“Eventually we do have a problem. That the population is getting older, health care costs are rising…there is this question of how we’re going to pay for the programs. The year 2025, the year 2030, something is going to have to give…. …. We’re going to need more revenue…Surely it will require some sort of middle class taxes as well.. We won’t be able to pay for the kind of government the society will want without some increase in taxes… on the middle class, maybe a value added tax…And we’re also going to have to make decisions about health care, doc pay for health care that has no demonstrated medical benefits . So the snarky version…which I shouldn’t even say because it will get me in trouble is death panels and sales taxes is how we do this.”

Read more here

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Paul Krugman On How To Pay For Entitlement Programs: “Death Panels And Sales Taxes Is How We Do This”…

Thank you to: http://redflagnews.com/headlines/caught-on-tape-paul-krugman-on-how-to-pay-for-entitlement-programs-death-panels-and-sales-taxes-is-how-we-do-this

Read article here: http://myfox8.com/2012/12/27/hobby-lobby-faces-millions-in-fines-for-bucking-obamacare/

More:

• CNN: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/27/hobby-lobby-faces-millions-in-fines-for-bucking-obamacare/
• Fox: http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/20435056/hobby-lobby-could-face-health-care-fines
• Huff Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/hobby-lobby-obamacare_n_2375041.html?utm_hp_ref=business
• Fox 8: http://myfox8.com/2012/12/27/hobby-lobby-faces-millions-in-fines-for-bucking-obamacare/

John Bona Responds to the ObamaCare Tax decision, watch:

Is America abandoning Capitalism? Watch:

The latest executive order (EO) emanating from the White House October 9 now claims the power to freeze all bank accounts and stop any related financial transactions that a “sanctioned person” may own or try to perform — all in the name of “Iran Sanctions.”

Titled an “Executive Order from the President regarding Authorizing the Implementation of Certain Sanctions…” the order says that if an individual is declared by the president, the secretary of state, or the secretary of the treasury to be a “sanctioned person,” he (or she) will be unable to obtain access to his accounts, will be unable to process any loans (or make them), or move them to any other financial institution inside or outside the United States. In other words, his financial resources will have successfully been completely frozen. The EO expands its authority by making him unable to use any third party such as “a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, subgroup or other organization” that might wish to help him or allow him to obtain access to his funds.

And if the individual so “sanctioned” decides that the ruling is unfair, he isn’t allowed to sue. In two words, the individual has successfully been robbed blind.

But it’s all very legal. The EO says the president has his “vested authority” to issue it, and then references endless previous EOs, including one dating back to 1995 which declared a “state of emergency” (which hasn’t been lifted): Executive Order 12957.

Such EOs are the perfect embodiment of what the Founders feared the most: the combining of the legislative, executive, and judicial functions into one body. Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution says: “All legislative powers herein shall be vested in a Congress of the United States.” As Thomas Eddlem, writing for The New American, expressed it, “then it stands to reason [that] none is left for the president.”

When James Madison protested Washington’s usurpation of powers not intended for the president, Congress acquiesced and passed, retroactively, the Neutrality Act of 1794, validating Washington’s usurpation.

President Lincoln engaged in similar usurpations, using presidential “directives” to run the early months of the Civil War, presenting Congress with, as Todd Gaziano put it,

the decision either to adopt his [directives] as legislation or to cut off support for the Union army.

Within his first two months in office, on April 15, 1861, Lincoln issued a proclamation activating troops to defeat the Southern rebellion and for Congress to convene on July 4.

He also issued proclamations to procure warships and to expand the size of the military; in both cases, the proclamations provided for payment to be advanced from the Treasury without congressional approval.

These latter actions were probably unconstitutional, but Congress acquiesced in the face of wartime contingencies, and the matters were never challenged in court.

President Franklin Roosevelt often overlooked the niceties of constitutional restraints as well. As Gaziano expressed it, “FDR also showed a tendency to abuse his executive order authority and [to] claim powers that were not conferred on him in the Constitution or by statute.”

Read article here: http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/13196-another-obama-executive-order-allows-seizure-of-americans%E2%80%99-bank-accounts

Read Executive Order here:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/10/09/executive-order-president-regarding-authorizing-implementation-certain-s

What do robotic squirrels, menus for Martian meals and a musical about climate change have in common? They’ve all been made possible with taxpayer assistance, according to the latest survey of government waste put out by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. Known simply as the Waste Book, the report is a watchlist of eye-opening expenditures, which Coburn blames on a “let them eat caviar” attitude in Washington — at a time when “23 million of our fellow Americans do not have good jobs,” Coburn notes.

As you read each of the 100 projects costing over $18 billion outlined in this report, ask yourself:
 Can we can afford this at this time?
 Could this money have been better spent, or not spent at all?
 Is this a national priority or is this something benefiting a special interest?
 Does this fit the role of the federal government, as outlined in the U.S. Constitution?

See the Full Report here:  http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public//index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=b7b23f66-2d60-4d5a-8bc5-8522c7e1a40e

• Read Story here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/15/coburn-waste-book-details-1-billion-in-eye-opening-government-expenses/#ixzz29T8rq0EM
• Read More here: http://redflagnews.com/robo-squirrel-senators-waste-book-details-19-billion-in-eye-opening-government-expenses

America’s Most

Biblically-Hostile U. S. President

This week The Story of Liberty interviewed David Barton of Wallbuilders. Barton is one of the most-respected experts on America’s history as a Christian nation. Please listen to the interview and hear why Obama may be “America’s most Biblically-hostile President” in history. Also, we have added a video to the site entitled “Life is better than death”.

Watch our interview with David Barton

“Many of these actions are literally unprecedented – this is the first time they have happened in four centuries of American history. The hostility of President Obama toward Biblical faith and values is without equal from any previous American president.” – David Barton.    Watch and listen here. (http://tiny.cc/u4g1lw)

Life is better than death. Can a Christian Vote for Obama?

Watch: Life is better than death. Can a Christian Vote for Obama? – Abortion

“With consistency, beautiful and undeviating, human life, from its commencement to its close, is protected by the common law. In the contemplation of law, life begins when the infant is first able to stir in the womb. By the law, life is protected not only from immediate destruction, but from every degree of actual violence, and, in some cases, from every degree of danger.” - James Wilson

James Wilson was one of just six of the founding fathers to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Later, President George Washington appointed him to the Supreme Court.

-  Watch here.

The Story of Liberty on Roku currently offers two channels – Our Premium Full Channel for only 99 cents per month, or our FREE Preview (Lite) Channel. You can add either channel by clicking here or on the image below.
.   VP Biden Was Wrong – ObamaCare HHS Mandate Collides with Religious Freedom: http://www.lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14102&AlertID=1477

Michael Snyder from Info Wars:
Are You Better Off? 40 Statistics That Will Absolutely Shock You

InfoWars, Michael Snyder, composed this list of shocking statistics:  See full article here. (Reference links provided for each point.)

The following are 40 statistics that will absolutely shock you….

#1 During the time Barack Obama has been in the White House, median household income has fallen by 7.3 percent.

#2 Back in 2007, 19.2 percent of all American families had a net worth of zero or less than zero.  By 2010, that figure had soared to 32.5 percent.

#3 According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of American families dropped “from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010“.

#4 According to the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of all Americans were “middle income” back in 1971.  Today, only 51 percent of all Americans are “middle income”.

#5 Back in 1970, middle income Americans brought home 62 percent of all income in the United States.  In 2010, middle income Americans only brought home  45 percent  of all income.

#6 The unemployment rate in the United States has been above 8 percent  for 42 straight months.

#7 The percentage of working age Americans with a job has been below 59 percent  for 35 months in a row.

#8 In June, the number of Americans added to the food stamp rolls was nearly three times larger than the number of jobs added to the U.S. economy.

#9 Approximately 53 percent of all U.S. college graduates under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed last year.

#10 Since Barack Obama entered the White House, the number of long-term unemployed Americans has risen from 2.7 million to 5.2 million.

#11 Today, the average duration of unemployment in the United States is about three times as long as it was back in the year 2000.

#12 According to a report that has just been released by the National Employment Law Project, 58 percent of the jobs that have been created since the end of the recession have been low paying jobs.

#13 According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, only 24.6 percent of all of the jobs in the United States are “good jobs”.

#14 In 2010, the number of jobs created at new businesses in the United States was less than half of what it was back in the year 2000.

#15 The average pay for self-employed Americans fell by $3,721 between 2006 and 2010.

#16 According to U.S. Representative Betty Sutton, America has lost an average of 15 manufacturing facilities a day over the last 10 years.  During 2010 it got even worse.  That year, an average of 23 manufacturing facilities a day shut down in the United States.

#17 At this point, one out of every four American workers has a job that pays $10 an hour or less.

#18 While Barack Obama has been president the velocity of money has plunged to a post-World War II low.

#19 According to one recent survey, 85 percent of middle class Americans say that it is harder to maintain a middle class standard of living today compared with 10 years ago.

#20 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row.

#21 There are now 20.2 million Americans that spend more than half of their incomes on housing.  That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001.

#22 Over the past decade, health insurance premiums have risen three times faster than wages have in the United States.

#23 Health insurance costs have risen by 23 percent since Barack Obama became president.

#24 Posted yesterday, back in 1980 less than 10 percent of U.S. GDP was spent on health care but now about 18 percent of U.S. GDP goes toward health care.

#25 In a previous article, it is noted that 62 percent of all middle class Americans say that they have had to reduce household spending over the past year.

#26 Family budgets in America are being stretched to the breaking point.  Today, 77 percent of all Americans live paycheck to paycheck at least part of the time.

#27 While Barack Obama has been president, U.S. home values have fallen by another 11 percent.

#28 More than three times as many new homes were sold in the United States in 2005 as will be sold in 2012.

#29 The United States was once ranked #1 in the world in GDP per capita.  Today we have slipped to #11.

#30 Since Barack Obama became president, the number of Americans living in poverty has risen by 6.4 million.

#31 The number of Americans on food stamps has grown from about 17 million in the year 2000 to 31.9 millionwhen Barack Obama entered the White House to 46.7 million today.

#32 Approximately one-fourth of all U.S. children are enrolled in the food stamp program at this point.

#33 It is being projected that half of all American children will be on food stamps at least once before they turn 18 years of age.

#34 It is estimated that child homelessness in the United States has risen by 33 percent since 2007.

#35 Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid.  Today, approximately one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid.

#36 Posted the other day, it is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls.

#37 It is being projected that the number of Americans on Medicare will grow from 50.7 million in 2012 to 73.2 million in 2025.

#38 The number of Americans receiving federal housing assistance increased by a whopping 42 percent between 2006 and 2010.

#39 At this point, well over 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government.

#40 Amazingly, more than half of all Americans are now at least partially financially dependent on the government.

So are you better off than you used to be or worse off?

Read article here: http://www.infowars.com/are-you-better-off-40-statistics-that-will-absolutely-shock-you/

Thanks to: http://redflagnews.com/are-you-better-off-40-statistics-that-will-absolutely-shock-you

Learn Economic Liberty: http://thestoryofliberty.intuitwebsites.com/Economic-Liberty-Menu.html

Read article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/10/us-banks-recoveryplans-idUSBRE87905N20120810

Related: Richard Duncan, formerly of the World Bank and chief economist at Blackhorse Asset Mgmt., says America’s $16 trillion federal debt has escalated into a “death spiral, “as he told CNBC.

And it could result in a depression so severe that he doesn’t “think our civilization could survive it.“

And Duncan is not alone in warning that the U.S. economy may go into a “death spiral.”

Since the recession, noted economists including Laurence Kotlikoff, a former member of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, have come to similar conclusions.

Kotlikoff estimates the true fiscal gap is $211 trillion when unfunded entitlements like Social Security and Medicare are included.

Read article here: http://moneymorning.com/ob/economist-richard-duncan-civilization-may-not-survive-death-spiral/

Learn True Economic Liberty Here: http://thestoryofliberty.intuitwebsites.com/Economic-Liberty-Menu.html?_=1344522169062#.UDGCcZ2PV8N

Father of the Constitution and The Bill of Rights, James Madison is quoted saying:

“History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance.”

Inflation defined: In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.[1] When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a loss of real value in the internal medium of exchange and unit of account in the economy.[2][3] A chief measure of price inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index (normally the Consumer Price Index) over time.[4], according to Wikipedia.

If you are a person that keeps up with the numbers that are being fed to us, the inflation rate is stated as a 2% increase. It is important to note that this rate does not include the increase in price of transportation and consumer goods. A more accurate number seems to be a 9% increase. Almost all of you have noticed that your earnings haven’t kept up with the increased price at the pump. What can’t be easily correlated, is the increased price of groceries to gas prices. Some of you have been to the grocery store and noticed the increasing cost of providing quality and quantity to feed your family (or yourself). This is a good example of why I would make the case that gas prices are not the sole driving force of cost in all areas.

If you look at the chart below (there is a correlation between barrels of oil and gas prices), it can be inferred that the price of oil relates fairly directly to the gas prices we pay. It causes many to question the specultion of oil, and how it relates to prices at the pump. Speculation, in and of itself, is not wrong; it means that investors are taking note of potential supply and demand issues and investing to make a profit. Although we know that gas prices do effect the cost of putting food on the table, due to the cost of transportation; there has been a disconnect for a while in that relationship.

The prices for consumer goods is not universal. Technology-based goods are getting cheaper, meanwhile groceries have increased in price for a while now. The decreasing cost of technology would suggest that inflation is not an issue, but technology seemingly escaping the rate of inflation is not a leading indicator. It is coincidental… and, since most of our technology is now produced overseas; they can be sold at lower prices. If you consider that they rate of technolgy is incredible (it doubles, ie. video game systems… 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 & 256 bit systems), you can see why it is not viable in considering inflation.

What needs to be recognized, is hidden inflation: Price increase implemented by offering a smaller quantity or poorer quality for the old price, according to Answers.com. What this means to you, (the consumer) is that the same groceries you purchase today are either sold with inferior ingredients in them or they come in smaller quantities. Basically, the beef sold is a lower quality (diluted verion from different parts of the cow) and the 12 ounce bag of candy is sold for the same price as the 18 ounce bag was previously. It is important to note that this process is often slower and less obvious than seeing signs for $3.79 gallons of gas on day, and $3.83 next day.

Perhaps the reason that this subject is portrayed like it is, is because it relates to the Stimulus bills, the massive printing of money and the Fed. Throughout human history, no paper form of money has stood the test of time. Unfortunately, in 1913 the Fed was created, and this entity is controlled by people that do not feel that just weights and measures are relevant to our modern society.

Above, I have a chart relating oil and gas prices. I’ve also included two videos regarding how the devaluation of the dollar relates to oil, gas and precious commodities, such as gold and silver. The chart can be better understood if you click the ’6 Year’ model and then check the box below, called ‘Show Crude Oil Price’.

Investors.com stated, “More than any other country, the U.S. can lay claim to being the home of economic freedom. Our giant economy was, to an extent greater than any other, built on free markets and free people, an inspiration to the world. It’s a major reason we’re the wealthiest nation on Earth. Sadly, in recent years our freedom has waned.”

The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal rank Economic Freedom every year. The variables: rule of law, openness of markets, regulatory burden and size of government.

The ranking goes from 0 to 100, with anything above 80 considered free. That used to be us. But this year, the U.S. ranked 10th, its lowest ever, from ninth in 2010. As recently as 2006 we ranked fifth.

On the overall index, we slipped from an all-time high of 81.2 in 2007 to 76.3 last year — four years of decline, paralleling a similar slide in Europe.

How did we get here? According to the compilers of the data, the U.S. is a lot less free in a number of areas — including monetary policy, finance, property rights and especially corruption and government spending.

According to Investors.com, “Economic freedom, as measured by the index, correlates strongly with economic performance. As our economic freedom declines, we’ll have a slower growing economy, fewer jobs, lower incomes and, in general, a reduced standard of living. It’s already happening.”

Can we fix this?

“Restoring the U.S. economy to the status of a free economy,” the report says, “will require significant policy changes to reduce the size of government, overhaul the tax system and transform costly entitlement programs,” among a number of other things.

Unfortunately, none of this is likely to come from the White House’s current occupant. Such sweeping change is something only an election can bring about.

For Economics from a Biblical standpoint, click here: http://thestoryofliberty.intuitwebsites.com/Blank.html#.TxBfHW8THG4

(I wrote this awhile back, but never posted it. I wanted to share my thoughts with you. Do you think many have forgotten the Constitution, or do people understand that under God, it’s the law of the land? Post your comments here and let me know how the people around you feel about the 10 Commandments,  our Constitution and our culture.)

I’ve been working on research for an article, on how our country has drifted so far from the Constitution.. though online polls, harassing friends and friends of friends, talking to people at church, at the park, at the grocery… and here’s what I’ve found to my naive astonishment… they don’t think its relevant.. if I bring up the Constitution in an argument , its laid aside.. Its like using the Bible to debate an Atheist.. This is something I was not even thinking before.. I had the assumption all Americans believed in the freedoms our founding fathers laid down.. this is going to be a difficult article to write… its hard when you grow up and realize your beliefs in others are not reality.

I realize now that because of Media and its “interpretation” of Christianity.. (ie people who have messed up, which is the only thing ever reported) people have no clue that the Bible is a freedom document and the bases to Israels and Americas foundation of freedom.. 10 commandments, that’s all God required in terms of law for us (after the death and Resurrection of Christ). Not big government and oppression of civil liberties. Its a shame this is not taught..and I feel a HUGE part of the problem ( ie-the idea people have in the supremacy of intellectualism or humanism and professors and special interests denial of these Biblical foundations). If you remove the source of freedom and liberty and deny its existence you gain mans law instead of Gods law.. and mans law is ALWAYS corrupt and leans toward supreme power of a few and slavery of the populace. It’s a guaranteed progression to loss of freedom, and punishable by this proven historical result… no freedom of the individual.