THE ROYCROFT REPORT

New CBO Report: Unemployment Rate 15%

J Roycroft — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:58:08 +0000

February 16, 2012 – That Obama guy sure has some of his dumb followers fooled -

unemployment (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)

From Fox Nation:

“The rate of unemployment in the United States has exceeded 8 percent since February 2009, making the past three years the longest stretch of high unemployment in this country since the Great Depression. Moreover, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the unemployment rate will remain above 8 percent until 2014. The official unemployment rate excludes those individuals who would like to work but have not searched for a job in the past four weeks as well as those who are working part-time but would prefer full-time work; if those people were counted among the unemployed, the unemployment rate in January 2012 would have been about 15 percent. Compounding the problem of high unemployment, the share of unemployed people looking for work for more than six months—referred to as the long-term unemployed—topped 40 percent in December 2009 for the first time since 1948, when such data began to be collected; it has remained above that level ever since.”

View The CBO Report HERE : http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/127xx/doc12757/02-16-Unemployment.pdf

Filed under: Government, Politics Tagged: CBO, Congressional Budget Office, Family, Government, Great Depression, Jobless, Life, Politics, Unemployment, Welfare state

The Obama Budget Plan

J Roycroft — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:33:30 +0000

February 13, 2012 - Obama’s new budget plan for Fiscal Year 2013 doesn’t even come close to balancing the budget but does repeat a number of new tax plans on high income earners. The fact is that Obama’s budget will increase the deficit. The cost for his budget? Deficit spending coming in at $1.33 trillion.

Obama wants another $500 billion in stimulus money … apparently the first $800 billion wasn’t enough … for more transportation projects! FYI – Transportation projects are union-dominated construction projects. Obama will also make his “changes to the tax code” to make it “fair” so that millionaires will be required to pay at least 30% of their income in taxes.

Here are just a few of the items found in the massive four phone book sized documents.

Individual departments, here’s some examples of what’s in the Obama budget:

Agriculture – budget cuts almost 3% or $700 million

Commerce – $8 billion budget is increase of 5%

Defense – military budget goes down 1%, $5.1 billion

Education – almost $70 billion, up 2.5%

Energy – $27.2 billion budget is up 3.2%

HHS – Health & Human Services up 0.3% to $76.4 billion

Interior – $11.4 billion budget up about 1%

Justice – $27.1 billion, down 0.4%

Labor – $12 billion is slightly down from 2012

State Department – $51.6 billion up 1.6%

Transportation – $74 billion is up 2%

Treasury – up 6.9% to $14 billion; mainly IRS money

Veterans – $64 billion is up 4.5%

NASA – $17.7 billion is down $59 million

Army Corps of Engineers – down 5.4% to $4.7 billion

EPA – $8.3 billion, a decrease of 1.2%

Tax increases on the wealthy, list of “Upper-income tax provisions” included in the budget:

Sunset the Bush tax cuts for those with income in excess of $250,000 ($200,000 if single)

Reinstate the limitation on itemized deductions for upper-income taxpayers

Reinstate the personal exemption phaseout for upper-income taxpayers

Reinstate the 36-percent and 39.6-percent rates for upper-income taxpayers

Tax qualified dividends as ordinary income for upper-income taxpayers

Tax net long-term capital gains at a 20-percent rate for upper-income taxpayers

Tax cuts, list of items for “families and individuals” in the Obama budget:

Extend the American Opportunity Tax Credit

Provide for automatic enrollment in IRAs, including a small employer tax credit, and doubling of the tax credit for small employer plan start-up costs

Expand EITC for larger families

Expand child and dependent care tax credit

Extend exclusion from income for cancellation of certain home mortgage debt

As for the deficit, this budget predicts higher deficits this year than expected, and then lower in the years ahead, but nothing even close to a balanced budget.

2012 deficit estimate – $1.33 trillion

2013 deficit estimate – $901 billion

2014 deficit estimate – $668 billion

2015 deficit estimate – $609 billion

2016 deficit estimate – $648 billion

2017 deficit estimate – $612 billion

Filed under: Government, Politics Tagged: Barack Obama, News, Obama Budget, Politics, President Obama's 2013 budget

An Urgent Call For Help For Little Owen

J Roycroft — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:25:57 +0000

HELP IS NEEDED FROM MY GENERAL AVIATION FRIENDS

Owen

By Neal Boortz

UPDATE: We have a ride for Owen to and from his surgery. Thank you to Cox Enterprises, Greg Greenbaum and Atlantic Aviation. And thanks everyone that helped spread this around.

KMLB TO KCLE

That’s right. I’m going to ask someone to step forward and provide a ride for a three-year-old from Melbourne, Florida to The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

You heard me talk about this a bit last week. Here’s the story. It was July 1, 2011. David and Susie Johnson were vacationing in Blue Ridge, Georgia from their home in Palm Bay, Florida. They were waiting at a red light when a car driven by a local 16-year-old hit them traveling at over 70mph. The teens had reportedly been huffing some propellants from an aerosol can. Homicide by vehicle charges have been brought against the driver. I’ve had plenty to say about him and the efforts of his parents to keep him from being tried as an adult .. but that’s not the purpose of this narrative – I’m looking for help for the family.

David and Susie’s four children were in the car. One, Hannah, did not survive the crash. The other three children, Brooke, Kathryn and Owen were badly hurt. Susie was pregnant at the time of the crash and has since given birth to a healthy baby girl, Renee.

This plea is on behalf of Owen.

The wreck severed Owen’s spinal cord. He is paralyzed and will be in a wheelchair the rest of his life. Owen is badly in need of an operation so that he can breathe without danger of suffocation. More on the operation in a moment … but here’s a description of how this past Friday night for Owen’s parents from Caringbridge.org. (You can read Susie’s journal – a really heart-wrenching tale – by clicking on that link.)

Last night, we started to finally go to bed at 4am when we heard the tell-tale signs of distress from Owen’s room. He was crying. Chomping his teeth. Alarms started going off. And within a few minutes the house was filled with the all too familiar sounds of the obnoxious beep of the oxygen concentrator being turned on, the loud gurgle of the suction, and the screaming of the cough assist. Followed by the yells of my sweet little boy, in between forced breaths as David worked to clear his lungs. At 4:30am the machinery was all finally turned off. Kathryn, who popped her head out to ask if Owen was ok, returned to bed. Renee, who was startled awake, had settled back down. Hopefully, my poor mom didn’t get woken up this time. Owen’s heart rate was still raised and so David squeezed in next to him in his small bed and fell asleep.

There’s an operation scheduled for Owen at the end of the month at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland Ohio. The operation is to implant the breathing version of a pacemaker. Here’s an explanation from Owen’s father:

We’ve gotten a lot of questions about the diaphragm pacer over the last week or so (especially after the last post), so I wanted to explain it a little better…The Diaphragm Pacing System (DPS) is similar in some ways and easy to compare to a pacemaker for your heart. The major differences are that the pacemaker itself is not implanted (like a heart pacemaker is) as it is too large (3″x5″ or so), the batteries require changing much more frequently, and it has more external settings that can be adjusted. It is used in patients with cervical spine injuries (like Owen), ALS, etc. who suffer from chronic respiratory failure (where the diaphragms are not working on their own).What’s actually implanted are the leads into the diaphragm muscles. There are 5 wires then that basically protrude through the skin and connect to a small wiring harness type connector, which mates with the cable from the pacemaker when it’s being used. More wires and stuff to care for, but that’s definitely a price worth paying.Once the leads are implanted, the DPS can be connected and used…but…since Owen’s diaphragms haven’t moved in what will be about 8 months, he’ll need to undergo a “training program” to rebuild strength and endurance in his diaphragm muscles. The common misconception is that he’ll come home without a ventilator. This is not true. While it’s true that while using the diaphragm pacer you are not connected to the ventilator, he may be only using the DPS for 1 minute every hour at first, working his way up to as much as he will tolerate. In time, he’ll be able to use it for an hour, then two, then more… The goal is to be “paced” 24×7, without ventilation. Some people can tolerate that, others can’t, it will just depend on how his body responds. Some people can’t even be paced, due to the level of their injury. Owen’s injury is close to the area of concern, but there’s no reason to believe the surgery will not be successful. Testing ahead of time is not performed on children his age, so we won’t know whether it works or not until he’s in the OR. So please pray for a positive outcome!The procedure was somewhat made “famous” when Christopher Reeves, Superman, had one of the first DPS implantations before FDA approval. His surgeon, Dr. Raymond Onders in Cleveland, OH, will actually be doing Owen’s surgery as well. He’s the only surgeon who’s performed this procedure several times on young kids in the US, but Owen will be one of the youngest ever!Surgery has been scheduled for the end of the month so we’re now having to work double-time to get our travel arrangements ironed-out.

- David

The problem here is that the Johnson’s have no way to get Owen to Cleveland for the surgery. They simply cannot afford the cost of a private aircraft to make the trip. Owen, as you can see, has his head in a halo and has a breathing tube in his neck. We looked into making the trip in my Mooney, but there isn’t sufficient room or load-carrying capacity for medical personnel and equipment. For now my wife’s foundation is covering the mortgage payments for the Johnsons so they don’t lose their home, and I asking you here to help get Owen to his surgical appointment.

Yes — we’ve called Angel Flight, but their rules would apparently call for three aircraft changes from Melbourne to Cleveland. Not good. So I’m asking someone to step forward … someone or some company with an airplane capable of getting Owen, his nurse, a good bit of medical equipment and his parents to Cleveland. If you, your company, or a friend has a (preferably) turbine powered pressurized aircraft – King Air, TBM 700, light jet – and if you would be willing to donate the aircraft and crew, plus no small amount of kerosene, to the effort …. well, let’s just say that would be a wonderful thing.

Time’s running out here, and they really need to know that transportation to the Cleveland Clinic has been arranged. If someone doesn’t step up Owen is simply not going to be able to have this potential life-saving surgery done by the most qualified physician.

If you can help please send us a note at RideForOwen@gmail.com. We’re monitoring that email address continually and will coordinate any offers with Owen’s family.

I’ll keep you posted and let you know if we manage to arrange the ride for Owen Johnson to Cleveland.

Filed under: uncategorized Tagged: Childrens Health, Cleveland Clinic, Family, Health, Life, Neal Boortz, Neurological Disorders

In Memory Of Whitney Houston

J Roycroft — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:28:10 +0000

February 11, 2012 - No one sang it better than Whitney Houston …

Filed under: Entertainment, News Tagged: Culture, Entertainment, Health, Life, News, Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston Dies

BREAKING NEWS: Pop Queen Whitney Houston Is Dead

J Roycroft — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:36:59 +0000

February 11, 2012 - Very sad news from LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music’s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

FULL STORY HERE

WHITNEY HOUSTON DEAD IN BEVERLY HILLS... Inside Hilton hotel room; Found unresponsive... Cause unknown; Paramedics performed CPR.... MORE... No Signs Of Foul Play... Grammy Party Now Memorial... CBS RUSHES TRIBUTE... DEVELOPING.... YESTERDAY: Approached for Judge Seat on 'X FACTOR'... LAST PHOTOS... Sold 200 million albums worldwide... FINAL INTERVIEW...

Whitney Houston Has A Wild Night Out In Hollywood (lukewilliamsgossip.wordpress.com)
Is Whitney Houston Trying To Kill Herself? (hellobeautiful.com)
Whitney Houston Takes Center Stage at Pre-Grammy Party (peoplestylewatch.com)
PHOTOS: Whitney Houston Caught with Slit Wrist and Blood Everywhere! (997now.radio.com)
A Bloody Whitney Houston Looking Worse For Wear In Hollywood [PHOTOS] (socialitelife.com)

Filed under: Entertainment Tagged: Bobby Brown, Culture, Entertainment, Health, Life, LOS ANGELES, News, Whitney Houston

Actor Bill Murray: People Need To Be Personally Responsible

J Roycroft — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:56:56 +0000

February 10, 2012 - Actor Bill Murray told CNBC that people need to be more responsible for themselves. Wow, what a concept. I’ve always enjoyed Bill Murray as an actor and comedian, but when I read this article I realized there’s a side of Murray I’d never seen before and it’s refreshing to hear these words coming from a member of the Hollywood crowd -JRoycroft

“I think we ought to be personally responsible,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Friday morning. “I think if you can take care of yourself, and then maybe try to take care of someone else, that’s sort of how you’re supposed to live.

“It’s not a question of asking other people for help or being rescued or anything like that,” he continued. “I think we’ve sort of gotten used to someone looking out for us, and I don’t think any other person is necessarily going to be counted on to look out for us.

“I think there’s only so many people that can take care of themselves, and can take care of other people. And the rest of the people … they’re useful in terms of compost for the whole planet, you know.”

Filed under: Entertainment, Politics Tagged: actor bill murray, Bill Murray, cnbc, Culture, Entertainment, Life, News, People, Politics, squawk box

Our American Entitlement Society

J Roycroft — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:00:09 +0000

February 9, 2012 - Remember when Mitt Romney made that statement about not caring about the poor, that they have a safety net that takes care of them? Seems that Romney had good reason for making such a crazy statement like that.

Are you aware that in our American entitlement society you have more disposable income as a single mother raising three kids, working one week a month at minimum wage than you do as a married couple raising children, working $60,000-a-year, full-time, high-stress job? According to a new report, more than one in three Americans lived in households that received Medicaid, food stamps or other means-based government assistance in mid-2010.

And when Social Security, Medicare and unemployment benefits are included, nearly half of the nation lived in a household that received a government check, according to the analysis of third-quarter 2010 Census data done by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a libertarian-leaning think tank. That’s more than 148 million Americans

The federal government sent a record $2 trillion to individuals in fiscal 2010, up nearly 75% from 10 years earlier.

That’s right folks, “a one-parent family of three making $14,500 a year (minimum wage) has more disposable income than a family making $60,000 a year.” Thank the government for that. Our government, with it’s “safety net,” has enabled these people to live a life-style better than that of a married couple working their asses off to raise a family and earn a decent paycheck.

You can do as well working one week a month at minimum wage as you can working $60,000-a-year, full-time, high-stress job.

And here is a look at living in poverty in the United States:

The typical “poor” household in America has a car
78% of “poor” households in America have air conditioning
64% of “poor” households in America have cable or satellite TV .. most have two TVs, along with a DVD player and VCR
Most “poor” households in America with children have a gaming system such as an Xbox or PlayStation
38% of “poor” households in America have a personal computer
Most “poor” households in America have a refrigerator, an oven and stove, and a microwave. They also have other household appliances such as a clothes washer, clothes dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and a coffee maker.
The typical “poor” American has more living space than the average European.
The typical “poor” American family is able to obtain medical care when needed.
The average “poor” household in America claims to have sufficient funds to meet all essential needs.

God Bless America! -JRoycroft

Filed under: Government, Politics Tagged: Culture, Family, Food Stamps, Health, Life, Mitt Romney, News, Politics, poverty in the united states, Welfare state

“The Forgotten Man” Goes Viral

J Roycroft — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:09:59 +0000

February 8, 2012 - Jon McNaughton’s controversial painting, “The Forgotten Man” , depicting Obama trampling on the Constitution after a story CBS Las Vegas produced last weekend has gone viral.

Controversial Painting, ‘The Forgotten Man’ by Jon McNaughton (Photo Credit: Jon McNaughton)

“The Forgotten Man” by Jon McNaughton, Controversial? (treeofmamre.wordpress.com)
“The Forgotten Man” By Jon McNaughton (thepalinexpress.wordpress.com)
Drudge, Tea Party Impressionism and the “Fine Art” of Obama Bashing (bagnewsnotes.com)
Artist Depicts Obama Trampling The Constitution (tarpon.wordpress.com)
Controversial Painting Depicts Obama “Trampling” on Constitution as Madison Begs Him to Stop (middleagedhousewife.wordpress.com)
Controversial Artist Depicts Obama Trampling The Constitution (gunnyg.wordpress.com)
WAKE UP AMERICA: A Painting is Worth a Thousand Words…..and more (votingamerican.wordpress.com)
[pic] Artist depicts President Obama stepping on Constitution in Controversial Painting (streetknowledge.wordpress.com)

Filed under: Art, News Tagged: "The forgotten man", Art, controversial artist, Jon McNaughton, News, Painting, Politics

Obama’s Deficit: Hell It’s Only Trillions Of Your Dollars

J Roycroft — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:01:29 +0000

February 6, 2012 - Ruler Obama promised in 2009 that he would “cut the deficit we inherited by half by the end of my first term in office.”

How can you tell when this president lies? Uh huh…when he opens his mouth. During Obama’s first three years as ruler he has managed to increase our deficit by over $1 trillion every year. This guy spends our money like a pissed off woman during a divorce.

$1.4 trillion in 2009

$1.3 trillion in 2010

$1.3 trillion in 2011.

According to the CBO’s numbers, Obama is on track to have another year of over $1 trillion in deficits. The CBO predicts the deficit will rise $1.08 trillion in 2012.

Obama’s deficit for 2012 will be the largest deficit ever recorded between 1947 and 2008.

You ask what was the largest deficit our country has ever had prior to 2008? I’m so glad you asked… how about $458 billion.

According to the CBO estimates, the jobless rate will rise to 8.9% by the end of 2012 and to 9.3% in 2013.

Just imagine four more years of this spending insanity! New Zealand is looking pretty sweet these days. -JRoycroft

Who’s up for another trillion-dollar deficit? (hotair.com)
CBO report predicts 30% higher taxes and trillion-plus dollar deficit (winteryknight.wordpress.com)
The bombshell CBO report and why Obama should be worried (hotair.com)
U.S. Government Will Run $1.1 Trillion Deficit, CBO Says (businessweek.com)
Obama runs up another trillion-dollar deficit… (politico.com)
Federal budget deficit to dip to $1.1T, CBO says (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Federal budget deficit to dip to $1.1T, CBO says (newsok.com)

Filed under: Politics Tagged: 2012 Election, Barack Obama, CBO, Congressional Budget Office, federal budget deficit, Government budget deficit, Government spending, Politics

NFL Super Bowl

J Roycroft — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:16:02 +0000

February 5, 2012 – The Super Bowl … One group of millionaires trying to beat another group of millionaires for the amusement of the middle class and lower class.

Gotta love it!

Filed under: uncategorized Tagged: Entertainment, Football, Media, National Football League, New England Patriots, New York Giants, NFL, Sport, Super Bowl XLVI

THE ROYCROFT REPORT

New CBO Report: Unemployment Rate 15%

The Obama Budget Plan

An Urgent Call For Help For Little Owen

HELP IS NEEDED FROM MY GENERAL AVIATION FRIENDS

In Memory Of Whitney Houston

BREAKING NEWS: Pop Queen Whitney Houston Is Dead

Related articles

Actor Bill Murray: People Need To Be Personally Responsible

Our American Entitlement Society

“The Forgotten Man” Goes Viral

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Obama’s Deficit: Hell It’s Only Trillions Of Your Dollars

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NFL Super Bowl