Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

Archives for August 2011

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Greyhound One roundup

President Obama’s riding through on a large bus that cost over $1 million, but but he’s not sleeping in the bus,

Though the excursion is packaged with humble appeal,

Humble is in the eye of the beholder

it looks like nobody’s sleeping on the bus. The White House has reserved the entire historic Hotel Winneshiek in Decorah, Iowa, and 60 rooms at nearby Luther College, and that’s just one stop on the tour.

Those of you concerned about carbon footprints should take a look at the motorcade,

Yet, the President finds it appropriate to tell auto companies that “You can’t just make money on SUVs and trucks”. So far it looks like you can’t make money on the Chevy Volt. Instead, you should go into the custom-bus business, even if the bus looks more like a police mortuary van than a symbol of hope arriving on your street.

Then there is the issue of unscripted, unexpected encounters,

Obama says the tanking economy is not his fault; the Japan tsunami, the Arab Spring, the Europeans‘ debt crisis, all have added to his streak of bad luck.

Not what one expects for a campaign tour, is it?

By now, even Chris Matthews is saying that the bus tour doesn’t seem to be the right move right now, adding the ultimate insult, “something Pawlenty would have done.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama did say he’ll have a plan to create jobs “when Congress comes back in September.”

Maybe.

But not to worry, Obama continues to “make no apologies for being reasonable” (h/t Instapundit), or unprepared, for that matter, since the unanswered question remains, how does a campaign bus tour create jobs?

In the meantime, Greyhound One rolls right along, at taxpayers’ expense.

Post edited for clarity.

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Say hello to the Canada-Colombia FTA

Sean Hackbarth of the US Chamber of Commerce posts that

Today, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Canada and Colombia went into effect. Canadian workers and businesses get to reap the benefits of lower duties and expanded trade, while Americans wait for Washington to act on the pending FTAs with Colombia, South Korea, and Panama.

As I have pointed out in the past,

The Democrats in Congress had been holding up final approval of the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia for years, lacking support of their Big Labor constituents, particularly the United Auto Workers.

With Colombia, it’s Americans who are having to pay export fees and duties, while the US is losing market share to other countries – Canada included, now.

Back to Sean,

not passing the Colombia FTA hurts American companies and workers. According to U.S. Wheat Associates, “the United States could lose $100 million in wheat sales each year as a result of our tariff disadvantage.” And staff from the House Ways and Means committee point out that “in the past two years, U.S. farmers and ranchers have lost more than $1 billion in sales to Colombia.”

And so we wait.

UPDATE,
Outsourcing Jobs, Union-Style

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Is Cuba going capitalist?

Mary O’Grady answers that question with a resounding, “No”:
Is Cuba Going Capitalist?
Its economic reforms are mostly an attempt to tax black market transactions.

Free prices, property rights and incentives for innovation would signal real change. But those things would also put the regime’s grip at risk. So instead it is trying to formalize and tax black market transactions to create jobs for state workers and raise revenues. The idea that this is capitalism would be funny too, were it not so sad.

And tragic, for the Cubans.

—————————-

There will be no Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean this week.

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Warren Buffett keeps begging

Buffett: I beg you to raise my taxes

Warren Buffett, the third wealthiest man in the world with a net worth of around $80 billion, is demanding the U.S. government make the rich like him pay higher taxes and says they should no longer be protected like endangered “spotted owls.”

Warren’s own spotty logic shines through here: Stop Coddling the Super-Rich because he only paid $6,938,744 in federal taxes last year.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

Well, I’m so glad Warren rounded up to the nearest dollar. However, to the best of my knowledge, Buffett has never made his tax returns public, so who knows?

Warren, dearest, you can stop bellyaching and start preaching by example: Give ALL your money to the federal government. Every red cent. I asked you to do it last year, and you’ve kept me waiting.

Step up to the plate, Warren.

I beg you.

UPDATE,
Here’s the address, Warren,

Gifts to the United States U.S. Department of the Treasury Credit Accounting Branch 3700 East-West Highway, Room 6D37 Hyattsville, MD 20782

If you send it via FedEx they’ll have it by Wednesday morning.

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Ecuador’s assault against free press

Mary O’Grady on how Obama Gives Ecuador’s Caudillo a Pass
Washington looks the other way as President Rafael Correa undermines the judiciary and the press.

Observe U.S. foreign policy in Latin America over the last two and a half years: In particular, consider how Honduras took a beating from the Obama administration over its decision to remove a law-breaking leftist president in 2009, while Ecuador is getting little pushback from Washington as it steps ever closer to dictatorship.

This contradiction became pronounced last month when Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, an ally of Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, used his control of the judiciary to win a lawsuit against a columnist and three directors of the Ecuadoran daily El Universo. They will have to pay him a total of $42 million, and each has been sentenced to three years in jail.

View Full Image

Reutuers
Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa

Mr. Obama’s State Department is treating the Ecuadoran incident gingerly. It issued a brief statement on the importance of a free press and said that it “join[s] the Inter American Press Association, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and others in expressing concern over the sentence in the El Universo case.” There will be an appeal, and State said it “will closely follow the process.” Yet with democracy in peril, that is downright timid—not to mention a little late—compared to the fury unleashed against Honduras two years ago.

In 2009, Honduras fought to save its democracy by removing then-President Manuel Zelaya, who had used street violence to try to extend his tenure in violation of his country’s constitution. The Obama administration responded by pulling the travel visas of Honduras’s Supreme Court judges, human rights ombudsman and members of Congress. It suspended most U.S. aid and supported the suspension of Honduras from the Organization of American States (OAS), which resulted in the cutoff of aid from international financial institutions.

As with Mr. Zelaya, the administration has given Mr. Correa a wide berth, despite his antidemocratic practices. Since he took office in 2007, he has used both state power and mob violence to enforce his will whenever other branches of government do not cooperate with his agenda. And he has used his primitive definition of democracy—majority rules—to destroy his opponents, stifle dissent and consolidate power.

In a May referendum that Mr. Correa organized, he asked voters, among other things, to give him control of the judiciary and the power to bar owners of media companies from engaging in other businesses. The narrow approval he won portends the end of pluralism in his country.

It’s one more instance of democracy dying in our hemisphere while America turns a blind eye.

UPDATE,
Linked by Adelie Manchot. Thanks!

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Happy government burden day…

…also known as the Cost of Government Day,
August 12, 2011- Cost of Government Day Has Arrived!

In 2011, Cost of Government Day falls on August 12. Working people must toil 224 days out of the year just to meet all costs imposed by government, a full 27 days longer than 2008.

In other words, in 2011 the cost of government consumes 61.42 percent of national income.

Remember that every time you hear any politician telling you about “paying your fair share”, and the dog that doesn’t bark in the night.

While you make plans for the weekend, ask also, How Much will the Obama EPA Increase the Cost of Government?

Cap and Trade would have increased the Cost of Government by three additional days.

Is anyone surprised, then, about the stagnant economy and the near-10% unemployment rate?

UPDATE,
Linked by Maggie’s farm. Thanks!

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Russia grants Venezuela $4billion for military spending

while China is lending Venezuela an additional $4billion,
Venezuela Finalizing New Loans Totaling $8B With China, Russia

Venezuela is finalizing agreements for two separate credit lines of $4 billion each with Russia and China, with a portion of the financing earmarked for military equipment for the South American nation, according to Venezuelan state media.

With the world’s largest oil reserves, Venezuela needs a well equipped military to defend itself from foreign aggression, President Hugo Chavez said during a broadcast phone call reported by the Venezuelan News Agency.

Chavez had to call in the news from Havana, where he is undergoing chemotherapy.

Readers of this blog may recall that Russia has financed over $6billion worth of military equipment from 2005-2010.

On the other hand, Venezuela is borrowing at least $24billion from China,

last year, Venezuela received a $20 billion credit line from the China Development Bank for housing

The housing construction has not started, but Hugo’s betting on oil futures, so to speak, in a very big way.

Cross-posted at Real Clear World.

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Soros, what a guy!

A roundup of trivial news in the periphery of serious issues,

George Soros sued by ex-girlfriend for reneging on real estate promise to buy her a $2 million NYC apartment. George told her he’d given the apartment to another woman. Probably a younger woman, that is. No word on whether he had anything to do with the downgrade.
UPDATE:
Don Surber:

Dr. Evil had the same problem with Frau Farbissina.

Amy Winehouse’s home robbed, not by looters, but by someone looking for her unreleased songs, lyric books and letters.

One Place That Didn’t Get Looted In The UK. Situational Awareness: How Everyday Citizens Can Help Make a Nation Safe. Defend yourself and be a vigilante (h.t Instapundit).

Hugo Chavez’s hair fell off. Argentina Preps for World Tango Championships

Pivot to jobs, jobs, jobs getting to you? Vacay, vacay, vacay! But first, let us pray.

Felonious Monk is not happy at all (*LANGUAGE WARNING: DEFINITELY NOT SUITABLE FOR WORK*)

Here’s Thelonious Monk, not Felonious,

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