Obama's Stimulus Plan Dangereous for Elderly

Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan: Betsy McCaughey

Commentary by Betsy McCaughey

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.

Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”

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UK NEWSPAPER GIVES GRIM DOOMSDAY WARNING

I can't even begin to explain the implications or ramifications behind this. Check out the three piece series entitled "Black Jack", for yourself. Read Article

THE FEDREAL RESERVE ISSUING IT'S OWN BONDS?

Here's an article from NYTIMES.com

Bonds a Bad Bet

The prospect of the Federal Reserve issuing its own bonds now that the United States Treasury has stopped borrowing on its behalf could paradoxically make the world a riskier place. It threatens to reduce the effectiveness of Fed policy moves or, worse, influence them.

The tactic is only at the trial-balloon phase, and Congress may well reject it as an end run around its right to determine government borrowing. But lawmakers have blessed questionable strategies before.

If the Fed did issue traded debt, the market prices would act as a barometer of how investors viewed its policies. Even if the debt were explicitly backed by the government, prices would probably still reflect market sentiment. After all, bank-issued bonds insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the quasi-guaranteed debt of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac trade with effective interest yields that exceed Treasury securities by notable, and in some cases volatile, margins.

It’s likely that rates on any Fed-issued bonds would diverge from Treasury bonds too, especially since the central bank lacks the power to raise tax revenue to pay interest. The market would probably look to the Fed’s own balance sheet, which has more than doubled in the last year, and weigh that against its ability to raise money by increasing reserves, when determining the risk of the bonds.

If the Fed pursues policies that could result in a loss — like its plan to lend to entities that buy packages of consumer loans — the risk premiums on its bonds should increase.

Such snap judgments on policy moves could undermine the Fed’s effectiveness. If the bond market gave a thumbs-down to even a sensible policy, it would throw doubt on the Fed’s willingness to follow through, especially because the higher risk premium would increase the Fed’s future borrowing costs. Since monetary policy has a large psychological element, that could be a big problem.

Of course, there are already indicators of market sentiment about Fed policy. And the devil of any Fed debt would be in its details. But with the Fed’s resources stretched and its mandate expanding, giving the markets another red flag to wave seems foolhardy.

WALL STREET JOURNAL ENDORSING NORTH AMERICAN UNION / AMERO?

TODD HARRISON

How realistic is a North American currency?

Commentary: Uniting U.S., Canada, Mexico money could result from crisis

By Todd Harrison

Last update: 6:12 a.m. EST Jan. 28, 2009

"World, hold on. Instead of messing with our future, open up inside." -- Bob Sinclair

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Thomas Jefferson once said: "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." As the global financial system pushes on a string, investors are desperately trying to hold tight.

The New World Order is upon us, full of hope, promise and a fair amount of fear. In our recent discussion regarding the direction of our country, we noted the risks of catering to conventional wisdom and the implications for the U.S. dollar. See MarketWatch column on New World Order.

The Minyanville mantra is to provide financial news you need to know before you know you need it. That's a fine line to walk, as foresight often flies in the face of mainstream acceptance.

In 2006, it seemed counterintuitive to forecast a "prolonged socioeconomic malaise entirely more depressing than a recession." See Minyanville column.

For years, the notion of an "invisible hand" was conspiracy theory until we learned that the Working Group on Financial Markets was a central policy tool. See Minyanville column.

And now, as we gaze across our historically significant horizon, we must open our minds to thoughts and ideas that may seem foreign to folks conditioned by the past and stunned by the present.

Currency crossroads

As governments take on more risk -- as they price assets on behalf of the market and transfer debt from private to public -- the common denominator, or release valve, becomes the currency.

If our economic condition is allowed to take medicine in the form of debt destruction, the greenback will appreciate, and asset classes as a whole will deflate. If we continue to inject drugs that mask symptoms rather than address the disease, the likelihood of a seismic readjustment increases in kind.

The deflationary forces in the marketplace are pervasive, and the "other side" of our current equation, hyperinflation, may be years away. Given the magnitude, breadth and pace of the global financial epidemic, however, we must explore each side of the twisted ride.

Years ago, the Federal Reserve wrote a "solution paper" regarding the need to combat zero-bound interest rates. The concern was the flight of capital from the U.S. and an option discussed was a two-tiered currency, one for U.S citizens and one for foreigners.

Canadian economist Herbert Grubel first introduced a potential manifestation of this concept in 1999. The North American Currency -- called the "Amero" in select circles -- would effectively comingle the Canadian dollar, U.S. dollar and Mexican peso.

On its face, while difficult to imagine, it makes intuitive sense. The ability to combine Canadian natural resources, American ingenuity and cheap Mexican labor would allow North America to compete better on a global stage.

Experience has taught us, however, that perceived solutions introduced by policy makers and politicians don't always have the desired effect.

Unintended consequences I've long contended that, much like the Internet prophecy proved true -- but not before the tech crash -- so too would globalization, albeit not without painful-yet-necessary debt destruction.

To get through this, we need to go through this. If we're not allowed to go through it, foreigners will seek alternative avenues. Remember, for holders of dollar-denominated assets, seeds of discontent have been sowing under the surface for years, with the greenback off 30% since 2002.

More likely than not, global leaders will watch how our new administration attempts to tackle the financial crisis before taking drastic steps. They understand that co-dependent risk exists as a function of the derivatives that interweave our financial infrastructure. If they could disassociate from our economic ecosystem without inflicting massive damage on themselves, they would have done so long ago.

If forward policy attempts to induce more debt rather than allowing savings and obligations to align, we must respect the potential for a system shock. We may need to let a two-tier currency gain traction if the dollar meaningfully debases from current levels.

If this dynamic plays out -- and I've got no insight that it will -- the global balance of powers would fragment into four primary regions: North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In such a scenario, ramifications would manifest through social unrest and geopolitical conflict.

This particular path isn't something one would wish for, but the cumulative imbalances that steadily built in our finance-based economy must be resolved one way or another. Therein lies the critical crossroads we together face as our wary world attempts to find its way.

Scary? Yes. Probable? Not so much, at least for the time being. Possible? Certainly, although I'll again offer that it could take years before the pieces of this prickly puzzle fall into place.

Effective money management dictates weighing the entire probability spectrum of potential outcomes and factoring them into our decision making process. While the notion of a seismic currency shift may seem obscure, we must respect the possibility long before it becomes front-page news.

For if we've learned anything through the last few years, proactive thought provocation is a necessary precursor to effective preparedness.

Man recounts strip search after filing suit against police

Father of two 'felt like I was raped that day' by city officer

By Tricia Bishop | tricia.bishop@baltsun.com

3:15 PM EST, February 4, 2009

In an interview this morning, Daryl A. Martin recounted the details of the April afternoon in 2006 when, he says, a Baltimore police officer stripped him of his dignity on a city street, performing a baseless cavity search on the football coach and father of two before two dozen onlookers.

"I felt like I was raped that day, like my manhood was gone," Martin said quietly, pausing to collect himself. "I didn't deserve this at all. I don't think anyone deserves what I went through ... I thought they were going to kill me."

Martin, who has never been charged with a crime according to the Maryland court system, yesterday filed a $210 million civil lawsuit against several officers and the Baltimore City Police Department, alleging a pattern of civil rights violations, including falsifying charging documents, racial profiling and illegal searches and seizures.

Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi declined to comment on the lawsuit or the allegations until a legal team has had sufficient time to review the court documents.

According to Martin, he was on his way to have a suit made April 26, 2006, when he says several officers pulled his car over for no clear reason and searched his vehicle. One officer, Shakil Moss, frisked Martin through his pants, grabbing his genitals and running his hands along his buttocks, making lewd comments.

"It was horrifying," Martin said.

Moss then stripped Martin below the waist, donning a clear plastic glove and searching Martin's rectum in front of a growing crowd of gawkers. The officers, part of the elite Special Enforcement Team, which has since been disbanded among allegations of professional misconduct, then sped away, chasing after a car playing loud music. Another lawsuit alleging similar infractions by the SET unit was filed last year.

"I think this group of officers randomly pulled over and searched dozens of people a day. If they found something, they altered the statement of charges to make [the search appear] constitutional. If they found nothing, they would send you on your way," said Martin's attorney, Steven D. Silverman.

Martin's experience changed him forever, longtime friend Ryan Byers said.

"He's not the same happy-go-lucky guy he always was," Byers said. "Now he's a little more defensive of everything. He questions how it happened. You ask questions about yourself, even though you've done nothing wrong. He'll never forget it, but he has to learn to deal with it."