the same as Australia and New Zealand. Which, as far as I know, have NOT been on the brink of...

My fellow Americans, the President, the Democrats and the News Media have won a great political victory today, but the American people have lost an important battle. Republicans were elected to control the House of Representatives to stop the hemorrhaging of taxpayer monies. We have tried valiantly to rein in the spending, to stop this headlong sprint to bankruptcy that will happen to our beloved country. Those of us trying to do the responsible thing for the USA have been ridiculed, demeaned and degraded by those who pretend they wish for a 'more civilized' dialogue. We have been called terrorists,...

On the brink of a national default, the leaders of the Senate struck a deal Wednesday to reopen the federal government and extend its power to borrow money. The House appeared ready to go along — and end, at least for now, the crisis in Washington. Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic leader, said on the Senate floor at midday that his party and Republicans had found their way to a compromise to “provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs” and avert financial disaster. His Republican counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell, offered his blessing: “This is far less than many...

Despite no evidence in financial markets of a default, House Speaker John Boehner (RINO-OH) will bring the Senate clean Continuing Resolution (CR) to The House floor for a vote. The endless spending and debt growth in Washington DC will continue now that the Senate has turned over the power of pursestrings to The President (once House Republicans agree). Obamacare was already a tremendous transfer of power and control to the Executive Branch, and now capitulating to President Obama gives the Executive Branch overwhelming power and control. In order to honor our career politicians in Congress and the Administration, the Washington...

Another morning, another gridlock. No deal from Obama and Congress with the default clock ticking. To paraphrase the old Wendy’s commercial, “Where’s the (default) beef?“ Credit default swaps for the US? Up slightly this morning, but still the lowest in the Americas. sovcds101613 And the US CDS “smile” remains (inverse hump in the CDS curve). uscdscurve101613 Zero Hedge has the hysterical headline that “Repo Soars To 2013 Highs On Default Fears, Bifurcated Collateral Market.” True, but compared to 2008, it is a drop in the bucket. repost101613 And the US Treasury 10 is up slightly today, not the massive default...

With the federal government on the brink of a default, a House Republican effort to end the shutdown and extend the Treasury’s borrowing authority collapsed Tuesday night as a major credit agency warned that the United States was on the verge of a costly ratings downgrade.

So I am thinking of simply leaving the job I work at now and heading to a Southern state, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Northern Florida, Tennessee, etc since I figure that, since I am one of those who does not have a reliable source of family aid of any kind, that this could be my only option. I am considering finding a church that has a sort of communal living situation, a farm, ranch, factory or other such source that could use additional workers and join one of them. I am thinking of it in light of a situation...

How do you settle a rather sizeable bill for your milk delivery? If you are a cash-strapped superpower the answer is, apparently, to offer up a pair of fighter jets and a nuclear submarine as payment. The extraordinary offer was made by Russia to New Zealand in 1993, a new book reveals. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was struggling to pay the $100m it owed New Zealand for a range of imported dairy products. In a meeting with Russian officials to thrash out payment terms, Jim Bolger, then New Zealand prime minister, was "absolutely stunned" to be...

----"Plan B" and fiscal cliff vote, redux. Having hammered out a deal to shoot back to the Senate tonight -- with most Republicans reportedly on board -- House GOP leadership has been forced to delay or cancel those votes after support among conservatives collapsed in the early evening hours. The rules committee meeting, which would have formally drawn up the bill and advanced it to the full house, has been postponed indefinitely. The reason is simple. They don't have the votes: What happened? The counter-offer's broad outline, which I've been following all day, seemed to be on track. Then the...

The Washington Monument syndrome is describe the tendency of government agencies in the United States to cut the most visible or appreciated services provided by the government when faced with budget cuts. And protect massive waste (since no one would miss the massive waste if it was cut). Such as closing National Parks and Monuments. What are government agencies hiding? The fact that agencies have large concentrations of non-essential personnel. Even Time.com recognizes that most of Federal government in non-essential. The interest payments on Federal debt is a small percentage of Federal current expenditures (11.5% at the end of Q2)....

Just saw the statement from Pelosi.. that the bill the House is putting on the floor is "a decision to default" Sounds like an out and out rejection to me. The Republicans couldn't give much more!!! WTF! This reminds me of when Israel gave Yasir Arafatass EVERYTHING... and they STILL rejected it.

The media, members of Congress, and the President of the United States have gleefully disseminated misinformation about what would happen if we do not raise the debt ceiling by October 17th. The biggest blow these lies encountered was when Moody’s, one of the nation's top credit rating agencies, released a memo on October 7th stating: “We believe the government would continue to pay interest and principal on its debt even in the event that the debt limit is not raised, leaving its creditworthiness intact...The debt limit restricts government expenditures to the amount of its incoming revenues; it does not prohibit...

Class: Because of George Mason University’s screwy scheduling (no class today because Monday’s classes are now Tuesday classes because of Columbus Day), we can’t have our discussion of the impending US default. Here are two curves as of 1pm EST, the US Treasury yield curve and the US credit default swaps curve. The Treasury curve is upward sloping while the CDS curve is downward sloping. ustcdes1015E If we look at 1 month ago, we see an upward sloping CDS curve. 1moyccds And if we compare the current curves compared to President Obama’s inauguration date, we see an upward sloping CDS...

The rhetoric is really heating up. California Congresswomen Nancy Pelosi (she of “You have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it” fame) is throwing around the world “sabotage” concerning any disagreement with President Obama. uscds101513 And the 10 year Treasury yield rose 3 basis points. ust10101513 And, of course, President Obama nixed ANY deal. Huh. If Pelosi thinks this is sabotage and will lead the US to default, its odd that CDS prices are falling.