15 Million Americans On Food Stamps

With yesterday’s job report, many are trying to pretend that this is a sign that America is on its way up and out of the recession. Liberals are trying to explain that jobs were added, they somehow forget to include that thousands of people left the job market too. And we are now seeing another sign that perhaps, this Obama economy really isn’t helping the American people all that much. 15% of Americans are now on food stamps! This doesn’t seem like a recovery to me!
The number of Americans on food stamps this January was 1.8% higher than January 2012. The food stamp program is now the government’s largest social welfare program. It was no surprise that this program grew when the economy was shrinking, but now that it is supposedly growing, why aren’t people moving off of assistance?
With 47.3 million Americans, or nearly 1 in every 7 people, now receiving food stamps from the government, it seems quite clear that the recovery isn’t getting down the chain to everybody.

Illinois was the only state to see a double-digit year-over-year jumps in use, while Oregon, Maine, Missouri, Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Idaho, North Dakota, Utah and North Carolina all posted annual drops.
Mississippi was the state with the largest share of its population relying on food stamps — 22% — though Washington, DC was a bit higher overall at 23%. One in five residents in Louisiana, Tennessee and George also were food-stamp recipients. Wyoming had the smallest share of its population on food stamps — 7%.

So when liberals try and pretend that red states are the worst and are receiving the most assistance, let’s just look at the facts, Washington, D.C. receives the most assistance. Washington, D.C. is also one of the bluest areas in this country. Yes, Mississippi is the second highest and is also traditionally red, but also look at all of the historically red states that were able to shrink their number of users. Illinois, the President’s home state, saw double-digit year-over-year jumps? Obviously something isn’t going right there. Not only do we know they have problems with their gun violence, yet strict gun laws, but now we also know that perhaps the Democrat policies there are not all that helpful to its residents.
The constantly growing number of recipients of food stamps is getting out of hand. Until there is a serious reform of this system, we will continue to see abuse. Additionally, until President Obama realizes his economic reforms are not helping every day Americans we will not see this number shrink.

Almost 9 Million Americans On Disability

(CNSNews.com) - The number of American workers collecting federal disability payments climbed to yet another record of 8,853,614 in March, up from 8,840,427 in February, according to newly released data from the Social Security Administration.
That means there are more than 3 times as many Americans taking disability payments as there are people living in the city of Chicago, which according to the Census Bureau has a population of 2,707,120.
March was the 194^th straight month that the number of American workers collecting federal disability payments increased. The last time the number of Americans collecting disability decreased was in January 1997. That month the number of workers taking disability dropped by 249 people—from 4,385,623 in December 1996 to 4,385,374 in January 1997.
As the overall number of Americans collecting disability has increased, the ratio of full-time workers to disability beneficiaries has decreased.
In December 1968, 1,295,428 Americans collected disability and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 65,630,000 worked full-time. Thus, there were about 51 Americans working full-time for each person collecting disability at that time. In January 1997, the last time the number of disability beneficiaries declined, 4,385,374 Americans collected disability and 104,900,000 worked full-time. Thus, there were then about 24 Americans working full-time for each person collecting disability.
In March 2013, with a record 8,853,614 Americans collecting disability and 115,841,000 working fulltime, there were only 13 Americans working full-time for each person collecting disability.

Fed Gov't To hire Thousands Democractic Party Community Activist Navigators

Tens of thousands of health care professionals, union workers and community activists hired as "navigators" to help Americans choose Obamacare options starting Oct. 1 will be paid up to $48 an hour, more than six times the federal minimum wage of $7.25, according to new regulations issued Wednesday.
The 63-page rule covering navigators, drawn up by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also said the government will provide free translators for those not fluent in English -- no matter what their native language is.
"The proposed requirements would also include that such entities and individuals provide consumers with information and assistance in the consumer's preferred language, at no cost to the consumer, which would include oral interpretation of non-English languages and the translation of written documents in non-English languages when necessary to ensure meaningful access," said the regulations.
The rules also addressed conflict of interest and other potential issues that navigators could face as the public's first stop on the Obamacare trail.
It is still not clear how many navigators will be required. California, however, provides a hint. It wants 21,000.
That could be an expensive proposition, since every one of them must be paid a minimum of $20 an hour. According to the new regulations, navigators and assistants will earn $20 an hour, while navigator project leaders will earn $29 an hour. Navigator senior executives will be paid $48 an hour.
The rules allow navigators to come from the ranks of unions, health providers and community action groups such as ACORN and Planned Parenthood. They are required to provide unbiased advice.
Some in Congress are already wary of the navigators. Louisiana Republican Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., chairman of the House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee, has raised questions about a voter registration provision in the Obamacare application Americans will have to fill out to receive health care, and whether Democratic-leaning activists will influence which party people choose to join.

Dem State Sen. Malcom Smith And Rep. Hollarn Tey To Fix Mayoral Race

• By JOSH MARGOLIN, LORENA MONGELLI AND ERIN CALABRESE
• Last Updated: 1:43 PM, April 2, 2013
• Posted: 5:59 AM, April 2, 2013

G.N. MIller

State Senator Malcolm Smith today, after his arrest this morning at his home in Queens in a dawn raid by the FBI.

State Sen. Malcolm Smith and city Councilman Dan Halloran were arrested this morning on charges they were plotting to rig this year’s mayoral election through fraud and bribes.
The pols allegedly formed an alliance built on cash payments and fraud to get Smith — one of the state’s top Democrats — placed on the GOP mayoral ballot, sources said.
FBI agents arrested them both at their Queens homes shortly after 6 a.m.

Riyad Hasan

Dem state Sen. Malcolm Smith is to be charged by the feds today in an alleged plot to get Smith on the GOP mayoral ballot.

Spencer Burnett

Councilman Dan Halloran, a Republican is also part of looming fed rap

“I have no idea,” Halloran, in handcuffs, told a Post reporter when asked if he knew why he was being arrested.
“I’m sure the truth will come out once I have an opportunity to find out what’s going on.”
Smith would not say anything as he was hauled off.
Halloran, meeting on Sept. 7 at a Manhattan restaurant with the government informant, allegedly made clear that it takes big bucks to bring government action in New York.
“That’s politics, that’s politics, it’s all about how much,” Halloran said, according to the criminal complaint.
“Not about whether or will, it’s about how much, and that’s our politicians in New York, they’re all like that, all like that.”
Halloran allegedly added: “You can’t get anything without the f--king money.”
The meeting ended with Halloran receiving $7,500 cash bribe from the feds’ cooperating witness, according to the complaint.
“Money is what greases the wheels — good, bad or indifferent,” Halloran allegedly remarked.
Smith insisted on seeing clear returns for his role in the scheme, according to prosecutors.
Smith allegedly met with the informant and undercover agent at his Albany office on March 21 and told them not to pay GOP co-conspirators "even a nickel more" until they publicly stated support for his mayoral candidacy,
"[He'd] have to stand on the Empire State Building and drop every person [he] endorsed and hold Malcolm up and say he's the best thing since sliced bread," Smith allegedly said. "Matter of fact, he's better than sliced bread."
During a meeting on Nov 16, Smith allegedly met with the agent and the cooperator — who are not named in the documents — at a Manhattan hotel. The senator allegedly was harping on his need to switch the allegiance of one particular borough GOP chief. After the cooperator said he thought he could influence the party leader, Smith was recorded as saying "If you can change him, call me. Seriously...If you can change him that would be huge."
That same day, the feds recorded Smith pledged to the undercover agent at Grand Central he would be indebted to him if he could win the support of a borough GOP boss: "You pull this off," Smith said, according to documents, "you can have the house ... I'll be the tenant."
The agent asked Smith "is this worth going to the bank for?"
In response, Smith was emphatic: "I want him done. I want him done. I want him to say, 'You know what, Malcolm, we did make a commitment to you early on...We're going back to that.' That's what I want him to do." Smith allegedly closed the discussion, saying "This is a big thing."
Less than two months ago, on Feb. 8 Halloran met up with the informant and the undercover agent at a Manhattan hotel where the councilman told the pair that Bronx Republican Chairman Joseph Savino "wanted $25,000 'in an envelope,' and Queens GOP Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone wanted $50,000 with half of the money before he signed the (ballot-support) certificate and the other half after."
FBI officials confirmed the arrests to The Post.
“Elected officials are called public servants because they are supposed to serve the people. Public service is not supposed to be a shortcut to self-enrichment," FBI Assistant Director George Venizelos said in a written statement today.
"People in New York, in Spring Valley -- in any city or town in this country -- rightly expect their elected or appointed representatives to hold themselves to a higher standard. At the very least, public officials should obey the law.
"As alleged, these defendants did not obey the law; they broke the law and the public trust. There is a price to pay for that kind of betrayal.”
Venizelos said today that federal undercover officers "did not have to twist any arms" to get the group to partake in the pay-to-play scheme.
When Tabone received on of his bribes, he promised that they money would surely lead to Smith’s name on the GOP line.
“'Nobody else runs the party, I run the party,’“ Tabone once boasted, according to Venizelos.
At one point, Tabone wanted to make sure this alleged chat wasn’t being recorded.
“Clearly aware the scheme was illegal, Tabone patted down the undercover [FBI agent] to see if he was wearing a recording device,” Venizelos said.
“Today’s charges demonstrate, once again, that a show-me-the-money culture seems to pervade every level of New York government. The complaint describes an unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed involving six officials who together built a corridor of corruption stretching from Queens and the Bronx to Rockland County and all the way up to Albany itself, " US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
"As alleged, Senator Malcolm Smith tried to bribe his way to a shot at Gracie Mansion – Smith drew up the game plan and Councilman Halloran essentially quarterbacked that drive by finding party chairmen who were wide open to receiving bribes. After the string of public corruption scandals that we have brought to light, many may rightly resign themselves to the sad truth that perhaps the most powerful special interest in politics is self-interest.
"We will continue pursuing and punishing every corrupt official we find, but the public corruption crisis in New York is more than a prosecutor’s problem.”
At the press conference, Bharara pointed to a chart of the multi-pronged bribery scandal. Smack in the center was Smith's name over the New York State seal.
"Malcolm Smith tried to bribe his way to City Hall. "Malcolm in the middle!" Bharara said, eliciting guffaws.
"Not every state Legislature has this level of criminality exposed," he said.
"The culture has to change," he added, blasting the "lack of transparency" and "lack of self policing."
As agents took Smith and Halloran into custody, the feds raided the homes of Savino and Tabone, who were arrested on charges of wire fraud and bribery. They allegedly agreed to take bribes to get Smith on the ballot.
Savino last month endorsed Joe Lhota for mayor. He initially favored former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, a Democrat turned independent.
Also hauled in this morning were Noramie Jasmin, the mayor of Spring Valley in Rockland County, and her deputy mayor, Joseph Desmaret.
The Rockland pair is accused of taking bribes in return for approving the sale of village land to a private concern. In addition to cash bribes, Jasmin is accused by the feds of demanding a secret ownership stake in the company that bought the property from her community.
That scheme dates to August 2011, the feds charge.
All six are going to appear in White Plains federal court today.
At Smith’s home, two FBI agents led the grim-faced senator — in a business suit — from a back door to an unmarked car.
Three FBI agents spent more than 30 minutes inside the home before arresting the powerful pol. A woman inside the home refused to open the door for a reporter.
After the agents took off, a Smith neighbor said, "I'm glad he's arrested."
Ten miles away at Halloran’s home in northern Queens, agents drove up in four unmarked cars and spread out to cover front and back entrances before raiding the councilman’s place. Halloran’s dog could be heard barking throughout the episode.
After less than a half hour, Halloran emerged in custody, wearing blue jeans, a blue sweatshirt and a stunned look on his face.
Smith was trying to buy off Republican leaders because he needed the party’s support in at least three boroughs in order to run as a GOP candidate without even changing his own party affiliation, the sources said.
“It’s incredible,” a source said of the alleged plot.
To get on the GOP ballot, Smith allegedly enlisted Halloran, a Republican, to set up meetings with party leaders and negotiate thousands of dollars in bribes. The money was masked as payments for legal and accounting services, sources said.
Halloran allegedly collected thousands in bribes for himself along the way, the sources said.
He is separately charged with taking bribes from a consultant in return for up to $80,000 in City Council discretionary funding.
The feds were already investigating Halloran when they got wind of the alleged ballot-manipulating plan in November, the sources said. Smith met with his alleged co-conspirators as recently as February.
At the heart of the case against Smith and Halloran is a complex web of corruption schemes that unraveled because of a confidential informant working with the feds and an undercover FBI agent who posed as a real estate developer.
The feds charge that Smith used the informant and the undercover agent to offer payoffs to county leaders to win him the ballot placement he sought. The feds also say Smith was working with the pair on a real estate deal in Rockland County, which is what connected the New York City plot to the mayor and deputy mayor in Spring Valley. Smith allegedly said he would use his Senate office to bring home $500,000 in state funds for road work that would benefit the development project.
Halloran, in addition to facilitating the alleged Smith bribes, allegedly agreed to use his council office to reel in up to $80,000 in city funds for a bogus company controlled by the undercover agent and the federal cooperator. In return, the feds said Halloran took $18,000 in cash bribes and $6,500 in contributions that were from so-called "straw donors" — people who use their own names to cover up illegal donations from others.
Smith and Halloran are facing a prosecution that will rely heavily on wiretaps and recorded conversations, typically the most damning kind of evidence in corruption cases.
Smith and Halloran, if convicted, could be looking at up to 45 years in prison. Tabone and Savino are facing 25 years each. And the Spring Valley duo are staring at a possible prison sentence of 20 years apiece.
Rockland County DA Thomas Zugibe said the corruption case that nailed Smith and city GOP leaders sprung from an unrelated scam he was investigating in the suburban county.
Smith’s arrest is a remarkable turn in what was once viewed as an ascendant bid to succeed Mayor Bloomberg.
Smith, 56, spent much of the summer trying to drum up support for a campaign, which was first reported by The Post. To bolster his effort, he met with officials around the state, including New York GOP chief Ed Cox.
At the time, he appeared to have more of a chance than the liberal group of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination.
Both Smith and Halloran are controversial figures.
Smith is facing heat for his ties to a shady Queens nonprofit, the New Direction Local Development Corp., which The Post found misused charitable funds intended for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Smith, representing much of southeastern Queens, was also involved in an embarrassing Aqueduct casino bid-rigging scandal, which remains under investigation by the FBI.
Never missing a chance to make headlines, Smith last year stunned the state’s political establishment by joining forces with Republicans to form a first-of-its-kind coalition to run the fractured state Senate.
By joining the Independent Democratic Caucus — along with four other Democratic renegades — Smith allowed the state Republican Party to keep control of the Legislature’s upper house.
Smith also once served as the majority leader of the state Senate, after Democrats captured control of the chamber in 2008.
Chaos reigned during Smith’s tenure and, by June 2009, two members of his conference had joined with GOP senators to oust Smith and trigger another crisis at the Capitol.
His brief period of leadership was considered a flop, and his Democratic Party subsequently lost control of the chamber to the Republicans.
New York State Republican Chairman Ed Cox today said in a statement, "The arrest of elected and party officials this morning is deeply concerning. I urge federal and state law enforcement officials to do their jobs as thoroughly and expeditiously as possible to determine the guilt or innocence of those accused.
"The integrity of the electoral process for the voters of New York City must be preserved."
Halloran, too, is no stranger to controversy.
During the Christmas blizzard of 2010, the first-term councilman from Bayside claimed he had evidence that Sanitation Department plow drivers were intentionally slowing down the cleanup as part of a wildcat job action.
But he refused to assist in the feds’ probe, citing attorney-client privilege.
The city’s Department of Investigation later released a report that found “no actual evidence about a possible slowdown.”
Halloran, a 42-year-old lawyer and former city cop, ran for Congress last year.
During that campaign, The Post reported the state Board of Elections had referred his campaign to the Albany DA for investigation and possible prosecution because he had not filed state campaign-finance reports for more than two years.
Halloran later filed the appropriate forms, but lost to then-Assemblywoman Grace Meng.
Today's arrests stunned GOP mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis, who employed Tabone as a top campaign adviser.
Catsimatidis said he immediately took Tabone off the campaign and called the whole affair “very sad.”

African American Teens Rampage Through Downtown Chicago

By Alexandria Fisher, NBCChicago.com

Several teens were arrested after dozens of mob groups began attacking pedestrians on Chicago’s downtown Magnificent Mile area on Saturday night.
Police responded to reports of disturbances near Michigan and Chicago Avenues.
Police said 28 teens were arrested during the incident and no serious injuries were reported.
The teens charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct and battery and later released, according to News Affairs Officer Perkus.
Eleven other teens were charged with the same misdemeanor charges after they attacked a group of women on the CTA Red Line, police said.

“You have over three to four hundred teenagers with mob action, jumping on individuals that are downtown,” said community activist Andrew Holmes. “Multiple people have been arrested and I caution those parents that get this call about your child being arrested -- maybe you need to check your child.”
Officers began breaking up the attacks by ushering teens to the Red Line. Chaos continued underground but many attackers reportedly left the area.
“I just saw a cluster run down to the Red Line,” said Red Line passenger Amanda Dobson. “I didn't know what was going on. I just kind of stepped back and let the police do what they needed to do.”
Police continued to patrol the area on bikes, horses and on foot as smaller groups wandered around the Loop.
It is not clear if the attacks are related to a similar mobbing of Ford City Mall last month.
Residents were concerned that this could be the first in a long line of attacks after warm weather brought on a string of similar instances last year.
"It's been happening a lot around here," said Eric Baldinger, who works along the Magnificent Mile. "Just keep your wallet close and your purse closer."
Others said the attacks were disappointing and feared for the future of the city.
"I think it’s very childish," said resident Angelica Wilson. "That’s what wrong with the generation today because there’s always petty fights going on down here and everybody getting hurt. We don’t need more problems.

ads not by this site      

Stockton California Can File For Bankruptcy

A judge accepted the California city of Stockton's bankruptcy application on Monday, making it the most populous city in the nation to enter bankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein said the bankruptcy declaration was needed to allow the city to continue to provide basic services.
"It's apparent to me the city would not be able to perform its obligations to its citizens on fundamental public safety as well as other basic government services without the ability to have the muscle of the contract-impairing power of federal bankruptcy law," Klein said.
The city of nearly 300,000 people has become emblematic of government excess and the financial calamity that resulted when the nation's housing bubble burst.
(Read More: U.S. Municipalities That Went Bankrupt)

Its salaries, benefits and borrowing were based on anticipated long-term developer fees and increasing property tax revenue. But those were lost in a flurry of foreclosures beginning in the mid-2000s and a 70 percent decline in the city's tax base
The city's creditors wanted to keep Stockton out of bankruptcy—a status that will likely allow the city to avoid repaying its debts in full.
They argued the city had not cut spending enough or sought a tax increase that would have allowed it to avoid bankruptcy.
Matthew Walsh, an attorney for the bond holders, declined to comment after Monday's ruling.
Attorneys for the city said the city's budget and services had been cut to the bone.
"There's nothing to celebrate about bankruptcy," said Bob Deis, Stockton's city manager. "But it is a vindication of what we've been saying for nine months."
The Chapter 9 bankruptcy case is being closely watched nationally for potential precedent-setting implications.
The $900 million that Stockton owes to the California Public Employees' Retirement System to cover pension promises is its biggest debt. So far Stockton has kept up with pension payments while it has reneged on other debts, maintaining that it needs a strong pension plan to retain its pared-down workforce.
(Read More: Pension Funds Wary as Bankrupt Stockton Goes to Trial)

The creditors who challenged Stockton's bankruptcy petition are the bond insurers who guaranteed $165 million in loans the city secured in 2007 to pay its contributions to the CalPERS pension fund. That debt got out of hand as property tax values plummeted during the recession, and money to pay the pension obligation fell short.
(Read More: San Bernardino: Broke, Yes, but One Sector's Booming)

Legal observers expect the creditors to aggressively challenge Stockton's repayment plan in the next phase of the process.
By 2009 Stockton had accumulated nearly $1 billion in debt on civic improvements, money owed to pay pension contributions, and the most generous health care benefit in the state—coverage for life for all retirees plus a dependent, no matter how long they had worked for the city.

The Cyprus President And Mega Rich Moved Money Out Of Cyprus Banks

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
April 1, 2013

News that the Cypriot President’s family moved 21 million euros to London days before the bank accounts of his people were looted as part of the bailout deal serves as another reminder that while the media portrays the victims of the Cyprus “haircut” as the mega rich and wealthy Russian oligarchs, the real victims are middle class families and small business owners.

Image: YouTube

“A company owned by in-laws of Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades withdrew dozens of millions from Laiki Bank on March 12 and 13, according to an article published in Cypriot newspaper Haravgi,” reports EnetEnglish.

“The newspaper, which is affiliated to the communist-rooted AKEL party, reports that three days before the Eurogroup meeting the company took five promissory notes worth €21m from Laiki Bank and transferred the money to London.”

In addition, as Reuters reports, “While ordinary Cypriots queued at ATM machines to withdraw a few hundred euros as credit card transactions stopped, other depositors used an array of techniques to access their money.”

Branches and subsidiaries of Cypriot banks in London and Russia remained open while banks in Cyprus were closed, allowing Russian oligarchs and other wealthy depositors to move their money.

When asked about the amount of money that had exited Cyprus before the bailout deal, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble refused to provide figures.

“Perhaps because if he did, it would become clear that the only entities truly punished by this weekend’s actions are not evil Russian billionaires, but small and medium domestic companies, and other moderately wealthy individuals, hardly any of them from the former “Evil Empire,” remarks Zero Hedge.

As Business Insider reports, the fact that the mega-rich – the supposed targets of Cyprus “haircut” – have already removed most of their money from the system means that, “upper middle class/entrepreneur types will feel most of the pain if the Cyprus tax is enacted.”

In other words, the very engine of the Cypriot economy, the businesses and the employers, will be the victims of the EU/IMF plundering. Middle class families are also amongst the worst affected. The Telegraph recently reported on a family who sold their villa in Cyprus for 200,000 euros right before the “haircut” was announced only to see the desperately needed cash disappear.

As we highlighted last week, a screenshot from an online bank account belonging to a medium-sized IT business in Cyprus shows over 720,000 euros in “blocked funds.” According to the owner, 80 per cent of that will be swiped and what’s left will take 6 to 7 years to get back.

After an initial attempt to plunder around 10 per cent of savings was rejected after a huge public outcry, Bank of Cyprus depositors now face losing up to 60% of their money, with Cyprus’s financial minister Michalis Sarris warning the “haircut” could even be as much as 80%.

However, since the theft has been characterized by the media as merely targeting rich Russian oligarchs and other wealthy investors, the uproar has diminished.

In reality, the mega-rich managed to get their money out either before the crisis even started or during the so-called “bank holiday” period while middle class depositors were left stranded.

Given that the looting of bank accounts has now been established as the template for future “bank recapitalizations” across Europe as well as Canada, the middle class has now been permanently put in the crosshairs and will be expected to pay for bankers’ gambling losses with their savings on a regular basis.