Welcome to Detroit
Shit that pisses me off:
Unions want $100M in federal money to aid Detroit pension deal
Union leaders in Detroit want $100 million in federal funding earmarked for homeowner assistance to help make up a $3.5 billion shortfall in the retirement system for city workers, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Under the plan being discussed by federal and state officials, Michigan would give Detroit $100 million earmarked for the state from a U.S. Treasury Department fund established in 2010 to provide relief to struggling homeowners in the wake of the housing crisis, according to the report.
Officials familiar with the discussions told The Wall Street Journal that Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr could use the unspent funding earmarked for blight elimination to help reduce pension cuts for city employees.
The Obama administration previously announced nearly $300 million in federal and private funding for Detroit, largely drawn from existing resources. The city filed for bankruptcy last July, citing $18 billion in unmanageable long-term liabilities.
“There is no bailout coming from Washington, but we continue to support the efforts by state and local officials as they work on Detroit’s revitalization,” the White House said in a statement Wednesday.
Under the proposed deal for federal money, many officials at the local and state level in Michigan would need to agree with transferring $100 million to free up additional money for the pension system, The Wall Street Journal reported.
I seem to remember reading something about Congress having exclusive control over the public purse. I guess Obama’s pen is mightier than Congress.
I’m one of those old-fashioned people who thinks this kind of stuff should be ultimately decided by the voters. I’m not saying that this proposed bailout is a bad idea, and I am sympathetic with the plight of the retirees that are being affected, but will all the public employees in the country whose pensions are endangered by underfunding be receiving a similar bailout?
There is a precedent being set here that will blow-up our already huge national debt.
The Crawdad Hole 
Will make it so much easier to vacation in Livingston.
Don’t read this unless you want to be pissed off:
Time to blow the dust off this old (2009) Steven Crowder video. What went wrong in Detroit, and looks like I wouldn’t give a dime to the unions ! Still, after 5 years………….
This is funny …. I needed funny after that Crowder vid …….new SAT questions for today’s special snowflakes….. 😀
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/shouts/2014/04/the-new-and-improved-sat.html
one more…..
Putin photo-bombs Dumb and Dumber.
I saw an interview with a Detroit city councilwoman pretty much saying her city overwhelmingly voted for Obama so he OWES us. Ugh.
This shouldn’t be America’s problem.
Unions are America’s problem now. Not one cent of a bailout will be invested wisely.
I’m too busy/lazy/uncaring to look for it, but D is a huge city, with two International airports, and I’d love to see a neighborhood economic health map.
There are ghost towns everywhere. Mining, sawmill, textile, steel, agricultural towns that went belly up. Has anyone heard of Indianola? It was blown away by a hurricane. Twice! Detroit is the biggest ghost town of all. Should all ghost towns have been kept economically afloat so people do not have the inconvenience of moving or changing jobs? Most of Detroit is doing that on their own. If Detroit survives as a much smaller town it will do so because the citizens did it on their own economic initiative or because it has a value of where it is located like New Orleans or Galveston which are also severely downsized because of a natural disaster. Detroit doesn’t even have that as an excuse. No more good money after bad. It is a one industry town that didn’t keep up with disastrous politics thrown in which sped up its collapse. It is a zombie town.
“No more good money after bad” would be a good campaign slogan.
GM is trying to get out of paying damages from law suits filed against them from a car problem that caused several deaths. They claim that was the “OLD” GM’s fault not the GM that got the bailout. If I remember correctly didn’t most of the bailout money help the unions and not the company?
Wish I’d thought of that excuse back in the day.
Stupid? or Stoopid?
http://www.tmz.com/2014/04/16/wu-tang-rapper-andre-johnson-penis-cut-jump-suicide/
Either that dude was on some serious drugs, like maybe a bath salts trip, or there is something more to this story. I could see him jumping but why cut off his penis first? I’m sorry any red blooded male would not willingly cut off his penis unless somehow drug induced to do so. Even if he wanted to commit suicide he’d want to be in that casket with an attached penis. I don’t know it just seems like there is something more to this story like maybe a message was being sent or something?
Although the entire thing does lend itself to a myriad of puns, especially considering his name is Johnson, LOL!
Are we sure this is not a delayed report from the beginning of the month?
He was having a bad day, but the day only got worse when they told him that they could not reattach it.
just because
http://suckersonparade.blogspot.com/2014/04/wikipedia-for-low-information-voter.html#.U1ADqPldWuJ
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/04/rory-reid-we-dont-want-to-depend-on-ranching-and-mining-in-nevada-video/
how much money is he getting from China?
I think his father is getting a big part of it however much it is. Using your own son as a, ahem, pimp for foreign money is low.
I don’t think it’s possible to find anything too low for Dirty Harry to stoop to. I’m certain he would sell his own mother, the man has absolutely no morals at all.
honkity honk.
http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/terence-p-jeffrey/86m-full-time-private-sector-workers-sustain-148m-benefit-takers
how do you like these numbers?
I agree there are too many people on benefits of every kind, but there are lies, damn lies and statistics!
Many of the 86 million full time private sector workers have an income low enough to qualify for food stamps, financial aid for school or a myriad of other benefits so there is some cross over.
It would have been nice if there was a way to cross reference the two and figure out the number of people getting benefits that don’t work at all. Those kinds of records should be kept as well as clear documentation on the amount of aid going to illegals in this country. I don’t think anyone begrudges giving someone help so long as it isn’t their way of life. Helping low income families bridge the gap and better themselves is a far cry from Freddie the freeloader whose family has been on the dole for generations or the illegal that came here not to take a “job Americans won’t do”, but to freeload.
I agree quite a bit, but the longer one is “on the dole”, the more difficult is the recovery.
Especially when we move onto the next generations.
When one reaches the generation milestone it becomes permanent.
Absolutely agree 49er. I know I may sound heartless but I’m for some kind of lifetime limit of total assistance. Pick a number of years…..3 years, 5 years, 10? Obviously with exceptions should somebody be run over by a truck or something, but generations of the able bodied on the dole needs to stop and a lifetime limit is about the only way I can think of to “encourage” that.
That being said I’d also like to see the sytem revamped without strict income cut offs, more of a sliding scale kind of thing. I think those strict income cut offs are part of what keeps people on the dole. Whereas if it was a sliding scale the amount of assistance would go down as your income went up so you wouldn’t be so severely penalized for working or getting a raise and moving up the ladder. Our current system has built in strong disincentives for working and bettering yourself.
There was an article out not too long ago about assistance in PA I believe it was. Anyway if you reached $35,000 there abouts threshold, then you lost so much in benefits you actually needed to earn $76,000 to stay even. The article was about a woman that refused a raise because she didn’t want to go over the limit or something.
We went through a rough patch when YD was in the oven and finally applied for aide. They gave me an initial book and were to mail the rest. Got home and had a job waiting. Called back and cancelled but they were unhappy. Said, “Don’t you have other bills to pay first”? We dodged a bullet on that one.
http://www.theminorityreportblog.com/2014/04/17/the-meaning-of-nevada/
all depends on your point of view
http://weaselzippers.us/183089-obama-gets-cold-reception-during-speech-in-penn-faces-blank-stares-and-silence/
backtrack spewing goes over like a lead balloon at Penn
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/family-members-of-911-victims-storm-out-of-meeting-with-ksm-defense-team/
I can understand how these families feel. why is it taking so long to try these scumbags?
Because a lot of the evidence against them was illegally obtained.
More here:
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/348610.php
This rings too true to be conjecture.
Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don’t. 😆
http://www.westernjournalism.com/footage-bundy-massacre/
a must see. it came close to being a bloodbath
http://benswann.com/did-blm-bury-bundy-cattle-in-mass-grave-warning-graphic-images/
what the BLM left behind
No ponies for me. I posted this today on my facebook wall:
I think it was Robert Heinlein who said that there are basically two kinds of people: Those who want to control others, and those who don’t.
Yep. I understand that some kind of control (i.e. govt) is necessary just so we don’t kill each other and so we have the structure to even have a society or civilization. But I have no desire to control or make people “better persons” via external force. I want just enough so we can live and mostly prosper – but I don’t decieve myself that it’s anything other than **mere structure**. It doesn’t “improve” a damn soul, and shouldn’t seek to.
Any “control” needed, and I agree some is, is best and fairest when localized. It is worst and most outrageous when administered from afar. And most expensive, too.
I have enough problems trying to fix me before I even think about fixing everybody else.
we need checks and balances…
I’d like a check 😀
You’ll be happy to know that RD has now disagreed with Krugman—on Obamacare—on what she calls her “own research” (ie, her own difficulties getting affordable insurance). Amazing, huh?
http://weaselzippers.us/183129-video-obama-attempts-to-use-an-air-horn-failure-ensues/
only good at spewing hot air from his mouth
http://prepperchimp.com/2014/04/16/breaking-a-million-ny-gun-owners-defy-ny-safe-act-deadline-video/
1MILLION NYers defy NY safe act deadline
“Nobody believes there is any GOP alternative to Obamacare”. Uh, no Obamacare is a alternative to Obamacare. Repeal and reverting to pre-Obamacare regulations is a plan and when polled (which the Dems and the media will not do) a plurality supports it.
But the Rs won’t repeal it if they get the chance to. They will purify and refine it into the Heritage Plan. Why would they throw away a perfectly good Individual Mandate? They wouldn’t, and they won’t.
I’m watching the #SFGiants play the hated Dodgers, but apparently Obama is speaking somewhere. #BeatLA
I think he is trying to tell the Republicans that they have to talk to him. That really means they have to listen to him and they have told him no. He is a whining tattling tit.
Trying figure out just who Neville considers to be “mommy” in this scenario. Thinking maybe a combine of Valjar, Moose and Hilbaby?
ROFLMAO!!!
stolen from a commenter at No Quarter
http://www.tpnn.com/2014/04/09/wow-house-defeats-obamas-budget-413-2/
backtrack is not having a good week
And so it begins, though Christopher Steven is my favorite so far 😉
New post up!