Mitt Is It In Iowa

The Iowa caucuses are now over and Mitt Romney has won with a slight edge of 8 votes over Rick Santorum. They both recieved 25% of the votes with Romney having 30,015 and Santorum coming in second with 30,007 votes. Ron Paul (26,219, 20%) and Newt Gingrich (16,251, 13%) finished in 3rd and 4th place respectively.  Rick Perry has decided to head back to his state of Texas so that he can reevaluate his campaign strategy (CNN). Another swing for Romney may come in the Massachusetts caucus as Senator and former Republican Presidential candidate John McCain has lent his endorsement (Kasie Hunt, AP).

The winner of the Iowa caucuses does not necessarily win the nomination. There is so much buzz around this caucus simply because they are the first and biggest of the new year so far. Next is New Hampshire and South Carolina. South Carolina being the most important because in the past, whoever has won South Carolina has gone on to win the nomination. You can be sure that all the candidates that even think that have a chance will be riding on a good showing in my former home state.

In the overall scheme of delegates needed for the nomination Mitt Romney is ahead with 18, while Rick Santorum is in second place with 8 (CNN). The race so far is as follows:

Mitt Romney 18
Rick Santorum 8
Ron Paul 7
Rick Perry 4
Newt Gingrich 2
Michelle Bachmann 0
Jon Huntsman 0

From the looks of things the early front runners are Romney and Santorum but it is a long way to the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination. It is still early and anyone's race to win.

Oh Mr. Cain...

Okay so whether you've been following the election or not I'm sure you've heard this developing story. Apparently back in the 90's Herman Cain sexually harassed a number of women. At first I didn't really believe it because of the way the story came out. It was an anonymous story from anonymous women during an unspecified time. I mean how vague can you be? So he apparently harassed some unknown women by saying some unknown things at an unknown time. Confusing right?

At first I just brushed it off. Then the first woman came out and added some legs to the story. I began to think 'hmm... Maybe he did do something.' Her story opened up more questions for me than answers. Why did she choose Gloria Alred as her lawyer. Don't get me wrong she may be a great person but lately she have only defended the worst of the worst (like Tiger Woods' 20,000th jumpoff). Another flag was that she didn't tell anyone about this until now? Really? I mean you held on to this since the 90's and didn't tell a soul until be decides to run for president? How can you remember something that happened so long ago with such vivid detail?

I'm not saying that she or any of the other women are lying or bending the truth but I always have my doubts when people come out years later to say something happened to them. Especially when the accusers is trying to accomplish something. It always wreaks of something even more dishonest.

While these women may have been sexually harassed why wait so long to say something? That's all I would like to know. Why not say something right then and there to stop this from happening to the next woman? That is what its all about right?

I'm just sayin'
Sincere

Published on the go via blogger for android

Student Loan Reform

GOP: Herman Cain

After a recent conversation with a friend, I decided to take a closer look at Herman Cain. I really didn’t look at him in my eyes as a possible likely winner for the GOP candidacy. I even took a look at some polls, according to CNN/ORC International Polls 34% of Republicans and Independents say that Cain is the most likeable candidate in the race. Also 33% say Cain is most likely to get the economy moving, especially since the reveal of his 9-9-9 Tax Reform Plan. Note: this is just for how likeable a candidate is, not actually a reflection of how likely he is in topping the GOP candidates.

Cain was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He has a degree in Mathematics and a Masters in Computer Science, which I find pretty impressive. He worked for the Navy developing fire control systems for ships and fighter planes. He later continued his career in the business realm moving from companies such as Coca Cola to Pillsbury Company gaining experience. While with Pillsbury he became Vice President for the Burger King Division. He later became the President and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. His success got him the title of President of the National Restaurant Association where his political advocacy begun. He has even played substantial roles with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

The only political race Cain has run was for 2004 to take the Senate seat of Senator Zell Miller. Although he lost he took 26% of the vote. Everyone seems to have a curiosity about Cain and the fact he isn’t a known “politician” is probably one of the reasons he has become one of the top tier candidate in the race for GOP candidates.

Articles about Herman Cain
Why Herman Can't Be President
9 Questions for Hermain Cain's 9-9-9 Plan
Pizza Magnate Herman Cain Has Extensive Ties To Powerful Koch Group

9-9-9 Plan Explained

Okay so if you've been following politics lately then I'm sure you've heard of Herman Cain's "9-9-9 Tax Plan". Essentially it is a fair tax plan in which the business flat tax is 9%, individual flat tax is 9% and sales flat tax is 9%. Everyone gets taxed at the same rate and we all win. Sounds pretty simple and straight forward right? Wrong.

Actually under this plan the brunt of the taxes will still be paid by lower income households. While the full details of this plan have not been revealed, going off of face value lower income homes that are usually exempt from taxes (46% last year) will now pay 9% while people that make over $1 million annually will see their tax contribution lower from an average of 18% to 9%. Essentially the rich will pay less while the poor will pay more. now you tell me how this is fair? Not to mention the sales tax will increase to 9%, on top of the current state and local sales tax, means that consumer goods will cost more. you know those nice credits that we get like earned income tax credits or child tax credits? yeah, those are as good as gone with this plan. Everything is a strict 9% across the board.

now this is not to say that this plan cannot work somehow. The full details of the plan have not been revealed so it may be more sophisticated then it seems on the surface. As of now this plan is shown as a way for the rich to remain rich while the poor pick up the slack. For more info on Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan you may visit the following sites:

Politicofact.com
NYtimes.com
Hermancain.com

Profile: Donna Brazile

Look, I’m a woman, so I like Hillary. I’m black, I like Obama. But I’m also grumpy, so I like John McCain. - Donna Brazile

One of my favorite women of all time has to be Donna Brazile. She is a New Orleans native known best as a Democrat Political Strategist. Ms. Brazile is a professor, television political commentator, Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation at the Democratic National Committee, Member of the Board of Directors of Louisiana Recovery Authority as well as the former Chair of the DNCs Voting Rights Institute; this lady does a lot!

America’s story is one of expanding opportunity and suffrage and one of our fundamental principles is that every eligible citizen is entitled to cast his or her vote.-Donna Brazile

She started her political career very young at 9 years old to help elect a City Council candidate who promised to build a playground in her neighborhood. They won and the rest was history for Ms. Donna Brazile. This extraordinary woman was the first African American woman to manage a Presidential Campaign. She has also worked on every presidential campaign from 1976 through 2000. She served as an Advisor for Bill Clinton’s campaign  in 1992 and re-election in 1996. Even in 2008 election she served as a Super-Delgate for her work with Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

I’m not about waiting anymore. I’m off the privilege notion now; I’m on to fairness. - Donna Brazile

 http://donnabrazile.com

The Federal Reserve

I’m very sure especially lately you hear “FED” or “Federal Reserve” a lot. From any discussion of financial, congress or even Ron Paul calling for an audit of the FED, you come across these terms. I just wanted to share a brief overview of FED just so you can see what it is or maybe just give you a refresher.

What is the Federal Reserve System?
Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States. It was founded by Congress in 1913, with the hope of creating stable monetary duties. It came about with the Federal Reserve Act which was a response to financial crisis of 1907. In 1907, the crisis was called “1907 Bankers Panic”, which occurred when the New York Stock Exchange fell close to 50% from its peak of the previous year.

Federal Reserve Act
This was enacted by the 63rd United States Congress to provide for the establishment of Federal Reserve banks, to furnish elastic currency, to afford means of re-discounting commercial paper to establish an effective supervision of banking in the U.S. This act granted authority to issue Federal Reserve Notes which is the U.S. Dollar, under President Woodrow Wilson.

Note: Elastic currency is currency the volume of which would be regulated automatically by the demands of the business. According to the Federal Reserve it is currency that can by the actions of the central Monetary authority, expand or contract in amount due to economic conditions.

Duties
• Maintain stability of the financial system.
• Supervising and regulating banking institution.
• Providing financial services to depository institution, U.S. government, and foreign official institutions.
• Conduct the nation’s monetary policy.

There are seven members of the Board of Governors and are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. There are 12 Reserve Bank Districts consisting of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco.

Also, here is just an interesting timeline.

Timeline of central banking in the United States
 1791–1811: First Bank of the United States
 1811–1816: No central bank
 1816–1836: Second Bank of the United States
 1837–1862: Free Bank Era
 1846–1921: Independent Treasury System
 1863–1913: National Banks
 1913–Present: Federal Reserve System

Resources

1. http://www.federalreserve.gov
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Act
3. http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/FederalReserveSystem.html
4. http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/

Current News

1. Fed oversight of Nonbank Financial Companies is Weighed
2. The Federal Reserve Plans to Monitor Facebook, Twitter Google News
3. Republicans Bash Federal Reserve