Calvin Coolidge - A Study in Foundations

Abigail and Dolley readers I have recently become interested in the study of Calvin Coolidge and the contrasting of the Coolidge years with the Wilson and FDR years.  Liberal historians will laud the wonderful accomplishments of Wilson and FDR while deriding Coolidge as the cause for all the ill of the Great Depression.  A careful study of the facts reveal that the 20's were indeed a Golden Age of Prosperity and Opportunity for everyone in the country.  While the decades of Wilson and FDR are marred by misery and war.

Wilson and FDR both were bold experimenters tinkering with the American system to change the outcomes from Freedom and Prosperity to Fairness and Central Control.  Coolidge on the other hand was a strong fundamental principled believer in doing what works and what is proven by history to be effective.  Calvin Coolidge studied and meditated on what the bedrock foundation of American Society was and governed in harmony with those principals.

He is much maligned by the Liberal Historians, but a careful study reveals the truth.  Consider this from theThe Heritage Foundation:



In some ways, President Coolidge was a supply-sider before his time. He understood that high tax rates do not always mean higher tax revenues. Taxes can constrict economic activity, leaving less profit and income to tax. "The method of raising revenue," he argued,

ought not to impede the transition of business; it ought to encourage it. I am opposed to extremely high rates, because they produce little or no revenue, because they are bad for the country, and, finally, because they are wrong. We cannot finance the country, we cannot improve social conditions, through any system of injustice, even if we attempt to influence it upon the rich.... The wise and correct course to follow in taxation and in all other economic legislation is not to destroy those who have already secured success but to create conditions under which every one will have a better chance to be successful.

That is sound, practical, principled advice for any time. In his own time, it was dramatically effective. The Revenue Act of 1926 -- engineered along with Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon -- was a stunning success. In 1922, the effective tax rate on the wealthy was 50 percent, who paid a total of $77 million into the Treasury. By 1927, Coolidge had cut their tax rate to 20 percent -- but the same group paid $230 million in taxes. Meanwhile, the total tax burden on people making less than $10,000 fell from $130 million in 1923 to less than $20 million in 1929.

For more on this subject, check out the Heritage link above.

I must conclude that in the days of glitz, glamor, and Godlessness - Calvin Coolidge and his solid principals are looking mighty good.

Naked Short Selling

In light of the charges against Goldman Sacs and the scathing review of the SEC by the Inspector General, this post is timely.  It is long, but the subject is complex and deserves some attention.

Naked Short Selling - that is quite a title isn't it?  What if I told you this illegal practice is what actually brought down the global economy?  What if I told you there is sufficient evidence that stock manipulators, hedge fund managers, and crooked brokers brought down the system for their own gain?  Its unbelievable, right?  Far fetched and conspiracy theory stuff, right?  Perhaps, but I don't think so.

There is a series of videos on You Tube produced by Deep Capture that very clearly and easily explain what Naked Short Selling is and how it brought down the market.  Why should you care?  I will tell you:

1. No one has been prosecuted for this crime
2. They have done it repeatedly
3. It under minds the integrity of our financial system
4. It is being covered up at the Treasury, the Fed, and the SEC

The videos do a great job explaining the practice and how this stuff works and they are particularly visual which helps somebody like me...  Basically, naked short selling is this:

Somebody decides they want a particular stock to fall because you can make money on a falling stock.  They issue millions of orders to sell the stock, the market is flooded with the company's stock, and the price drops.  The kicker is the originator of the sell orders DID NOT OWN said stock in the first place.

This has several ramifications:

1. You can't sell something you don't own
2. All of the people who bought the fake stock don't know it's fake
3. The brokerage firm is stuck holding the bag for a bunch of stock IOU's - that is the TOXIC asset they are referring.

Think about it - if I sell my neighbors stock to six people, the price of my neighbors stock drops so much they go out of business, the six people who bought the stock technically own the shares, but since the company has gone out of business no one finds out that the stock they bought wasn't real.  The kicker is the broker is still supposed to deliver the stock certificates to the buyers and the seller is supposed to pay the broker the money for the transaction.  The broker doesn't front the seller the money it is on their books as a receivable.  The seller is a crook anyway and closes their doors and heads to the Cayman Islands.  What's left? A receivable on the broker's books they can't collect, six people who thought they bought stock they didn't and a company that was run out of business.

What if this happened over and over and over again?  What if there are billions of stock shares in people's portfolios that don't really exist?  What if when these brokerage companies and investment bankers collapse the Federal Government and the Fed are discovering this fraud and nightmare?

There are stories of Hank Paulson, the Secretary of the Treasury, and a former Goldman Sachs Executive (yep, you guessed it one of the companies holding these "Receivables" on their books) on his knees in the Oval Office in September 2008 begging lawmakers to give him 800 billion dollars to shore up the financial markets.  He'd written one piece of paper and wanted them to authorize the US Treasury to immediately disperse these funds.  Is it starting to make a little more sense?

What about Tim Geitner, the current Secretary of the Treasury, you know he was the head of the NY Federal Reserve, who better to take over for Paulson and continue the cover up.

What about Obama renominating Ben Bernake?  Of course, you have to keep him in his position, there is a huge mess being swept under the rug and the job is not yet done.

The result of these illegal practices coming to light would result in an absolute collapse in the financial markets, globally.

How did this happen?  Who is supposed to be watching all of this stuff?  That would be the SEC, you know, the ones who were supposed to regulate Bernie Madoff.  I will bet Martha Stewart is pissed.  She was put in jail for $100,000 - these crooks are walking around free and doing Rock Star Interviews for the business networks have swindled the whole world.

Writing a Book

Abigail and Dolley readers you all may have noticed a lessening of posts and original commentary.  There is a reason for that.... I am writing a novel and find that all of my creative energy and time are going toward that endeavor.  I have been an avid reader since I was 6 years old and have attempted over the years to pen at least 4 novels, I have never finished one.  This one is different, this one is working and I am enjoying the process more than I can convey.

I have also determined that the ugliness of the world and the angst I feel because of our current political climate sucks the creative life out of me.  It is hard to write about love when your gut is churning over the destruction of your beloved country.  So I am going into somewhat of a hibernation to finish this work, it is important to me.

Thanks for reading and following this blog - as the inspiration strikes, I will keep posting because I know I will not be able to be completely quiet!

Quote of the Day

Abigail and Dolley readers as we prepare for the Tea Party tomorrow, remember this quote:

"Men must be ready, they must pride themselves and be happy to sacrifice their private pleasures, passions and interests, nay, their private friendships and dearest connections, when they stand in competition with the rights of society." ~ John Adams

Politics Free Week

Abigail and Dolley readers, it started as a notion on Saturday afternoon - no news or politics through the Easter holiday. There truly is on so much angst a person can stand before they step away. You see I am blessed with the gift of empathy, which is a double edged sword in many cases. I feel things.  Thus, on Monday morning when I looked at the news and started following the links my friends posted I found I was not ready to go back. I am therefore, extending my "news free zone" for the remainder of the week.

I sit now with my laptop on a pillow lounging in a king sized bed with the light of my eyes reading a book about a Cyclops and a Lightening Thief beside me. Out the sliding glass door, I see the ocean and hear the waves crash into the shore. The sea gulls are screeching and there is a child laughing and running toward the water with his harried mother chasing after him. The sky is a slate gray, but I can see patches of sunlight breaking through the clouds and reflecting off the calm water.  The wind has slackened and the palm trees are no longer thrashing.  The air holds the promise of a beautiful day and there is a patch of unmarred sand down there that will hold the footprints of the run I am about to undertake.

Chapter 8 of my novel is minimized at the bottom of the screen.  The characters are coming to life and I am intrigued by them; peeling back the layers and getting to know them.  I hope I will be able to share this with others one day, but for now, like a new love it is private, secret, and wonderful.  Today, I am going to simply take pleasure in the creation of it.

I will not let the nastiness of the world in today. Today I will savor my life, my family, and my favorite place on Earth, the beach. Thank you all for visiting, reading, and commenting on this blog. May the Peace of God settle upon you today and may He bless you as fully as He has me today.

the oPad

Abigail and Dolley readers this clever video embedded below is brilliant in its satirical look at Government run anything! As of this morning it only had a couple hundred views, but I have a feeling its going to go viral. Enjoy!

He's Alive!

 
Abigail and Dolley readers, today we focus and remember the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have done a few articles on why we believe and the Master Plan.  I was raised in the church and have belonged to the One known as The Way, the Truth, and the Life since before I was born.  In these troubled times, it behooves us to remember that we are not really citizens of this world; we are here just temporarily, our true home is in Heaven.  So square your shoulders, lift your chin, and remember that the Prince of this World has a fate that he knows and so do you.

Need I Say More?

Abigail and Dolley readers this picture says it all!