Old Articles (Enjoy!)

Westborough’s Finances Exposed!

Even without a Prop 2 ½ Override, in 10 Years

Our taxes could be TWICE the state average

by Len Mead

June 5, 2009

How can it be that Westborough’s average real estate taxes are now almost 70% higher than the state average – but we’ve never had a Prop 2 ½ Override?

The average home tax in Massachusetts is just over $4,000 – but the projected cost for homeowners to wake up in Westborough will be a tax bill over $7,000 in fiscal 2010.

How could this happen? Now, try to stay with me, Dear Reader --

In the 1980s we once we had a booming business base here - - but it has since declined significantly.

In 1982 Prop 2 ½ was implemented which limited a community’s tax increases to a maximum of 2 ½% over the previous year’s “levy limit” (plus the valuation of new growth like 10 new houses or a new pharmaceutical manufacturing plant). In our case, the “levy limit” number was set in 1982 as 2 ½% of Westborough’s “full and fair cash value of all taxable real and personal property in the community” – which was when there were many more businesses here.

Westborough’s Town taxing and spending increases have always been the maximum Prop 2 ½ allows, but since we started from a very high “levy limit” valuation in the 1980s, the decline in business valuations relative to home valuations has resulted in our home taxes growing higher and higher compared to the state average because the “levy limit” never goes down (unless a community passes a proposition 2 ½ “Underride” which has happened less than 10 times since 1982).

We wisely tax businesses at the same rate as homeowners to make our town an attractive place for businesses to start, relocate or expand (recognizing that gouging businesses with a higher rate just drives them out along with their jobs).

Over the years since the ‘80s, however, competition, recessions, and other pressures on businesses drove many to close or relocate. It is now estimated that Westborough has about a 20% business vacancy. Businesses once paid 60% of our taxes – now they pay about 40%. But that 40% is the highest percentage of any moderate sized community in the state – more than Boston, Cambridge, Springfield and Worcester.

Still awake? Well, I have to add that a community’s taxes can go up higher than 2 ½% over the previous year’s “levy limit” if a community passes a Prop 2 ½ override (which raises the levy limit), a capital expenditure exclusion or a debt exclusion such as we have done to pay the interest and capital borrowing costs for building schools. Now the school debt service cost amount (about $2.7 million this year) is added to our levy limit, but after the debt is fully paid that cost will be removed from our tax levy limit.

So, because our elected School Committee and Selectman merrily taxed and spent the maximum Prop 2 ½ allowed - - - starting from the levy limit set when we had a business boom - - the homeowners still living here have steadily seen their tax burden rise from 20% higher than the state average in 1990 to almost 70% higher now.

This destructive trend is explained but not excused because public unions have been mugging our elected officials for above-average pay and benefit contract increases for far too long. And our elected officials have rolled over and passed the bill on to us.

I asked both final candidates for our new Town Manager’s job if they would promise not to put budgets together that would raise our taxes even higher than they will go up even without a Prop 2 ½ tax override. None would commit to even that. But since they were interviewing for a job approved by the very Selectman who have allowed our taxes to get 70% over the state average already, the answer was not surprising.

Yes, friends, Westborough is a much above-average community – maybe 30-40% “better” than others. So shouldn’t our public figures set as a goal that our tax burden should be gradually reduced down to “only” 30-40% higher than the state average?

I wish our new $130,000 per year Town Manager James Malloy the very best in successfully managing our town and school budget. Let me suggest that the finest goal he could shoot for to preserve our town is to get our tax burden reduced to “only” 30-40% over the state average by reducing spending growth and actually not taxing us to the maximum that Prop 2 ½ allows.

Common Sense, Individual Strength

Foil Obama’s Government Assaults

By Len Mead

August 28, 2008

Attacks on our freedoms and our pocketbooks by Obama’s government are finally being foiled by American individual strength and common sense. The great free country we inherited has never been under a more serious assault by our own government.

Folks are realizing that it is the strength of individuals, the desire for success, and the freedom to achieve it in America that have made this the greatest country on earth – not the intrusive, wasteful schemes our bigheaded government “leaders” are now trying to foist on us.

Our current problems of recession and unemployment, Dear Reader, are the fault of Obama’s government at all levels -- not the private sector. Obama’s government has prevented the private sector from performing successfully what it does best -- re-distributing private capital efficiently and generating growth and prosperity.

People are now recognizing government “bailouts,” “stimulus packages,” “healthcare reform” and “tax increases – for our own good.” as freedom’s nightmares.

Past conservative wisdom can not be better expressed than the following assertion:

· You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

· You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

· You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.

· You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

· You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.

· You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.

· You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

Ronald Reagan spoke these words at the 1992 Republican Convention in Houston. Mistakenly attributed to Abraham Lincoln, these inspirational thoughts apparently were first published in 1916 by Rev. William J H Boetcker in a conservative leaflet. How we miss the great communicator now!

“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.” We have the greatest healthcare system in the world – not perfect, but still the best. Big, innovative drug companies, great doctors and hospitals and somewhat competitive health insurance companies are the reason. But what is Obama trying to ram through to change this? A bill that will provide ”free” healthcare to illegal aliens, forced healthcare payment by employers for part time workers, equal pay for doctors regardless of specialty, the destruction of private insurers and crushing higher taxes for all. Don’t worry about the elite federal politicians, however; their health plan with coverage unwashed citizens can only dream of will continue (administered by private insurers)!

Citizens are not buying Obama’s propaganda that there will be “savings” by stopping pediatricians from striking it rich with unnecessary tonsillectomies and government orders for “end of life” plans (forced euthanasia?) as a patient’s health deteriorates.

“You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.” Government bureaucrats, a tax cheat and academics who couldn’t manage the night shift at McDonalds turned General Motors and Chrysler over to the same labor unions that extorted wages and benefits twice their competitors’. Bankruptcy, not taxpayer-paid bailouts were the only sane solution.

“You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.” It is simply breath -taking that our black president and failing black governor called local police actions “stupid” and, “a black man’s worst nightmare” after decades of successful affirmative action. The truth is a white Cambridge police officer responding to an apparent break-in was forced to arrest and handcuff a disruptive, racist, self-important black Harvard professor who arrogantly refused to property identify himself.

“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.” We see now that Obama really meant it when he said he wanted to “redistribute the wealth.” One has to conclude that he means confiscating wealth from the successful to give it to illegal aliens as potential new liberal democrat voters.

“You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.” People finally see that the trillion dollar bogus government “stimulation” spending will be stealing from their own children and grandchildren.

In Taxachusetts, liberal Democrats raised sales taxes, taxes on meals and taxes on lodging while cutting back on “local aid” instead of cutting back on wasteful public union jobs, pensions, fraud, mismanagement and failed welfare programs. The result? Floods of new bumper stickers declaring, “I don’t vote for tax hikers.” When next voting, you might remember that our new liberal “representatives,” Jamie Eldridge and Carolyn Dykema, voted FOR these tax increases --Karyn Polito and George Peterson did not.

“You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence - You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”

Productive citizens can now recognize that this declaration perfectly defines the largest failed war in history -- the multi-trillion dollar “war on poverty.” “The poor” are being trapped in poverty because work incentives have been poisoned by payments to produce nothing except bringing into being bastard children outside a family unit with both a mother and a father. If ever there was a time to release the poor from this trap it is now.

Our country -- our town is great because of YOU, friends, not because of how government spends your money.

Friends, I hesitated putting this depressing critique here and distributing it, but when Chip Ford of Citizens for Limited Taxation sent it to me -- I felt it needed "posting."

Len

29 May 2009 29 May 2009

American capitalism gone with a whimper

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them? These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin

The article has been reprinted with the kind permission from the author and originally appears on his blog, Mat Rodina

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Heartland Conservatism Lives

by Len Mead,

April 3, 2009

Nothing get’s your mind off politics, Dear Reader, like a three week RV trip with Reggie and two Beagles thru America’s heartland.

It’s easy to forget what a vast, beautiful country we have. It’s easy to forget it is filled with, ambitious, friendly, hard working people everywhere with their feet on the ground, faith and inner confidence to solve their own problems and take deserved credit for their own accomplishments.

So off we ventured in our small 19 foot Roadtrek; containing hot and cold running water, a flush toilet, a furnace, refrigerator and most of the comforts of home except a shower.

We left Westborough in a cold, driving rain heading to Pennsylvania. Gritty Scranton was windy and closed – on Easter weekend – but we saw the Lackawanna Coal Mine and the Historic Iron Furnaces -- once the life’s blood of the area.

Next thru the beautiful rolling hills and farms of Pennsylvania – log houses, farms, Amish wagons on the roads, grazing cows, and small tidy stand-alone brick houses.

On to Falling Water, Frank Lloyd Wright’s magically designed house. It grows out of a hillside over a mountain stream in Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands. One can see why it is the most visited house in the world as you tour the rooms where the outside rocks and water intermingle with the living spaces.

Rolling thru America’s heartland looking over my Beagle’s Head – Buckeye

On the way to Pittsburgh, we looked in on tiny Boyd’s Crystal Glass factory. While Mr. Boyd and three workers took glass globs out of an oven, squeezed it into a mold, cooled it and put it in a baking oven, I had the fun of chatting with Mrs. Boyd in the gift shop. She related what hard but satisfying work it was putting her kids thru college but how they weren’t sure if they could also help the grandkids.

The City of Bridges gave way for a look at Henry Clay Frick’s Art & Historical Center, located on beautifully landscaped gardens in Pittsburgh's East End.

On to Indianapolis for a cousin visit and trip to the Speedway and its museum of over 50 past winning cars. The steaks in the shadow of the St Louis Arch were to die for.

The road to the Truman Museum in Independence, Missouri got flatter and flatter with gorgeous sunsets. Truman’s own recorded voice welcomed you to see his recreated Oval Office complete with original furniture and pictures which he explained were “yours,” the people of America.

Filled with Kansas City ribs, we toured the Harley Davidson Assembly plant with proud workers creating American History. Then south thru hot, flat, friendly Kansas to a campground in Oklahoma with a great “Redneck Weather Rope” – advising, “If the rope is Wet . . . . Rain, Moving . . . .Windy , etc, etc.” You just gotta chuckle! 15 minutes of friendly conversation checking in with the manager uncovered he had sold the campground to his son, retired and moved to California -- but was now returned to help out. The son was nowhere to be found at the moment.

Tulsa Oklahoma’s Historic Society flower gardens were bursting out in simmering sunshine. A fellow dog walker turned out to be a truck driver who regularly drove to Massachusetts.

Then east to Arkansas with tiny, red flowers along the highway for miles and miles. A proud breakfast waitress had one suggestion after another for places to see including a gem mine where one could keep the stones you found. She kept bringing brochures from the lobby – one for the Mystic Caverns with illuminated stalactites and a 28 foot pipe organ. The back of the brochure was headed, “Of all the wonders God has Made.” It explained that the cavern’s natural wonder was, “No different than with the creator of all beauty in our world – It is not until you experience God up close that you realize all the beauty of a relationship with him – the relationship we’ve been looking for all our lives.”

We missed the Mystic Caverns but did see Bill Clinton’s blue Mustang convertible donated to a car museum on top of scenic Petit Jean Mountain. Up to Memphis, Tennessee for a walk thru Graceland with many mirrors, cars, jet planes, and horses. Then to a Corvette Assembly plant Bowling Green KY. 2,000 Corvette owners were also visiting for an annual “bash.” The mile-long plant’s parking lots had signs everywhere, “For GM cars only – others will be towed at owner’s expense.” A joke – we thought.

Spectacular rocky hills and mountains greeted us thru eastern KY into West VA Appalachia and then into the lush farms of VA – white and purple flowering trees and vistas everywhere. Then to Fredericksburg where 90,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in 3 days in a Union Civil War defeat. The tony, touristy downtown streets had many shops and a wonderful bookstore café where we traded renovation stories with a custom contractor and artist between his phone calls.

At a dinner restaurant overlooking the Rappahannock River our ambitious waiter sat to explain how he planned to buy the business where he worked. He knew he’d need to go to culinary school to understand the cooking process to manage effectively.

In Annapolis, MD we hitched up with another cousin and enjoyed seeing the Naval Academy with spit and polish and pride showing everywhere – including one of the recovered space capsules. Historic downtown by the ocean with narrow brick streets and many shops and restaurants was steamy and beautiful.

Two more driving days brought us home to Westborough, -- now long missed -- with a bathtub and washing machine among other attractions. Friends, after 4,000 miles thru the heartlands, we found no one waiting for more government intrusions or bail-outs.

Len Mead can be reached anytime at mead1720@gmail.com

Obama-care Socialism

Sparks Citizen Revolts

August 7, 2009

Word Count 717

Been to a “town Meeting” get-together recently? Where Obama-care Socialism proposals are being actively resisted by informed, heartfelt citizens? For drama, importance and a substitute for finding a circus – it can’t be beat.

I squeezed into Congressman Jim McGovern’s (D Worcester) meeting held at the U MA Medical Center Tuesday August 4 at 3:30pm. It seemed intentionally un-announced and un-publicized because I found no notices and only discovered it existed the day before when I called McGovern's office.. It was packed with hospital workers seemingly anxious to support “more money” for healthcare. McGovern has stated he is such an advocate for Obama-care he will vote for it regardless of public input.

The experience reminded me of the poignant complaints in our own Declaration of Independence. “The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.”

Citizens who had to take time off from work to go, or seniors frightened about what treatment they might get at end of life found the location similar to our "Declaration" complaint -- hard to find, little or no parking, long walking to the auditorium site and little room once you got there with overflow entrances blocked by state troopers.

In spite of the attempt to control the meeting by only answering questions submitted in advance on 3x5” cards, many regular citizens who got in managed to express outrage and anger at the frightening thought of Obama-Care socialism.

It was just delicious, Dear Reader, watching informed citizens who knew more about the 1,300 page bill than our Democrat Representative skewer him repeatedly with questions and concerns.

“Won’t Obamacare lead to rationing?”

Answer, “No.” Whaaaaaaaat? A trillion dollar plan to provide healthcare to 30-40 million more people will magically succeed without rationing and be “budget neutral” where the existing Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security system is already bankrupt? Puhleeze.

“I don’t want to change my existing healthcare plan – doesn’t the Obama-care eliminate private healthcare insurance?”

Answer, “No.” A lie. Obama-care forbids any new entrants into existing private plans and will crush private plans out of existence because. the taxpayer subsidized “public option” government plan motivates every private plan to offload their employees onto the public option because it will save the organization money.

Rather than improve the best healthcare in the world by controlling fraud and limiting frivolous lawsuits with tort reform, Obama-care will result in government control of every aspect of our lives and fortunes if we allow it to pass.

Citizens In Saratoga Springs, NY carried signs saying: "Obamacare Seniors beware!” “Rationing is here," and "If socialized medicine is best, why didn't Ted Kennedy go to Canada?" Motorists honked as they drove by. Most said they learned about the event from various community groups that oppose the health care overhaul. All rejected the notion that they had been organized on a large scale, or had connections to the insurance industry.

In Dallas Aug 4th at an AARP session shown on you-tube, it appeared that the AARP “leader" was trying to convince seniors attending to support Obamacare. The members weren't buying. The leader ignored concerns for quite a while, then walked out of the room after a crowd of members protested they did not want it. The meeting continued where members urged those attending to cancel their AARP membership and immediately request getting their money back.

The White House and Democrats response? Attack citizens like Chicago thugs! Instead of listening, they advised, “Punch back twice as hard.” They are attempting to label the protests an orchestrated "mob" driven by Republican and industry-backed groups and conservative talk radio and television hosts. Liberal Barbara Boxer of California called citizens, “Nazis.” Speaker Nancy Pelosi called healthcare insurance companies, “Villains.”

1984 “Big Brother” fashion, Obama set up a website asking, in a fundraising e-mail from the White House to 13 million individuals captured from his campaign, “If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov . In other words, turn supporters into snitches.

Friends, it is still our free country until Obamacare is forced down our throats. So get involved. Call and write your “representative” reminding him or her that if they don’t kill Obamacare, they will surely be as unemployed after the next election as about one out of ten pirate workers are now.

Len Mead can be reached anytime at mead1720@gmail.com`

Spending Control Leadership Needed Before Town Meeting

by Len Mead

October 10, 2009

It is ten months after the coronation our new President. Six million more people are now jobless. The unemployment total is now 15 million, a 26 year high in America --the last, best hope for mankind.

The failing billion dollar “stimulus spending” is showing again that discredited Keynesian pump-priming doesn’t cause growth or “multiplier effects.” It only employs thousands more government workers to administer. Both Bush and Obama can be blamed for this reckless spending “leadership” which is widening the road to serfdom to a superhighway. They’ve forgotten – it ain’t their money.

Our banks and auto industries have been nationalized. Our country is mired in a war in Afghanistan. Unless won, zealot terrorists will have a staging area from which to attack us again -- separating our unbelieving heads from our unbelieving bodieSs -- as decreed by Allah.

And while Barack and his wife flew to Europe in 4 planes to lobby for the Olympics to be held in Chicago, our Congress and Senate were hard at work planning a twisted and underhanded way to ram through socialized medicine only the Washington socialists want.

How? By attaching the “public option” as an amendment to a house TARP bill taxing financial bonuses that has already been passed. Then the so-called “healthcare” nightmare will be scrambled together in joint conference before citizens know what has happened because the bill’s language won’t be available on the internet 72 hours before it is voted. The most transparent administration in history? Frightening.

1.7 million Citizens stormed Washington DC (with no arrests and no trash) to protest they didn’t want the proposed new “healthcare” legislation – among other things. The “state run” Associated Press and main stream TV (except FOX) intentionally ignored the event. Our founding fathers are spinning in their graves

So, Dear Reader, what do our public leaders see as the problems of our country? That government doesn’t have enough money or power!

While the private sector businesses and people who actually generate wealth are cutting back and downsizing, our national and local government leaders are punishing Capitalism with higher taxes, more regulations and outright attacks on our way of life, our freedoms and our faith. Our currency and coin say, “In God We Trust” -- for good reason.

On September 30 The Boston Globe’s Jeff Jacoby identified that federal employees (who just re-distribute what we earn) are now paid $60,000 more per year than private industry workers. He also cited Forbes Magazine, “State and local government workers get paid an average of $25.30 an hour, which is 33 percent higher that the private sector's $19.” Further, “The Tax Foundation calculates that if one throws in pensions and other benefits the gap widens to 42 percent.”

While Westborough taxpayers have seen their home taxes rise from $5,992 in 2005 to over $7,000 now, our home values tracked by Zillow.com have dropped 22%.

Our Westborough public officials knew we were heading into a recession – but still they approved public labor union contract increases much higher than they knew taxpayer incomes would rise. The result is town public pay has grown so much higher than we unwashed citizens enjoy that our taxes are now almost 70% over the state average

This is not local spending leadership we need.

This is hiding and passing the buck to Town Meeting where citizens are naturally reluctant to vote against school or public safety budgets while our children’s teachers or public safety officials watch.

What’s needed, friends, is for our Town Manager, Selectman and School Committee members to accept that our taxes are too high already. Raising them in a recession is the last thing our town needs.

Our officials simply must control our town and school union spending budget increases before sending them to Town Meeting where they can’t be changed – only voted up or down --including a cushion for anticipated further state “cuts” because tax revenues are below foolishly optimistic expectations.

If we don’t demand that our Westborough public officials show courage and leadership in controlling spending before Town Meeting, we have only ourselves to blame when we approve such budgets and are taxed out of our homes.

Liberal “Reporting”

Is Deceiving Us

by Len Mead,

April 3, 2009

(Un-edited version)

We are being deceived and misinformed by the fawning, liberal “main stream” media. The new Democrat government machine is trampling freedoms and fortunes locally and nationally. But you’d never know it from slobbering main stream media reporting. Friends, we are now in a war -- the productive private sector vs the unproductive government elitists. And the elitists think they know what’s best for us.

The Associated Press, the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the obsolete TV networks (NBC ABC, CBS, MSNBC, etc) are blindly swallowing up the propaganda spewed by the elitist politicians and regurgitating it to us without question. “No more earmarks,” crows the President as he signs a budget containing thousands. The media reports, “No more earmarks.” “We’ll cut the deficit by 50%” boasts the President, while debt obligations for a bogus $1 trillion “stimulation” plan explode the national deficit to more than all deficits combined since George Washington. The media “reports” the deficit will be cut in half.

Government meddling in the economy, higher taxes, make-work spending and trade protectionism caused a world-wide depression in the 1930s. But today, the liberal media “reports” that the same moves will somehow get the economy growing again. 79 years ago these actions produced starvation, misery and soup lines.

If “affirmative action” reporting continues, our brainwashed children may lose the free country we inherited from our parents before realizing it.

Banks failing because of being forced to make bad loans? The government will take them over! Car companies bankrupt because of years of miles-per-gallon regulations and being mugged by government protected unions? Bail out auto unions with new loans for non-working union members. Government to seize private businesses? Sure – must be for our own good!

Universal health care in Massachusetts that will lower costs? But whoops, health care costs are up 42% since 2006! Sun spots? Let’s stop using toilet paper and turn off the lights as instructed by global warming zealots.

Folks, other than the armed forces, would you trust the “government” to take over and run anything?

The main-stream media is blindly accepting that changes proposed by our new black president and black governor must be changes for the better because they say it is. If “affirmative action” reporting continues, our brainwashed children may lose the free country we inherited from our parents before realizing it.

Here’s eloquence we need to hear in this country -- from a brave British public official who asserted to his Prime Minister last week:

You have subsidized where you have not nationalized outright swaths of our country including the car industry and many of the banks.
The truth [Sir] is that you have run out of our money.
You are carrying on willfully, worsening our situation.
Last year 100,000 private sector jobs were lost, yet you’ve created 30,000 Public Sector Jobs.
You cannot carry on forever squeezing the productive bit of the economy in order to fund an unprecedented engorgement of the unproductive bit.
You cannot spend your way out of recession, or borrow your way out of debt.

These courageous, truthful words were stated by Daniel Hannan, a previously obscure London back-bencher, to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown whom he depicted as a “devalued Prime Minister of a devalued government.”

Fortunately, Dear Reader, there are places where you can turn for truthful, accurate news and analysis. They include me, of course, the Wall Street Journal, the much derided FOX News network, conservative talk radio led by Rush Limbaugh, the Heritage Foundation, the Pioneer Group, the Drudge Report and a slew of new conservative books now being scooped up extolling the values we’ve got to re-learn.

For now, a willful, purposeful President and despicable government elitists are demonizing capitalism and ginning up a lynch-mob mentality against AIG, an individual company and its worker families. Why? AIG employees only continued working at a destroyed company for retention bonuses that were approved by the same tyrannical, braying public officials who feigned outrage that the bonuses should be returned. Here’s a taste of the resulting threats AIG families are now enduring:

All the executives and their families should be executed with piano wire around their necks --- my greatest hope. • I want to f***ing puke. Publish the list of those Yankee scumbags so some good old southern boys can take care of them. • We will hunt you down. We will hunt your children and we will hunt your conscience. Give back the money or kill yourselves. • You mother-f***ing, c***s***ing, d***l****ers need to be taken out one by one and shot in the head. There's a special place in hell for you pond scum.

Billions are now being spent from the bogus “stimulus” to protect and swell worthless government jobs and build countless “bridges to nowhere” – as though the “government” actually stimulates economy. Reducing government waste and major tax reductions are what’s needed now so the private sector can start hiring again and invest in growth opportunities.

What will the future will bring with continued uncontrolled spending and Democrat government intrusion into the private sector? California is already showing us --- tent cities in public parks and 10% unemployment!

Our great economy usually self-corrects in about 16 months through bankruptcies and capital re-allocation -- unless government intrudes and prolongs the down-turn.

So conservatives arise, act, speak out – you have nothing to preserve but your freedoms, your fortunes, and your faith.

Len Mead can be reached anytime at mead1720@gmail.com

Ten Demands for Government to Improve Serving Us
February 6, 2009
By Len Mead

In this recession, let’s remember who’s in charge of how government serves us. . . . We are.

It’s OUR tax money that pays for schools, fire protection, the army and social security. Government has nothing to spend that we do not give it.

The nightmare we face in this recession is that our town, our state and our federal government are all bankrupt! The obligations promised are more than our anticipated tax revenues. Government is now failing us and it’s up to us to demand improvements in how it serves us.

Our forefathers produced the freest, most successful, most prosperous nation in world history. Let me please paraphrase the inspirational words used when they formed our new government only 233 years ago:

We hold these truths to be self-evident:
·        That all men are created equal,
·        That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
·        That among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,
·        That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed and
·        That whenever Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is our Right to alter or abolish it, instituting changes that seem most likely to effect our Safety and Happiness.

Today we see government failure and corruption everywhere. Rights of citizens to alter or abolish dysfunctional government are not helped by years of liberal main-stream news reporting implying our greatness comes from government, not from the risk-taking and success of free people. Typically, when a government department wants a $500,000 increase in a budget we pay for and only $300,000 is approved, that’s reported as a “cut!” Many brainwashed citizens have come to believe they are entitled to success and whine for government help when it doesn’t come.

Friends, government isn’t going to serve us better if we meekly sit by and don’t speak out. So here are demands you can make to protect your freedoms, your pocketbooks and our country:

1)     Demand no “cuts” from Beacon Hill in returning our own tax monies to us for our educational needs (chapter 70 funds) and for other municipal needs which totaled $9.4 million in fiscal ’09. The Governor’s proposed “cuts” don’t require any belt-tightening at the state level; they just outrageously keep more of the taxes Westborough sends to Beacon Hill!
2)     Demand that even with declining tax revenues, our state government continue to return back to us the same $9.4 million in Fiscal ’10 by cutting at the state level the huge waste in salaries, pensions and overlapping programs with pay cuts or freezes of pay increases as proposed by Boston Mayor Tom Menino.
3)     Demand term limits for politicians at all levels. Make public service what it should be – a temporary service to the community, not a life-time career building a fiefdom.
4)     Demand that no new state tax increases be passed such as raising meals or room taxes or unconstitutional fee increases at the registry of motor vehicles. Higher taxes and fees kill growth and prolong a recession.
5)     Demand that Washington’s nightmare “stimulus” package be modified with 56% of the $900 billion going for Democrat spending and 44% for tax cuts as proposed in the Wall Street Journal 1-29-08 by Rush Limbaugh. The current “stimulus” will only bring socialism -- more government spending, more government control and a permanent government dependency of citizens because a majority will become tax “eaters” rather than productive tax payers.
6)     Demand the proposed “card check” voting system for unionization be stopped and the private ballot system be maintained. Otherwise many more medium and small businesses will become unionized and driven bankrupt when labor costs explode.
7)     Demand that our Westborough Selectman take the courageous stand that they will not allow any ballot vote for a Prop 2 ½ Tax Increase. This will force our schools and town to live within our means and save a destructive tax increase fight. This is fair because for years and years, pay, benefits and pensions for our town and school employees has gone up many times faster than for taxpayers in the private sector.
8)     Demand school vouchers so parents can pull their children out of failing schools. This promotes competition so the monopoly public school system will be pressured to provide even better education and actually control costs.
9)     Demand changes in mandated but unfunded special education costs which include substantial health related outlays that our education dollars shouldn’t fund. Unlimited spending for Special Education children in our schools must be limited to some ratio of what “average” students get – say twice or maybe three times. Fund the medical needs another way.
10) Demand reduction of the failed $3 billion annual cost of welfare programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Phase in an end for every recipient after a fixed period – say 5 – 10 years. Require random drug testing for every recipient – the same as employers demand for workers who earn the money. Existing welfare traps people in a lifetime of dependency. Private charities, churches, or organizations should be encouraged to meet the social needs of these individuals to help them end their dependency and become productive citizens.

Yes, Dear Reader, these demands are “tough love” for our servant – our government. But more socialism is the alternative -- loss of our freedoms and our fortunes.

Every indication in this crisis is that our “government” seems determined to help itself -- the politicians and those working for government -- not we, the people.

You now have the internet. You have your voice. You have your free speech --- for now. Use it, or maybe lose it.
Government Liberals & Unions Are now Crushing us

By Len Mead, 3-13-09

Government is growing so powerful and self serving it is now crushing our prosperity. Life-time savings, housing values and investments are being destroyed as the stock market collapses due to the uncertainty of which economic sector the government will interfere with next.

Star-struck voters and union dues gave this power to liberals and a President who advocates spreading wealth from those who earned it to losers. Planned tax hikes on “the rich” will kill work incentives for the most productive. Planned tax credits will raise the percentage of non-taxpayers from 38% to about 50%, creating a voting majority with no stake in controlling government costs. These same star-struck voters are now being fired in droves as businesses that might employ them are scrambling to survive in the face of anticipated higher taxes and regulations.

Because of three Republicans who defected, our country is choking on a phony $1 trillion “stimulus” which your great-grandchildren will still be paying. Instead of reducing taxes and trusting the people who actually earn money to spend it, the kleptocrats in Washington foolishly think the largest pork-barrel spending program in history (mostly growing government) will actually help turn around the economy. The idiocy of anyone who voted for this unread bill of generational theft is self evident.

Dear Reader, it now seems obvious what a disaster it has been to trust more of our freedoms and our future care to “government.” Now we and our children will be lucky to prosper at all unless this socialistic tide is turned.

Liberal Democrat policies have never worked. The longest losing war in history is the liberal war on poverty. After throwing trillions at “poverty” the cruel result has poisoned the motivation of generations to care for themselves and destroyed the family unit by paying single mothers for producing unwanted bastard children.

Trusted government regulators failed to uncover Bernard Madoff‘s $50 billion Ponzi scheme, where he just took in money and kept it without investing in anything. Yet our social security system works just the same way! Money collected from struggling workers is just forwarded to the retired – nothing is invested. Is this the government you want?

Dues collected from every union teacher, policeman, fireman, and government worker was funneled to elect liberal Democrats at every level. Unions have now become just transfer agents, taking dues from members to elect liberals regardless of the political wishes of trapped members. Are you conservative union members happy with this?

Our new tele-prompter President is fast tracking “card check,” making union organizing easier at hundreds of thousands of small and medium businesses. This would eliminate the right to a secret ballot election to form a new union and allow public intimidation to just “sign a card.” This job-killer will crush businesses by adding to costs and hurting their ability to manage their work-force flexibly in response to market conditions.

The liberal notion that “everybody should have a house” crushed mortgage financing when Barney Frank and Chris Dodd forced loans to be approved to people for houses they couldn’t afford. Well, shouldn’t everybody have a car, too – hey, and how about a computer? Now responsible homeowners paying their own mortgages will be taxed to pay mortgages of others who knowingly lied applying for loans on houses they could never afford. Is this the government you want?

The tax rate reductions of Reagan and Bush reversed two recessions and resulted in exploding higher tax revenues to government as unfettered workers and businesses grew and prospered. But liberals (Democrat and Republican) spent every dollar and more, resulting in nightmare deficits.

Higher taxes produce recessions and then depressions. If the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, we’ll all be in a depression faster than you can say 1929. Plus, our new President plans destructive, ridiculous “carbon taxes” to feed the global warming sham. That will crush the finances of every car driver or business using trucks. Is this the government you want?

Closer to home, our state governor’s solution to our recession is higher taxes, higher tolls, higher registry fees, keeping more of our own tax dollars and hiring 2,000 more bureaucrats added to the 2,000 he’s already hired. Is this the kind of state government you want?

Locally, I urged our selectman save us $10 million by constructing the proposed $20 million dollar public safety complex using General Steel Corporation whose estimate was only $9 million. But last week, two selectman voted to move forward the safety complex proposal (now estimated at $30 million) to town meeting which would require a debt exclusion tax increase to fund! This move defines a good argument for saving money by regionalizing public safety with other towns.

Friends, your future and that of your children now depends on voting out the current liberals in public office and replacing them with conservative Republicans who will get government out of our lives, will lower taxes, will restrain union monopoly power and will cut bureaucracy.

Only with conservative Republicans in public office who stand for individual responsibility, lower taxes and opportunity for all -- not wealth re-distribution -- will we, the people, realize our dreams of working hard, prospering and actually keeping the fruits of our labor.

Can We Save $10 Million on the Public Safety Complex?
By Len Mead December, 2007

Audible groans were heard at Town Meeting last October when lectured that union teacher raises are “minimal compared to what we have in some industries.”

Later, in discussing the $1.7 million request for funds to develop the architectural and engineering plans for a combined police and fire safety complex, citizens had the gall to ask – “Well, what would you estimate the ultimate cost of this project to be?” After a few outright refusals to answer, a figure of “at least $20 million” was voiced. That brought audible gasps from the crowd.

So with real estate values dropping, National Grid leaving town (taking as many as 900 jobs away) and the average single family tax bill rising $500, taxpayers might conclude that there really is a ”Grinch” out there ready to steal Christmas. And still to go is the multi-million dollar cost of upgrading our water treatment facilities.

Fortunately, Dear Reader, that’s why you have me to turn to – always looking for the positive side, always looking for where spending might be curbed, needed municipal buildings constructed more efficiently and rising tax bills restrained.

Let’s first affirm that the concept of a combined police and fire complex is deserved and practical. Our fine police and fire departments now operate out of facilities that have significant shortcomings of space, logistics, and safety itself. Start by realizing that we have a police department operating out of an old converted school building and a fire department which has to park equipment on floors where the supports are so rusted there’s a chance the trucks might fall through to the basement.

With the $20 million plus “guesstimate” for the new proposed public safety complex sticking in my mind, I set about to research if there were ways to complete the project without spending about a quarter of our town’s annual budget. At 55,000 square feet, that comes out to, let’s see, $20 million plus the $1.7 million for the architect/engineering fees and project management = $21.7 million divided by 55,000 – that’s about $394/square foot! Not including the $1.4 million to buy the land and the demolition costs for the “V-Arc” structure that was on it.

First I discovered that Plainfield, MA, with a population of 20,000, is putting up a new firehouse for $750,000 designed by Reinhrdt Associates of Agawam, MA. But that doesn’t include a police facility.

Then I discovered Paxton (just west of Worcester) is constructing a combined police and fire safety complex of about half the size we want -- 24,000 square feet -- for about $9 million including the architect/engineering fees and project management – or about $373/square foot.

In other states, however, more research identified a handful of other police/fire complexes costing considerably less than the $394/square foot price floated at out town meeting. Then it hit me. These less expensive safety complexes were pre-engineered steel buildings!

To understand why our public safety project cost is estimated at $20 million plus, I had breakfast with George Barrette, Chair of our seven-person Municipal Building Committee (a former Chair of our Selectman) and Dexter Blois, another member who happened to be a past Westborough Town Coordinator and Ashland Town Manager for 9 plus years. These capable and dedicated individuals plus five other committee members are appointed by Henry Danis, our Town Coordinator.

They kindly explained that our plan was highly customized. Our plan is three stories high, specifically designed to fit on the available lot by Jacunski Humes of Berlin, CT an architect with extensive experience designing similar public safety complexes. Asked why a pre-engineered steel building approach wasn’t being considered, the response was to question whether multi-story structures like our safety complex could be constructed that way.

So, to check out what might be possible, I then called “The General,” General Steel Corporation in the Denver, CO area. You know -- those guys who advertise on the radio about building your needed municipal structure in “half the time for half the cost?”

And guess what? After looking over our top down architectural sketches – even without needed elevation drawings -- General Steel conservatively estimated that, indeed, they could build what we’ve sketched out for (don’t hold us to this) -- $8 to $10 million. About half the $20 million plus number we heard at Town Meeting!

Now, I’m not an engineer – I don’t even play one on TV. But the idea of saving Westborough $10 million to build our public safety complex seems like something our Municipal Building Committee should actively consider.

To get more specific details about how a pre-engineered steel building could compare with other construction approaches, General Steel or any of the other fine pre-engineered steel building construction companies have to be “asked in” by municipalities. Certainly that’s not my job.

But with awareness and pressure by you, my friends, hopefully Westborough’s Municipal Building Committee can consider “inviting in” pre-engineered steel building construction companies to propose getting our public safety building built for (dare we hope?) half the $20 million we heard at Town Meeting.

That’s a $10 million dollar Christmas present saving every Westborough taxpayer would love.
Is Obama A US Citizen?
"Is he president of the United States?" asks Keyes. "According to the Constitution,
in order to be eligible for president you have to be a natural born citizen. He has refused to provide proof."
Sign the petition

Alan Keyes: Stop Obama or U.S. will cease to exist
Claims 'communist usurper' plunges country into chaos

Posted: February 21, 200910:00 pm Eastern
By Drew Zahn  2009 WorldNetDaily

Alan Keyes, a 2008 presidential candidate who is also a plaintiff in one of the many lawsuits challenging Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility to occupy the Oval Office, charged at a pro-life rally that unless Obama's social and economic policies are stopped, the United States as we know it is over.

Keyes' comments were part of an interview with a reporter from KHAS-TV at a fundraiser for the AAA Crisis Pregnancy Center in Hastings, Neb.
"Obama is a radical communist, and I think it is becoming clear. That is what I told people in Illinois and now everybody realizes it's true," said Keyes, who ran unsuccessfully against Obama for the state's open Senate seat in 2004. "He is going to destroy this country, and we are either going to stop him or the United States of America is going to cease to exist."

Keyes also reasserted his belief that unless the question of Obama's eligibility to serve as president is answered definitively, America may face the startling crisis of an executive branch run by a "usurper."

"Is he president of the United States?" Keyes asked the reporter of Obama. "According to the Constitution, in order to be eligible for president you have to be a natural born citizen. He has refused to provide proof."

Where's the proof Barack Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution? If you still want to see it, join more than 240,000 others and sign up now!
"I'm not sure he's even president of the United States," Keyes continued, "neither are many of our military people now who are now going to court to ask the question, 'Do we have to obey a man who is not qualified under the constitution?' We are in the midst of the greatest crisis this nation has ever seen, and if we don't stop laughing about it and deal with it, we're going to find ourselves in the midst of chaos, confusion and civil war."

Keyes, who stated he refuses even to refer to Obama as president, labeled the man in the Oval Office as "somebody who is kind of an alleged usurper, who is alleged to be someone who is occupying that office without constitutional warrant to do so."   Video of the interview can be seen below:

Keyes' comments included harsh criticism of Obama's policies on immigration, abortion, and the mortgage crisis. He concluded the interview by railing against the president's push for hundreds of billions of dollars in government economic stimulus spending.

"We are claiming that a bankrupt government can save a bankrupt banking system," Keyes said. "The fact that we have just elected an individual – who may or may not be qualified – and he presents silly ideas like this and says, 'Let's move forward now,' and we're all acting like the laws of economics have been repealed and we can actually afford to foot the bill with money nobody's got, this is insane.

"It's got to lead to the collapse of our economy," Keys declared, "and it's going to."

WND has reported on multiple legal challenges, including Keyes' case, that have alleged Obama does not meet the "natural born citizen" clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, which reads, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."

Some claim he was not born in Hawaii, as he insists, but in Kenya. Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.

Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.

The Keyes case is being handled largely by Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation, but others playing a key role in the legal actions include Orly Taitz of California as well as Philip Berg, both of whom already have had their arguments rejected as not worthy of hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Here is a partial listing and status update for some of the cases over Obama's eligibility:
New Jersey attorney Mario Apuzzo has filed a case on behalf of Charles Kerchner and others alleging Congress didn't properly ascertain that Obama is qualified to hold the office of president.
Philip J. Berg, a Pennsylvania Democrat, demanded that the courts verify Obama's original birth certificate and other documents proving his American citizenship. Berg's latest appeal, requesting an injunction to stop the Electoral College from selecting the 44th president, was denied.
Leo Donofrio of New Jersey filed a lawsuit claiming Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court but denied a full hearing.
Cort Wrotnowski filed suit against Connecticut's secretary of state, making a similar argument to Donofrio. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court, but was denied a full hearing.
Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes headlines a list of people filing a suit in California, in a case handled by the United States Justice Foundation, that asks the secretary of state to refuse to allow the state's 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office. The case is pending, and lawyers are seeking the public's support.
Chicago attorney Andy Martin sought legal action requiring Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle to release Obama's vital statistics record. The case was dismissed by Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Bert Ayabe.
Lt. Col. Donald Sullivan sought a temporary restraining order to stop the Electoral College vote in North Carolina until Barack Obama's eligibility could be confirmed, alleging doubt about Obama's citizenship. His case was denied.
In Ohio, David M. Neal sued to force the secretary of state to request documents from the Federal Elections Commission, the Democratic National Committee, the Ohio Democratic Party and Obama to show the presidential candidate was born in Hawaii. The case was denied.
In Washington state, Steven Marquis sued the secretary of state seeking a determination on Obama's citizenship. The case was denied.
In Georgia, Rev. Tom Terry asked the state Supreme Court to authenticate Obama's birth certificate. His request for an injunction against Georgia's secretary of state was denied by Georgia Superior Court Judge Jerry W. Baxter.
California attorney Orly Taitz has brought a case, Lightfoot vs. Bowen, on behalf of Gail Lightfoot, the vice presidential candidate on the ballot with Ron Paul, four electors and two registered voters.
In addition, other cases cited on the RightSideofLife blog as raising questions about Obama's eligibility include:
In Texas, Darrel Hunter vs. Obama later was dismissed.
In Ohio, Gordon Stamper vs. U.S. later was dismissed.
In Texas, Brockhausen vs. Andrade.
In Washington, L. Charles vs. Obama.
In Hawaii, Keyes vs. Lingle, dismissed.
WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi had gone to both Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth. But his research and discoveries only raised more questions.
The governor's office in Hawaii said there is a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin: Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii, which the state's procedures allowed at the time?
Sign the petition
PETITION FOR PUBLIC RELEASE OF
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE
To: Electoral College, Congress of the United States, Federal Elections Commission, U.S. Supreme Court, President of the United States, other controlling legal authorities
Whereas, by requirement of the United States Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, no one can be sworn into office as president of the United States without being a natural born citizen;
Whereas, there is sufficient controversy within the citizenry of the United States as to whether presidential election winner Barack Obama was actually born in Hawaii as he claims;
Whereas, Barack Obama has refused repeated calls to release publicly his entire Hawaiian birth certificate, which would include the actual hospital that performed the delivery;
Whereas, lawsuits filed in several states seeking only proof of the basic minimal standard of eligibility have been rebuffed;
Whereas, Hawaii at the time of Obama's birth allowed births that took place in foreign countries to be registered in Hawaii;
Whereas, concerns that our government is not taking this constitutional question seriously will result in diminished confidence in our system of free and fair elections;
SIGN THE PETITION
We, the undersigned, assert our rights as citizens of the United States in demanding that the constitutional eligibility requirement be taken seriously and that any and all controlling legal authorities in this matter examine the complete birth certificate of Barack Obama, including the actual city and hospital of birth, and make that document available to the American people for inspection
Click: Sign the petition
What else can you do?
Support this petition by emailing it to your friends

Rush Limbaugh’s First Televised Address to the Nation:
Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Speech

Watch It! WMP:Part One | Part Two | Rush Accepts CPAC Award

February 28, 2009

“We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause] “We are talking about the United States of America -- and there will always be an America, don't misunderstand me -- we're talking about it remaining the country we were all born into and reared and grown into. And it's under assault. It's always under assault. But it's never been under assault like this from within before. And it's a serious, serious battle.”

RUSH: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you all very, very much. Thank you all. I can't tell you how wonderful that makes me feel. It happens everywhere I go, but it's still special here. [ Laughter ] If you all will indulge me, I learned something, I guess, it's early Friday morning that I didn't know. Friday morning is when I learned this. I learned that Fox, God love them, is televising this speech on the Fox News Channel, which means, ladies and gentleman, this is my first ever address to the nation. [Applause]

Now, I have someone in back taking phone numbers. In fact, I would like to introduce to you my security chief, a man who runs all of my security. His name is Joseph Stalin. Joseph, would you please -- [Laughter ] I am safe from any liberal attack, in public, because they would be afraid of offending Stalin. [Laughter] Now the opportunity here to address the nation, a serious one, it really is. And I want to take it seriously. I want to address something. I know that people are probably watching this who never have listened to my program and may not even really know what conservatism is. They think they do based on how they've been told -- the way we've been impugned and maligned and so forth. One of the things that is totally erroneous about me -- and I just want to get this up front -- is that I'm pompous. [Laughter]

And that I am arrogant. Neither of these things are remotely true. I can tell you a joke to illustrate this. Larry King passed away, goes to heaven. He's greeted by Saint Peter at the gates. Saint Peter says, "Welcome, Mr. King, it's great to have you here. I want to show you around, give you an idea of what's here, maybe you can pick a place that you'd like to reside." King says, "I just have one question: Is Rush Limbaugh here?"

"No, he's got a lot of time yet, Mr. King." So Saint Peter begins the tour. Larry King sees the various places and it's beyond anything we can imagine in terms of beauty. Finally, he gets to the biggest room of all, with this giant throne. And over the throne is a flashing beautiful angelic neon sign that says "Rush Limbaugh." [Laughter]

And Larry King looks at Saint Peter and says: "I thought you said he wasn't here."

"He said, he's not, he's not. This is God's room. He just thinks he's Rush Limbaugh."[Laughter] [Applause]

So you see I'm not pompous. [Laughter]

Now, seriously, for those of you watching on C-SPAN as well, and on Fox, I want to tell you who we all are in this room. I want to tell you who conservatives are. We conservatives have not done a good enough job of just laying out basically who we are because we make the mistake of assuming people know. What they know is largely incorrect based on the way we are portrayed in pop culture, in the Drive-By Media, by the Democrat Party.

Let me tell you who we conservatives are: We love people. [Applause] When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don't see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people we want to exploit. What we see -- what we see is potential. We do not look out across the country and see the average American, the person that makes this country work. We do not see that person with contempt. We don't think that person doesn't have what it takes. We believe that person can be the best he or she wants to be if certain things are just removed from their path like onerous taxes, regulations and too much government. [Applause]

We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you.

We don't want to tell anybody how to live. That's up to you. If you want to make the best of yourself, feel free. If you want to ruin your life, we'll try to stop it, but it's a waste. We look over the country as it is today, we see so much waste, human potential that's been destroyed by 50 years of a welfare state. By a failed war on poverty. [Applause]

We love the people of this country. And we want this to be the greatest country it can be, but we do understand, as people created and endowed by our creator, we're all individuals. We resist the effort to group us. We resist the effort to make us feel that we're all the same, that we're no different than anybody else. We're all different. There are no two things or people in this world who are created in a way that they end up with equal outcomes. That's up to them. They are created equal, given the chance - -[Applause]

We don't hate anybody. We don't -- I mean, the racism in this country, if you ask me, I know many people in this audience -- let me deal with this head on. You know what the cliche is, a conservative: racist, sexist, bigot, homophobe. Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen of America, if you were paying attention, I know you were, the racism in our culture was exclusively and fully on display in the Democrat primary last year. [Applause]

It was not us asking whether Barack Obama was authentic. What we were asking is: Is he wrong? We concluded, yes. We still think so. But we didn't ask if he was authentically black. We didn't say, as some Southern Christian Leadership Conference leaders said: Barack is not authentic, he's not got any slave blood. He's really not down for the struggle, but his wife is. So don't expect the race industry to go away. Southern Christian Leadership Conference -- you may not know this, because it wasn't reported in the Drive-By Media -- the racism, the sexism, the bigotry that we're all charged with, just so you across the United States of America know, and you'll see demonstrated here as the afternoon goes on, doesn't exist on our side. We want everybody to succeed. [Applause]

You know why? We want the country to succeed, and for the country to succeed, its people -- its individuals -- must succeed. Everyone among us must be pursuing his ambition or her desire, whatever, with excellence. Trying to be the best they can be. Not told, as they are told by the Democrat Party: You really can't do that, you don't have what it takes, besides you're a minority or you're a woman and there are too many people that want to discriminate against you. You can't get anywhere. You need to depend on us.

Well. Take a look, someone has to say this -- I am thrilled for the opportunity to say it in my first national address to the nation -- and I'm going to touch on this in more detail in a moment, but this is just to get you thinking -- take a look at all the constituency groups that for 50 years have been depending on the Democrat Party to improve their lives. And you tell me if you find any. They're still complaining, still griping about the same problems. Their problems don't get fixed by government. And those lives have been poisoned. Those lives have been cut short by false promises, from government representatives who said don't worry about it, we'll take care of you. Just vote for us. [Applause]

For those of you just tuning in on the Fox News Channel or C-SPAN, I'm Rush Limbaugh and I want everyone in this room and every one of you around the country to succeed. I want anyone who believes in life, liberty, pursuit of happiness to succeed. And I want any force, any person, any element of an overarching Big Government that would stop your success, I want that organization, that element or that person to fail. I want you to succeed. [Applause] Also, for those of you in the Drive-By Media watching, I have not needed a teleprompter for anything I've said. [Cheers and Applause ] And nor do any of us need a teleprompter, because our beliefs are not the result of calculations and contrivances. Our beliefs are not the result of a deranged psychology. Our beliefs are our core. Our beliefs are our hearts. We don't have to make notes about what we believe. We don't have to write down, oh do I believe it do I believe that we can tell people what we believe off the top of our heads and we can do it with passion and we can do it with clarity, and we can do it persuasively. Some of us just haven't had the inspiration or motivation to do so in a number of years, but that's about to change. [Cheers and Applause]

For example, we gather here -- I understand that. I talked to David and Lisa in the super exclusive private green room that nobody, but about 55 people were allowed into, and they said that there's a sense of liberation here among all of you that are attending CPAC. I understand what the sense of liberation is about. But don't make the mistake at the same time of feeling liberated as thinking we're better and we can do better as a minority. Because we're not a minority. And if you start thinking of yourselves as a minority, you're going to be defensive. And you'll allow the majority to set the agenda and the premise and you're responding to it. The American people may not all vote the way we wish them to, but more Americans than you now live their lives as conservatives in one degree or another. And they are waiting for leadership. We need conservative leadership. We can take this country back. All we need is to nominate the right candidate. It's no more complicated than that. [Applause

Now, let me speak about President Obama for just a second. President Obama is one of the most gifted politicians, one of the most gifted men that I have ever witnessed. He has extraordinary talents. He has communication skills that hardly anyone can surpass. No, seriously. No, no, I'm being very serious about this. It just breaks my heart that he does not use these extraordinary talents and gifts to motivate and inspire the American people to be the best they can be. He's doing just the opposite. And it's a shame. [Applause] President Obama has the ability -- he has the ability to inspire excellence in people's pursuits. He has the ability to do all this, yet he pursues a path, seeks a path that punishes achievement, that punishes earners and punishes -- and he speaks negatively of the country. Ronald Reagan used to speak of a shining city on a hill. Barack Obama portrays America as a soup kitchen in some dark night in a corner of America that's very obscure. He's constantly telling the American people that bad times are ahead, worst times are ahead. And it's troubling, because this is the United States of America. Anybody ever ask -- I'm in awe of our country and I ask this question a lot as I've gotten older. We're less than 300 years old. We are younger than nations that have been on this planet for thousands of years. We, nevertheless, in less than 300 years -- by the way, we're no different than any other human beings around the world. Our DNA is no different. We're not better just because we're born in America. There's nothing that sets us apart. How did this happen? How did the United States of America become the world's lone super power, the world's economic engine, the most prosperous opportunity for an advanced lifestyle that humanity has ever known? How did this happen? And why pray tell does the President of the United States want to destroy it? It saddens me.

The freedom we spoke of earlier is the freedom, it's the ambition, it's the desire, the wherewithal, the passions that people have that gave us the great entrepreneurial advances, the great inventions, the greatest food production, the human lifestyle advances in this country. Why shouldn't that be rewarded? Why is that now the focus of punishment? Why is that now the focus of blame? Why doesn't -- Mayor Bloomberg the other day, ladies and gentlemen, resisting his Governor's call for an increased tax on the rich in New York had some astounding numbers. Eight million people live in New York. 40,000 of those eight million pay roughly 60 to 70% of New York's operating budget. He was afraid that if he raised taxes on those people some of them might leave. Mayor, one already has, by the way. [Applause] Stop and think of this, though. Stop and think of this. Forty thousand people out of eight million. He's right, if 10,000 of them leave, or 5,000, they've got a huge problem. Because New York has its own welfare state inside the one the federal government's created. They've got a dependency class that has grown up and been educated that their entitlement is to be fed and taken care of by these evil mean people who have more than they do. If New York City, New York State or Washington, DC were a business, these 40,000 people would be taken on golf tournament trips to Los Angeles, and they would be wined and dined and they would be thanked and they would be encouraged to keep it up. They wouldn't be told they're the problem. They wouldn't be told, except there's -- I pride my accuracy rating. There is one other business where the customer is always wrong and that's the media. Sorry about that. [Applause]

Have you ever called to complain about whatever they do? They say, yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full. They hang up and say you're too stupid to know how they're doing what they're doing. You can't get it. You're not sophisticated enough. So that's another business where the customer is always wrong. But, seriously, the people who have achieved great things, most of it is not inherited. Most wealth in this country is the result of entrepreneurial, just plain old hard work. There's no reason to punish it. There's no reason to raise taxes on these people. Barack Obama, the Democrat Party, have one responsibility, and that's to respect the oath they gave to protect, defend and follow the US Constitution. [Applause]

They don't have the right to take money that's not theirs, from the back pockets of producers, and give it to groups like ACORN, which are going to advance the Democrat Party. If anybody but government were doing this, it would be a crime. And many of us think it's bordering on that as it exists now. [Applause]

President Obama is so busy trying to foment and create anger in a created atmosphere of crisis, he is so busy fueling the emotions of class envy that he's forgotten it's not his money that he's spending. [Applause] In fact, the money he's spending is not ours. He's spending wealth that has yet to be created. And that is not sustainable. It will not work. This has been tried around the world. And every time it's been tried, it's a failed disaster.

What's the longest war in American history? Did somebody say the war on poverty? Smart group. War on poverty. The war on poverty essentially started in the '30s as part of the New Deal, but it really ramped up in the '60s with Lyndon Johnson, part of the Great Society war on poverty. We have transferred something like 10 trillion, maybe close to 11 trillion, from producers and earners to nonproducers and nonearners since 1965. Yet, as I listen to the Democratic Party campaign, why, America is still a soup kitchen, the poor is still poor and they have no hope and they're poor for what reason? They're poor because of us, because we don't care, and because we've gotten rich by taking from them, that's what kids in school are taught today. That's what others have said to the media. You know why they're poor, you know why they remain poor? Because their lives have been destroyed by the never-ending government hay that's designed to help them, but it destroys ambition. It destroys the education they might get to learn to be self-fulfilling. [Applause] And it breaks our heart. It breaks our heart. We lose track of numbers with all of the money, with all the money that's been transferred, redistributed, with all the charitable giving in this country.

Ladies and gentlemen, there ought not be any poverty except those who are genuinely ill equipped. But most of the people in poverty in this country are equipped for far much more. They've just been beaten down. They're told don't worry, we'll take care of you. There's nothing out there for you anyway; you'll be discriminated against. Breaks our heart to see this. We can't have a great country and a growing economy with more and more people being told they have a right, because of some injustice that's been done to them or some discrimination, that they have a right to the earnings of others. And it's gotten so out of hand now that what worries me is that this administration, the Barack Obama administration is actively seeking to expand the welfare state in this country because he wants to control it.

George Will once asked Dr. Friedrich Von Hayek, tremendous classical economist, great man, 1975, George Will, Dr. Von Hayek, why is it that intellectuals, supposed smartest people in the room, why is it that intellectuals can look right out their windows, their own homes and cars and look at their universities and not see the bounties and the growth and the greatness of capitalism? And Von Hayek said: I've troubled over this for years and I've finally concluded that for intellectuals, pseudo-intellectuals, and all liberals, it's about control. It's not about raising revenue. You think Obama has any intention of paying for all this spending? Folks, if he had any intention of paying for it, he wouldn't do 90% of it because we don't have the money. [Applause]

They don't care about paying for it. All that's just words. All that's just rhetoric paying for it because he knows you have to worry about paying for it. He knows we all have to be concerned -- oh, except, wrong again. Except the words of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who were given homes that everybody knew they could never pay for, and now Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, the architects along with Bill Clinton of the policy that gave us the whole sub-prime mortgage crisis, get to sit around and act as innocent spectators to investigate what went on when they largely had the biggest role in causing it. [Applause]

Congressman Frank's definition of affordable housing is you get a house you don't have to pay for that everybody else in the neighborhood will pay for. Why? Because it's unfair that some people can have a house and some people can't. Geez, it's just unfair. So here we have two systems. We have socialism, collectivism, Stalin, whatever you want to call it, versus capitalism. Admittedly over on the right side capitalism there will be unequal outcomes because we're all different. And some of us care more and have more passion and we know what we want to do and others are still struggling for it. Some people are just going to work harder than others. Okay. You get what you work for. Those who have a genuine inability for whatever reason are taken care of. We're compassionate people. On the left side when you get into this collectivism socialism stuff, these people on the left, the Democrats and liberals today claim that they are pained by the inequities and the inequalities in our society. And they believe that these inequities and inequalities descend from the selfishness and the greed of the achievers. And so they tell the people who are on different income quintiles, whatever lists, they say it's not that you're not working hard enough, you could have what they have, perhaps, if you applied it.

They're stealing it from you. So what liberals do, and I say this again to the -- another thing, I know people in the country are watching. I was watching a focus group after some event this week. Might have been after Obama's State of the Union show. [Laughter] And they had -- it was a typical, you know, Drive-By Media focus group. They round up losers -- [Laughter] -- who hear Obama speak and think that the next day their gas tanks are going to be filled up and get a new house and a new kitchen and a new car. And so this one guy said -- oh, it was some guy responding to Bobby Jindal. Oh, by the way did you hear about Joe Biden? Joe Biden was mystified how Bobby Jindal got his shift off at 7-Eleven that night to make the speech. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Time out. Suspend speech for explanation. People watching at home. I'm glad this happened. Glad this happened. You think I just made a joke, an ethnic joke about Bobby Jindal, don't you? I didn't. I made a joke about the bigotry of the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden. It was Joe Biden while walking through the train station he knows so well because he's such a real guy, that he made a comment that you can't go into a 7-Eleven without seeing some Indian guy behind the counter. They're all over the place.

Now, let a conservative say something like that and he's brought up before John Conyers' committee with Pat Leahy wanting at you next. Many people think I lose my place in these speeches because -- by the way what time is it? We have plenty of time. We have to be out of here by -- [Applause] We have to be out of here by 6:00 -- okay, depends on how you behave. I'll decide as we go on. What liberalism Democrat, for those of you in the country, I really want you to believe this because it's the truth. I'm not saying it just because I believe it. This is a core. I want the best country we can have. We want the most prosperous people. We want to be growing. We want to lead the world. We want everybody to come here legally. We want this country to be so damn great and we just cringe to watch it -- basically capitalism be assaulted and our culture be reoriented to where the people that make it work are the enemy. That's not the United States of America. The people that make this country work, the people who pay on their mortgages, the people getting up and going to work, striving in this recession to not participate in it, they're not the enemy.

They're the people that hire you. They're the people that are going to give you a job. They're the people that are going to give you a raise, the people that need you to do work for them. [Applause] President Obama, and take your pick of any Democrat, love to say we've tried it your way. Meaning Reaganism. We've tried it your way. We tried it your way in the '80s and it didn't work. We tried

it your way eight years, the last eight years and it didn't work. Excuse me. Excuse me. Have you ever noticed those of you watching around the world in my first international address to the world, Fox is on some international satellites. They're watching this in the UK right now going (cringing). When Obama talks about past economies, he somehow always leaves out the recession of the '80s as worse than this one. Why does he leave it out? Because you know why he leaves it out, America? He leaves it out because we got out of that recession with tax cuts. [Applause] For those of you watching at home, I'm not nervous it's just really hot in here. These people are wired. We got out of the 1980s recession with tax cuts. Do you know that President Obama, in six weeks of his administration, has proposed more spending than from the founding of the country to his inauguration?

Now, this is not prosperity. It is not going to engender prosperity. It's not going to create prosperity and it's also not going to advance or promote freedom. It's going to be just the opposite. There are going to be more controls over what you can and can't do, how you can and can't do it, what you can and can't drive, what you can and can't say, where you can and can't say it. All of these things are coming down the pike, because it's not about revenue generation to them, it's about control. They do believe that they have compassion. They do believe they care. But, see, we never are allowed to look at the results of their plans, we are told we must only look at their good intentions, their big hearts. The fact that they have destroyed poor families by breaking up those families by offering welfare checks to women to keep having babies no more father needed, he's out doing something, the government's the father, they destroy the family. We're not supposed to analyze that. We're not supposed to talk about that. We're supposed to talk about their good intentions. They destroy people's futures. The future is not Big Government. Self-serving politicians. Powerful bureaucrats. This has been tried, tested throughout history. The result has always been disaster. President Obama, your agenda is not new. It's not change, and it's not hope. [Applause] Spending a nation into generational debt is not an act of compassion. All politicians, including President Obama, are temporary stewards of this nation. It is not their task to remake the founding of this country. It is not their task to tear it apart and rebuild it in their image.

(Crowd chanting "USA")It is not their task, it is not their right to remake this nation to accommodate their psychology. I sometimes wonder if liberalism is not just a psychosis or a psychology, not an ideology. It's so much about feelings, and the predominant feeling that liberalism is about is about feeling good about themselves and they do that by telling themselves they have all this compassion. You know, if you really want to unhinge a liberal it's hard to do because they're so unhinged now anyway, even after -- but all you have to do is say you know that the things you people do, the things you people believe in are cruel. That's the last way they look at themselves. They are the best people on the -- they're the good people. You tell them that their ideas and that their policies are cruel and the eggs start scrambling.

I have learned how to tweak liberals everywhere. I do it instinctively now. Tweak them in the media. And no reason to be afraid of these people. Why in the world would you be afraid of the deranged? There really is no reason to be afraid of them. And there's no reason to assume they're the minority. And there's no reason to let them set all the premises and all the agendas to which we respond to. I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself here but everybody asks me and I'm sure it's been a focal point of your convention: What do we do as conservatives? What do we do? How do we overcome this?

Well, the one thing, and there are many, but one thing that we can all do is stop assuming that the way to beat them is with better policy ideas right now. I don't want to name any names. It's not the point. But I talk to people about the Obama budget or the Obama Porkulous bill or whatever else TARP 2 whatever it's going to be, and they start talking to me in the terms of process and policy. I say stop it. What do you mean? Who is setting the process or policy? They are. You want to tweak it? No. This is philosophy, folks. This guy, I forgot -- the guy in the focus group after Bobby Jindal said, I didn't want to hear him talk, he said: Republicans and Democrats. Republicans and Democrats. Ladies and gentlemen of the United States of America, that's exactly what your future is about, who wins, Republicans or Democrats, conservatives versus liberals. The notion of partisanship, false premise. Let me define bipartisanship for you. Bipartisanship -- everybody seems to go orgasmic over the concept of bipartisanship. Don't worry, I checked with Fox, that word's okay. [Laughter] [Applause]

Remember, they covered the Lewinsky thing, so that's my -- bipartisanship occurs only after one other result, and that is victory. In other words, let's say as conservatives liberals demand that we be bipartisan with them in Congress. What they mean is: We check our core principles at the door, come in, let them run the show and agree with them. That's bipartisanship to them. To us, bipartisanship is them being forced to agree with us after we politically have cleaned their clocks and beaten them. And that has to be what we're focused on. [Applause] Why would any of us in this room who hold the core beliefs we believe, somebody tell me where is the compromise on all of this spending? Where is the compromise on all this punishment of the achievers. I don't know. [Laughter] [Applause

Where is the compromise between good and evil? Should Jesus have cut a different deal? Serious. From the standpoint of what we have to do, folks, this is not about taking a policy or a process that the Democrats have put forward and fighting around the edges. If we're going to convince the minds and hearts of the American people that what's about to happen to them is as disastrous as anything in their lives in peacetime, we're going to have to discuss philosophy with them. We are going to have to talk about principles, because our principles are not present in what's happening here. So where the hell do we go to compromise what we believe in when our principles are not their principles, they're just the opposite of what's happening? [Applause]

The American people -- it's a tough challenge. I admit -- I admit it's a tough challenge, but it's worth it. It's worth it. The way I just defined bipartisanship you could turn it around and liberals will define bipartisanship when we surrender and say okay we give. We're not quitting. We are not giving up. The country is too important. [Applause] There are certain realities. We don't have the votes in Capitol Hill to stop what's going to happen. What we can do is slow it down, procedure, parliamentary procedures, slow it down and do the best we can to inform the American people of what's really on the horizon. I know it's going to be tough. At some points, I don't think it can happen even right now. This is still the honeymoon period, and there's a lot of devotion to the Obama administration. It doesn't have anything to do with intellectual thinking, it's feelings. It's going to take some time for this to play out. But I spoke to David Keene, interviewing him for my newsletter. I asked him about this. He said they're going to overreach. Wouldn't you say they have? [Laughter].

They're going to overreach. At some point, at some point people have got to realize none of this is possible. You can't have people living in homes they don't pay for. You can't have people driving cars they don't pay for. I mean, you can for a while. But after a while the people paying for it -- screw this. We're not putting up with it. And you're going to see -- you're already starting to see evidence of these. All the tea parties that are starting to bubble up out there. Those are great. Fabulous. [Applause] And here's the big question. Here's the big question. And I ask this again in the context of my first address to the nation. [Laughter] You don't know how I love saying that, how excited I am about this. Aside from the bastardization of the Constitution that the Obama plans are, that TARP is, it's not constitutional. Aside from that, where is the evidence that the people offering all of this have ever succeeded in any similar plans before? There's none. There is no evidence it works. [Applause]

So you say how is he getting it done? Dumb down public education. Emotions. And the ongoing -- this is why I think it's such a waste for a man as gifted as President Obama with the communications skills, you know he could wipe out the Republican Party. He can wipe out the Republican Party if he would inspire this country to be the best it could be, but we don't have to worry about that because that's not what he wants. He wants people in fear, angst and crisis, fearing the worst each and every day because that clears the decks for President Obama and his pals to come in with the answers, which are abject failures, historically shown and demonstrated. Doesn't matter. They'll have control of it when it's all over. And that's what they want. Because they think they can do it better. They see these inequalities, these inequities that capitalism produces. How do they fix it? Do they try to elevate those at the bottom? No! They try to tear down the people at the bottom. It's not fair you're up there. So they whack us. That's not what made the country great.[Applause] And no evidence of it is in play here.

John Kerry [Boos], who served in Vietnam. [Laughter] Think about this, and, by the way, Barney Frank got involved with this, too. Northern Trust, a bank in Chicago -- by the way, which holds the mortgage to the Messiah's house, purchased by Tony Rezko, Northern Trust holds the mortgage. Northern Trust was forced, like Wells Fargo was forced, to take TARP money. The Wells Fargo CEO said they were taken into Paulson's room and they were given until 5:00 to sign it. They weren't getting out until they did. They wanted it spread all over the banking business. Northern Trust was in there. They didn't want it. They took $1.6 billion. As you know, they went out and they sponsored the LA Riveria Open two weeks ago that Phil Mickelson barely hung on and won. [Applause]

And we find out they hired some liberals to entertain, but it still wasn't good enough. They hired Sheryl Crow. And they hired the rock crooner group Chicago, but they had the audacity, Northern Trust did, to entertain their clients, to try to reward their best customers, to get new customers, banking is in trouble, Northern Trust is trying to do what they always do, what all businesses do, and that is mine for new clients and reward existing good customers. Not since they took $1.6 billion, I guess. The haughty John Kerry wrote a piece of legislation said: He's getting sick and tired, sick and tired of these CEOs using taxpayer money to throw all these lavish parties. And I'm saying where do you get yours, Senator? [Applause]

Sad thing, sad thing is it works. They've created class envy in so many average Americans that they love hearing that. Yeah, you get even with those bank guys. How is it going to improve here? Let me ask a question for those of you watching my first national address. Take the favorite villain you've got, maybe it's John Thain at Merrill Lynch, because he used his own money, his company's own money, his company's own money, to redecorate a bathroom in an office for $1.2 million. By the way, to do that he had to hire a contractor. They got paid. Had to hire a designer and buy furniture, that's called stimulus. And he did it.

But all of a sudden John Thain's thrown out. John Thain is thrown out. He's humiliated and embarrassed; how dare he? He did it a year before they took the TARP money. And all these Congressmen are standing up saying this is not going to happen. We are not going to watch these people capping executive pay while Obama tries to live like one. You know, he's trying to emulate the lifestyle he is attacking. That's what liberals do. Two sets of rules: One for them; one for everybody else. But it's coming. See, if you think that John Thain or the Northern Trust CEO, if you love them getting attacked, if you love them being ripped, ask yourself the next day, do you have any more money in your pocket? Is your life any better because that guy got taken out or down by some haughty senator from Massachusetts?

If you ask yourself this, you'll realize your life is no better off. That the Democrats and Obama are asking you to feel better simply on the basis that they're going to get revenge for you, but your life isn't going to improve, somebody else's is just going to be destroyed and they want you to be happy over that. That's sick. And that is not the United States of America. [Applause] Besides, as far as John Kerry is concerned, if it wasn't for his varicose veins, he would be totally colorless. [Laughter]

Now let's talk about the conservative movement as it were. We, ladies and gentlemen, have challenges that are part and parcel of a movement that feels it has just suffered a humiliating defeat when it's not humiliating. This wasn't a landslide victory, 52 to, what, 46. Fifty-eight million people voted against Obama. There would have been more if we would have had a conservative nominee. [Applause] I don't mean that -- I mean that in an instructive way, as a lead-in to what I'm talking about here. No humiliating defeat here. I can't -- sometimes I get livid and angry. We do have an organizational problem. We have a challenge. We've got factions now within our own movement seeking power to dominate it, and worst of all to redefine it. Well, the Constitution doesn't need to be redefined. Conservative intellectuals, the Declaration of Independence does not need to be redefined and neither does conservatism. Conservatism is what it is and it is forever. It's not something you can bend and shape and flake and form. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you.

For the purposes of this occasion, I'm not going to mention any names, I bet with you I won't have to. People watching my first address to the nation might be curious what I'm talking about. They'll find out in due course, trust me on this. I cringed -- it might have been 2007, late 2007 or sometime during 2008, but a couple of prominent conservative but Beltway establishment media types began to write on the concept that the era of Reagan is over. [Crowd Booing]

And that we needed to adapt our appeal, because, after all, what's important in politics is winning elections. And so we have to understand that the American people, they want Big Government. We just have to find a way to tell them we're no longer opposed to that. We will come up with our own version of it that is wiser and smarter, but we've got to go get the Walmart voter, and we've got to get the Hispanic voter, and we've got to get the recalcitrant independent women. And I'm listening to this and I am just apoplectic: The era of Reagan is over? When the hell do you hear a Democrat say the era of FDR is over? You never hear it. Not only that, the President of the United States today thinks he's FDR, thinks he's Abraham Lincoln, and sometimes, Tuesday night, thinks he's Ronald Reagan. Our own movement has members trying to throw Reagan out while the Democrats know they can't accomplish what they want unless they appeal to Reagan voters. We have got to stamp this out within this movement, because it will tear us apart. It will guarantee we lose elections. [Applause]

We have to. You see, to me it's a no-brainer. It's not even something to me: How do you get rid of Reagan from conservatism? The blueprint -- the blueprint for landslide conservative victory is right there. Why in the hell do the smartest people in our room want to chuck it? I know why. I know exactly why. It's because they're embarrassed of some of the people who call themselves conservatives. These people in New York and Washington, cocktail elitists, they get made fun of when the next NASCAR race is on TV and their cocktail buds come up to them, those people are in your party? How do you put up with this? It would be easy to throw them overboard, so as to maintain these cocktail party/Beltway/New York City/inside-the-Beltway media relationships. But I tell you: This notion that Reaganism is dead, conservatism needs to be refined, let's take a look at this. We've got to go get the Walmart voter. I opened my remarks tonight by telling the people watching on Fox who we conservatives are. When I look out at you in this audience, I don't see a Walmart voter. And I don't see a black, and I don't see a woman, and I don't see a Hispanic. I see human beings who happen to be fortunate enough to be the luckiest people on Earth since you are Americans. [Applause]

Conservatism -- for us to make the decision that we've got to figure out policies, to get the Walmart voter -- psst, we've got most of them already, is the bottom line. Conservatism is a universal set of core principles. You don't check principles at the door. This is a battle that we're going to have. And there are egos involved here, too. When the situation like ours exists, there are people who want to lead it. They want to redefine it. Their egos are such that they want to be the next X, whoever it is. So there will be different factions lining up to try to define what conservatism is. And beware of those different factions who seek as part of their attempt to redefine conservatism, as making sure the liberals like us, making sure that the media likes us. They never will, as long as we remain conservatives. They can't possibly like us; they're our enemy. In a political arena of ideas, they're our enemy. They think we need to be defeated. Why do you think -- you all in this room know this. For those of you watching at home, my first address to the nation -- [Laughter] -- I'm sure you paid close enough attention, that you knew at one time Senator McCain was the favorite Republican of all the cable news networks and the Sunday shows. And they would just -- I mean their tongues would be on the floor. The media people (panting) when they knew McCain was coming. And they would treat McCain as the greatest guy in the world. Did you wonder why? You were told he was moderate. He was not strict. He was not an authoritarian, he was able to walk to the other side of the aisle, able to get along with the enemy. And everybody wants love and bipartisanship.

That's not why they invited Senator McCain. They invited Senator McCain because he happened to be the loudest at criticizing his own president and his own party and that's what they want, is people from our side -- and there will be factions in our movement, folks, who are going to make an effort to say we have to grow, we can't stay stale, I think I heard the term used the other day. Nothing stale about freedom. There's nothing stale about liberty. There's nothing stale about fighting for it. Nothing stale whatsoever. [Applause] Freedom. Are you getting tired of standing up, I don't blame you. By the way for those watching on TV you think the standing -- people are just tired. They've been up and out of their chairs 100 times here. [Applause] Thank you. Freedom -- freedom is the natural yearning of the human spirit as we were endowed by our creator. And the United States of America is the place in the world where that yearning flourishes, where freedom is expected because it's part of the way we're created.

I loved it when the Soviet Union went down and the wall went down and the liberals in our country said you know they may not be ready for freedom over there. They've been oppressed -- yes, liberals will gladly tell you who can have freedom and who can't. And that's what the pieces of legislation are all about, folks, freedom, liberty, economic prosperity, they're all entwined here. We'll have to as a conservative movement understand that our job, after we come to an agreement among ourselves, which shouldn't be hard but it's going to be difficult because the people that think they're smarter than everybody else are going to be out there forging alliances with people that try to make themselves look like new power brokers, and they will become the spokesmen, by the way.

By the way, explain that to you. This is a funny story. Show you how I can hijack a news cycle even by doing anything. The Tuesday before the inauguration, President Bush invited me to the Oval Office for lunch. And it was on and off the record, some of the conversations. And he brought out, interesting, at the end of it -- my birthday had been the day before. He brought out a chocolate birthday cake, a microphone, and stood beside me with Ed Gillespie and sang happy birthday. Photographers taking pictures. I wish my parents were alive. My parents wouldn't believe my life. They came out of the Great Depression. They didn't think it was possible for somebody who did not go to college -- and even for people who did -- they didn't think this was possible. Life has changed so much for the better in this country. That's why I cringe when I see what is in store.

So as I'm flying home from lunch, I'm watching television and I see that the word has leaked out that Obama is hosting a dinner with conservative media pundits at the home of George Will. I said: I wonder who these people are? [Laughter] In the media, one of them is going to have to leak it. Sure as heck, one did. Now, we all know who were there. And let's see -- I can't remember all the names, so I won't mention any. But let me tell you Obama's purpose. Does anybody really think that Barack Obama had dinner with a bunch of conservatives hoping they would change his mind?

CROWD: No!

RUSH: Hell, no. His purpose -- and his purpose really wasn't to change theirs -- his purpose was to anoint them as conservative spokesmen. These are the people that Obama's willing to break bread with. These happen -- some of the people there happen to be the people who think the era of Reagan is over, who believe that conservatism needs to be redefined. Of course Obama would try to lure them in. Well, all of a sudden I land. I get home about 5:00, and my e-mail is jammed with questions from reporters, are you, is that why you took the day off today? Is that why you're not on the air? Are you going to dinner with Obama? By the way, I left out a crucial part of the story. Was this a Monday, Kit? It was a Tuesday. I had forgotten to tell my audience that I was going to miss the next day. I signed off the show saying I'll see you tomorrow. That's the last thing I said. The staff reminded me you're not going to be here tomorrow. I came up with a plan, that the guest host the next day would say that I was called out of town to Washington at midnight the night before. Just an innocent little trick on the radio audience. Everybody picked that up and thinks I'm invited to the Obama dinner. So those people that were invited to it got less coverage than I did and I didn't even know about it. [Laughter] It was fun. [Applause]

Conservatives are naturally happy. We seek happiness. We pursue it. It's part of who we are. So what can you do? Live your life. I swear, folks, you do not know in just the everyday life that you live in your homes, your neighborhoods, the favorite word of this administration, your "communities." Remember the root word there is "commune." [Applause] Be happy, live your life according to your values and principles. Know you're going to fail, no human being is perfect, you're going to make mistakes, but live your life -- you'll be stunned at how many people you impress. Don't be afraid to tell children that they're wrong. They don't know what you do. They simply haven't lived long enough. It's not their fault, but they're being fed a bunch of garbage in school and don't be afraid to tell them that they're wrong.

Don't go the Oprah route and say gotta be friends with my parents, my kids, first and foremost. Understand they're going to hate you for a while and they're going to rebel against you and someday they're going to think you're the smartest person they ever met. But you owe them the truth. You owe them the truth about things. You owe them the truth about morality. You owe them the truth about values. [Applause] You owe them the truth about politics. Next thing, we've got to stop treating voters as children. [Applause] Somebody says they want something that's bad for them, do you give it to them just to be nice? Or do you tell them, regardless of their age, no, you shouldn't have that? Well, it's none of your business. Maybe not. And then you back out of it. But you still have to have the ability to tell people what's right and wrong. And that's not authoritative. That's not authoritarian. And it's not trying to deny somebody a good time. It's not trying to interrupt somebody's hedonism, pleasure, it's about all of us with shared values trying to make sure that people live the highest quality lives they can. Ultimately, it's their decision as to what they do. But the point is, don't treat them -- especially voters -- as kids just -- they say they want it okay we'll come up with a plan to give it to you.

Have any of you seen the movie -- I'd never heard of it, but I happened to get a DVD the other day. Anybody see the movie Swing Vote with Kevin Costner? You know, it's kind of a moronic movie like most things out of Hollywood are. But this is fascinating in the way -- tell you a short story, because a voter screwup in New Mexico there's one voter who is going to elect the president. His vote didn't count because his daughter voted for him. I won't give the whole story away. But New Mexico's electoral votes, New Mexico's electoral votes determined it. And they have a two-week period before this guy can vote again. So the challenger and the president both relocate to where this guy lives

in New Mexico and they end up like the Democrat played by Dennis Hopper stands for antiabortion. The Democrat candidate comes out with a commercial for life. The Republican candidate comes out,

because this guy is an idiot and doesn't know what he believes, and every utterance that he makes these politicians react to it throwing their principles on the floor, just to get his vote. Sadly, this is what some of the conservative intellectuals in our movement want to do, essentially. And that we cannot do. We've got to stand for what we believe and treat people as adults and understand they can learn. [Applause] Go optimism.

Joe Biden, ladies and gentlemen, was watching CBS -- when did you start here? Thursday. You might have seen this. The days run together. It might have been Wednesday, but Biden was on the CBS Early Show. And he was asked -- the anchorette -- sorry. I'm trying to change my ways. I've been doing women summit programs so not to offend women. The anchor, Maggie Rodriguez, went out and got some man-on-the-street questions. And one guy, woman, I think question for Biden. What is in the stimulus package for small business? Biden was clearly stumped because there isn't anything in the stimulus package for small business. So what Biden said, honest to God, what Biden said was: Well, if there's a bridge to your small business, we're going to make sure that bridge stays open so that you can get to your small business and your customers -- honest. I kid you not. Now, of course, the media today is a bunch of hacks, they're out there as PR agents; they're starting to get a little embarrassed. Maggie Rodriguez says, Senator Biden, there's a website that answers all these questions. What is the name of the website and Biden says I don't know. He looks off stage. "Does somebody have the website number?" [Applause] I realize those of you watching at home during my first address to the nation, you have never heard liberal Democrats be made fun of in this way. Get used to it. [Applause]

Two other things and we'll get out of here contractually over time. The president's stimulus package, the TARP, the whatever, the budget, relies on one thing for its success. Well, aside from authoritarian government power. It relies on the complacency of the American people. It relies on their belief that they can convince the American people that there's such a crisis that only government, the only entity that can fix it is government, as Obama has said. So they get complacent and they sit around and they wait. See, this is something liberals will never understand about the United States of America and it's right under their noses, right in front of their faces, we are a competitive people. We strive, enough of us do, to be the best. We strive to win. We strive to avoid defeat. Enough of us still do. Don't believe otherwise. The liberals have made efforts to shut that aspect of our nature down. Wherever you live, I am certain that you, when you were a child or your kids today in youth sports are told not to keep score, because the losers, it's just not fair. They'd be humiliated, especially if one girl's basketball team can defeat another one 100 to nothing. And let's fire the coach who put that game together. It's so unfair. So let's not keep score. Well, here's the dirty little secret. The kids are keeping score. [Applause]

You know they are. They don't want to lose. They know what winning and losing is. They're saying, well, why go out there and put on the pads and play football or T-Ball if the objective here is to not keep score. So they're keeping score. They get in the car with mom and dad and they tell mom and dad: Yeah, we kicked their butts tonight. Wait a minute, I thought you weren't keeping score. They weren't officially. They keep score. We're competitive people. Adults are doing the same thing.

It didn't take long for people to get fired up when they figured out that they're going to be paying mortgages for people who should never have been lent money in the first place for the bogus excuse of maintaining property values in the neighborhood. This is something that -- the complacency of the American people is something they're going to rely on along with their authoritarian efforts to control it. But they will not succeed at this. Because we're not quitters. We don't acquiesce. We're not going to give up the American dream and watch idly while it is restructured and transformed.
[Applause]

As I say, we want the best: Happiness for everybody. Now, about my still-to-me mysteriously controversial comment that I hope President Obama fails. I was watching the Super Bowl. And as you know, I love the Pittsburgh Steelers. [Cheers and Applause] So they have this miraculous scoring drive that puts them up by four, 15 seconds left. Kurt Warner on the field for the Cardinals. And I sure as heck want you to know I hope he failed. I did not want the Cardinals to win. I wanted Warner to make the biggest fool of himself possible. I wanted a sack, I wanted anything. I wanted the Steelers to win. I wanted to win. I wanted the Cardinals to fail.

This notion that I want the President to fail, folks, this shows you a sign of the problem we've got. That's nothing more than common sense and to not be able to say it, why in the world do I want what we just described, rampant government growth indebtedness, wealth that's not even being created yet that is being spent, what is in this? What possibly is in this that anybody of us wants to succeed? Did the Democrats want the war on Iraq to fail!

CROWD: Yes!

RUSH: They certainly did. They not only wanted the war in Iraq to fail, they proclaimed it a failure. There's Dingy Harry Reid waiving a white flag: [doing Harry Reid impression] "This war is lost. This war is" -- [Cheers and Applause] They called General Petraeus a liar before he even testified. Mrs. Clinton -- [Crowd Booing] -- said she had to, willingly suspend disbelief in order to listen to Petraeus. We're in the process of winning the war. The last thing they wanted was to win. They hoped George Bush failed. So what is so strange about being honest to say that I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed? [Applause]

Let me add a caveat here. My friends, I know what's going on. I know what's going on. We're in the aspects here of an historic presidency. I know that. But let me be honest again. I got over the historical aspects of this in November. President Obama is our president. President Obama stands for certain things. I don't care, he could be a Martian. He could be from Michigan, I don't know -- just kidding. Doesn't matter to me what his race is. It doesn't matter. He's liberal is what matters to me. And his articulated -- his articulated plans scare me. Now, I understand we can't say we want the President to fail, Mr. Limbaugh. That's like saying -- this is the voice of the New Castrati, by the way, guys who have lost their guts. You can't say Mr. Limbaugh that you want the President to fail because that's like saying you want the country to fail. It's the opposite. I want the country to survive. I want the country to succeed. [Cheers and Applause] [Crowd Chanting "USA" ]

I want the country to survive as we have known it, as you and I were raised in it, is what I mean. Now, I have been called -- and I can take it. Pioneers take the arrows, I don't mind what anybody says about me, any time ever. I don't have time for it. I don't give other people the power to offend me. And you shouldn't either, by the wasted time being offended.[Applause]

I mean, there's some people you can't say you want the President to fail. Ladies and gentlemen of the United States, the Democrat Party has actively not just sought the failure of Republican presidents and policies and now wars for the first time, the Democrat Party doesn't stop at failure. Talk to Judge Robert Bork or Justice Clarence Thomas about how they tried to destroy lives, reputations and character, and I'm supposed to say I don't want the President to fail? [Applause] We're in for a real battle. We are talking about the United States of America -- and there will always be an America, don't misunderstand me -- we're talking about it remaining the country we were all born into and reared and grown into. And it's under assault. It's always under assault. But it's never been under assault like this from within before. And it's a serious, serious battle.

So as you leave here, as you leave here optimism, confidence, not guilt, it's not worth it. There's nothing to be guilty about. Don't treat people as children. Respect their intelligence. Realize that there's a way to persuade people. Sometimes the worst way is to get in their face and point a finger. Set up a set of circumstances where the conclusion is obvious. Let them think they came up with the idea themselves. They'll think they're smart that they figured it out. Who cares how you persuade them, the fact they can be persuaded is factually correct, it's possible. But the main thing to do here is stop thinking that we are a minority. Stop thinking that it is being in the minority that liberates you. It is your beliefs. It is your core principles, it is your confidence that liberates you. It's not being in the minority.

In fact, for those of you watching my first national address and still hanging in there, we really are not that happy about being a minority and we're out to change it. [Applause] So I have -- I've gone over my allotted time by an hour. [Applause]

I want to thank all of you so much for everything that you have meant to me and my family in my life

CROWD: Thank you.

RUSH: I understand it's mutual. And I hear people -- you have made my heart grow so much that it barely fits in my chest cavity here tonight. But the things that by virtue of your listening to my radio show and being active in this movement that we all cherish and love, you have meant more to me, my family and my life than whatever it is I might mean to you, even though I know that's considerable. [Applause] You still can't outdo the absolute joy and awe and thanks I feel for all of you. I've been doing this for 20 years and the numbers just keep growing. And I can't tell you how appreciative I am and proud to be in a movement with the same passions, desires and core beliefs that all of you have, because we know that it's right for the country, and we know it's right for people. It's not something that has to be forced on them. It's not something that has to be authoritatively pressed on them. We are what is, and that's why we are an enemy because we're effective. The people that do want control look at us as the enemy. We're always going to be -- don't ever measure your success by how many Drive-By Media reports you see that are fair to us. Never going to happen. Don't measure your success by how many people like you. Just worry about how they vote. And then at the end of the day how they live, but that's really none of your business once they close the doors. Thank you all very much. It's been great

Is there a "soft side" to conservatives?

By Len Mead July 18,2008

Your Westborough News editors recently suggested, “You know, Len, its summer. Why not give readers a vacation from those ‘hard,’ liberal-pounding topics you write about for a change? How about a ‘soft’ article?”

Soft, eh? Knowing these poor editors have their ears scorched off when readers call to object to something I write about, I decided, OK; let’s search for the “soft side” to conservatives.

To do this, let me share with you impressions of some conservative giants who are heroes to me – accomplishing miracles here in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

The first would be Barbara Anderson, now head of Citizens for Limited Taxation – responsible for Proposition 2 ½. “CLT” has brought our state back from bankruptcy by restraining previously uncontrolled Massachusetts government spending. For many years there were only two political forces in this state – CLT and the Democrat machine.

For those of you fortunate enough to have met Barbara, you see a personable, likable woman with genuine kindness. With her small crew of three others, she has protected the budgets of struggling taxpayers state-wide while surviving and triumphing over vile slings and arrows from those threatened by having to manage their responsibilities within a reasonable budget. The CLT website is a treasure of state political history and issues.

Next would be “Pete” Peters, founder (in his mid 70s) of the Pioneer Institute in Boston, a conservative think tank. Extremely charming and friendly at 95 he still comes in three days a week to his thriving organization. His group’s information-gathering and recommendations in school reform, better government and business competitiveness have brought to an almost intractable political system most of the successful new ideas and improvements.

Optimism and a smile define Mr. Peters. You can thank “Pete’s” organization for charter schools -- the only competition to public school monopolies and the last, best hope of ambitious urban children who want to escape inner-city poverty. Pioneer also has a brilliant website.

Then there’s Carla Howell, once candidate for governor, once successful in getting 45% of voters to approve eliminating the state income tax, and now with the unbelievable accomplishment of giving voters a second chance to vote up or down on eliminating the state income tax this November. Quiet, courteous, studious and respectful, she will become a national figure overnight during this fall’s election voting. Genuine concern for working people and integrity define Carla.

Locally we have Karyn Polito and George Peterson as conservative representatives who stand up on a daily basis for truth, justice, and the American way --- wait, no --- that’s what Superman does. Well, same difference. For those of you who know Karyn and George, you also see individuals who work tirelessly listening to their constituents – running as individuals almost regardless of party. They have a genius for being able to disagree without being disagreeable, a talent I wish I had. They can suffer fools. I can’t — yet.

Lastly, as to the soft side of conservatives, I have to refer you to the phenomenon of Rush Limbaugh – conservative founder of talk AM radio three hours a day. Rush just signed a $400 million broadcast deal. His annual salary now surpasses the combined income of Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer -- the major network news anchors (which he calls the “Drive-By Media”). Like Walt Disney’s start in Florida, everybody laughed at the idea that “talk radio” would ever succeed.

20 million listen to Rush daily. Probably half disagree with everything he says – but they keep listening for the humor, the fervor, the drive, the respect and yes, the affection he gives his callers. Except when callers whine too much about being helpless victims or they run down America.

So what about me? Is there a “soft side?”

I’m a salesman with an MBA used to being paid based on performance. What that means, friends, is that I am used to getting a pay cut every year. Sell $500,000 last year achieving your sales quota and then you’ll face an incentive plan for next year requiring you to sell 10% more just to get the same income as the previous year. Sell 20% more and then get paid more. And the same the year after.

This private sector pay plan reflects the reality that in order for an employer to have resources to increase your pay, YOU have to increase your own productivity. This simple reality defines the greatness of capitalism. Automatic pay increases don’t – and can’t exist. But productivity growth success is rewarded – without limit. The result is our highest standard of living world-wide.

So is there a “soft side” to me and other conservatives? Dear Readers, I believe, YES -- It’s the “tuff” love that avoids the soft prejudice of low expectations. It’s a love and respect for the blessings, freedom and unlimited opportunity everyone has here in America - - (even here in Massachusetts!) It’s faith in the potential, inherent value and wisdom of individual working taxpayers – who, if given the facts, the truth and the trends, will ultimately make the “right” (pun intended) voting decisions.

As a footnote, I think we conservatives have learned that when liberals are reduced to name calling and insults in the face of our facts and arguments for individual responsibility, less government and lower taxes, we really have to smile knowing our case has been made. It’s that smile we see in the mirror that keeps us going -- here in the most liberal state in the country.

Projected $6 Million Deficit

Through Fiscal 2011

If you are morbidly curious, just e-mail me at mead1720@gmail.com and I'll send you the actual Excel Spread Sheet with my formulas showing the assumptions and details of the projections so you can come to your own conclusions.

In summary, the result of not restraining the new 3-year Teacher Union Contract is that the burden on taxpayers to fully fund it will drive our property taxes as a % of value to 70% higher than the state average.

Year Starting:

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

5-Year $ Increase

5-Year % Increase

2008-09

07-09 3-Year

2009-10

2010-11

Fiscal Year

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2004-2009 Fiscal

2009

Increase %

2010

2011

Selected Westborough Income Categories

(Budget)

(Budget For "Settled" Teacher Union Contract)

Residential Property Taxes (Approx $122 for each $1 million "unspent")

$25,865,877

$28,377,680

$30,116,450

$30,233,439

$31,800,000

-$25,865,877

-100.0%

All Other Property Taxes

$16,444,364

$18,216,219

$18,472,957

$20,573,945

$21,728,021

-$16,444,364

-100.0%

Sub-Total Westborough Property Taxes

$42,310,241

$46,593,899

$48,589,407

$50,807,384

$53,528,021

$55,154,987

$12,844,746

30.4%

$55,154,987

Motor Vehicle Excise Taxes

$2,528,474

$2,645,380

$2,848,741

$2,477,899

$2,730,697

$ 2,700,000

$171,526

6.8%

$ 2,700,000

Lottery From State

$859,807

$1,019,076

$1,270,967

$1,297,207

$ 1,297,207

$437,400

50.9%

$ 1,297,207

Education Aid (Tax Dollars Returned From the State)

State Education Payments Chapter 70

$2,592,041

$2,766,041

$3,129,366

$3,731,062

$ 4,432,684

$1,840,643

71.0%

$ 4,432,684

42%

SBA School Building Assistance Program Payments

$685,521

$3,511,621

$3,598,186

$ 3,778,460

$3,092,939

451.2%

$ 3,778,460

Sub-Total "State Aid" (Our Taxes & Gambling Returned to Us)

$4,137,369

$6,963,469

$7,296,738

$7,998,519

$8,600,215

$9,482,111

$5,344,742

129.2%

$9,482,111

19%

Selected Total Westborough Income Sub-total

$49,835,891

$57,062,555

$59,753,962

$62,554,769

$66,156,140

$68,634,305

$18,798,414

37.7%

$68,634,305

10%

$70,904,260[1]

$73,253,663

For the Curious -- Other additional income categories include water and sewer use charges, fees, penalties, interest income, licenses, small federal and state monies and general assistance income.

Fiscal 06-07 Increase % *

(3% Increase Year)

Selected Westborough Expenditures

% Sal Increase

7.2%

6.2%

6.1%

1.0%

6.2%

6.0%

School Spending

Sal Increase

$1,722,730

$1,591,465

$1,651,894

$296,355

$1,785,840

$1,838,521

$1,948,832

3-Year Total

3 Year % Increase

Salary

$23,805,344

$23,890,084

$25,612,814

$27,204,279

$28,856,173

$ 29,152,528

$5,347,184

22.5%

$ 30,642,013 [2]

6.0% *

$32,480,534

$34,429,366

$ 97,551,913

12%

School Debt Principal & Interest

$3,014,100

$8,468,619

$8,210,476

$8,131,653

$7,734,412

$ 7,504,101

$4,490,001

149.0%

$ 7,504,101

-7.7%

$7,316,498

$7,133,586

All other expenses

$6,729,656

$6,497,605

$6,648,186

$6,714,185

$6,369,127

$ 7,330,472

$600,816

8.9%

$ 7,330,472

9.2%

$7,550,386

$7,776,898

Health Ins/Benefits Total for SCHOOL employees (75% of total) 4-'07 379 Current 232 Retired = 611

$4,131,883

$4,606,940

$5,105,909

$5,667,239

$7,185,356

$ 7,882,194

$3,750,311

90.8%

$ 7,882,194

26.8% *

$9,625,394[3]

$11,804,393

$ 29,311,980

50%

Town Paid Retirement Contributions for SCHOOL Employees (45% of t

$509,607

$542,676

$656,409

$626,947

$663,664

$ 789,992

$280,385

55.0%

$ 789,992

26.0%

$853,191

$921,447

$ 2,564,630

17%

Selected School Spending Sub-Total

$38,190,590

$44,005,924

$46,233,794

$48,344,303

$50,808,731

$52,659,287

$14,468,697

37.9%

$ 54,148,772 [4]

8.9%

$ 57,826,003

$ 62,065,689

$129,428,523

15%

Classroom Teachers (FTE) Full Time Equivalent

185.6

174.9

176.3

180.5

183.5

184.3

-$1

-0.7%

"Other" Teachers: Special Ed, Reading, Phys Ed, Fine Arts, Middle School Specials (FTE)

122.7

133.2

144.0

145.5

150.5

146.1

19.1%

"Other" School Staff

206.3

196.0

206.7

204.0

203.0

201.9

-4

-2.1%

Total School Staff (FTE Full Time Equivalent)

514.6

504.1

527.0

530.0

537.0

532.3

3.4%

Student Enrollment (Includes Out of District)

3,571

3,558

3,550

3,538

3,588 [5]

3,560

-11

-0.3%

Average Cost Per Student (Net Total School Spending Divided By Enrollment)

$10,695

$12,368

$13,024

$13,664

$14,144

$14,796

$4,101

38.4%

07-09 3-Year

Town Spending

Increase %

Police Department

$2,045,171

$2,148,649

$2,348,012

$2,356,026

$2,508,083

$2,626,297

$581,126

28.4%

$ 2,626,297

11.5%

2,731,348.88

2,840,602.84

Fire & Ambulance Department

$2,432,351

$2,468,817

$2,628,670

$2,806,293

$3,045,424

$3,172,138

$739,787

30.4%

$ 3,172,138

13.0%

3,299,023.52

3,430,984.46

Department of Public Works

$2,178,072

$1,731,363

$1,802,978

$1,901,043

$1,954,702

$2,171,608

-$6,464

-0.3%

$ 2,171,608

14.2%

2,258,472.32

2,348,811.21

Library

$723,871

$716,793

$766,821

$807,840

$833,929

$882,057

$158,186

21.9%

$ 882,057

9.2%

908,518.71

935,774.27

Health Ins/Benefits For TOWN Employees (25% of total) 4-'07 134 Current 80 Retired = 214

$1,377,294

$1,535,647

$1,701,970

$1,889,080

$2,395,119

$2,627,398

$1,250,104

90.8%

$ 2,627,398

39.1%

2,968,960

3,354,925

Town Paid Retirement Contributions for TOWN Employees (55% of Total) 4-'07 134 Current 80 Retired = 214

$641,003

$663,271

$804,278

$766,269

$811,144

$965,545

$324,542

50.6%

$ 965,545

26.0%

1,042,789

1,126,212

Selected Town Spending Sub-total

$9,397,762

$9,264,540

$10,052,728

$10,526,550

$11,548,401

$12,445,043

$3,047,281

32.4%

$12,445,043

18.2%

$13,209,112

$14,037,309

Selected School AND Town Spending

$47,588,352

$53,270,464

$56,286,522

$58,870,853

$62,357,132

$65,104,330

$17,515,978

36.8%

$66,593,815

10.6%

$71,035,115

$76,102,998

For the Curious: Other spending categories are Water and Sewer Enterprise and Wastewater Treatment Plant Expenses, and Non School Dept Principal and Interest Payments.

Revenue Sub-total Less Expenditure Sub total

$ 2,247,539

$ 3,792,091

$ 3,467,440

$ 3,683,916

$ 3,799,008

$ 3,529,975

$ 2,040,490

$ (130,855)

$ (2,849,336)

Excess Levy Capacity

$ 5,570

$ 271,893

$ 421,164

$ 940,446

$ 3,087

$ 36,684

$ 254,786

$ (1,916,559)

$ (4,635,040)

Total Town Spending Voted (Raised) at Town Meeting

$ 60,393,000

$ 65,489,345

$ 68,507,615

$ 73,012,160

$ 76,544,982

$ 79,564,024

$19,171,024

31.7%

3-Year Total

Population Estimate (From Donahue Inst UMASS)

18,624

18,590

18,507

18,459

-$165

-0.9%

$ (6,296,813)

Inflation % Change at Fiscal YE: Consumer Price Index Summary (Projected Forward from latest Yr)

2.4%

1.9%

3.3%

3.4%

2.5%

4.1%

Sum '04 - '09 =

15.2%

Westborough Single Family Tax Bill: DLS - Property Tax Related Files

$5,451

$5,992

$6,234

$6,198

$6,674

$6,922

$1,471

27.0%

Year Starting:

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

Fiscal Year

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Adjusted 2009

Est 2010

Est 2011

3-Year Total

Revenue Sub-total Less Expenditure Sub total

$ 2,247,539

$ 3,792,091

$ 3,467,440

$ 3,683,916

$ 3,799,008

$ 2,040,490

$ (104,561)

$ (2,102,536)

Deficit

Excess Levy Capacity

$ 5,570

$ 271,893

$ 421,164

$ 940,446

$ 3,087

$ 254,786

$ (1,916,559)

$ (4,635,040)

$ (6,296,813)

Overlay Reserve

$ 965,000

$ 650,000

$ 1,150,000

$ 900,000

[1]

Len Mead:
All income increased 3.5% reflecting extra $529,749 in maximum levy as of 9-3-08 EXCEPT SBA payments which stay same at $3,778,460

[2]

Len Mead:
29,152,528 plus 1,489,485 for Teacher Contract Year 1

[3]

Len Mead:
Health Benefits growth increase same as fiscal 06-07 increase of 25% LESS savings of $227,349 due to 130 teachers now paying 26% of own healbenefits at Fallon.

[4]

Len Mead:
Higher sub-total reflects paying requested additional $1,489,485 for teacher contract.

[5]

daniel p hendricks:
Len-Final Enrollment was 3588 for 07-08

Town Meeting Choice: A Tax Cut For us

Or Bankruptcy for the Town?

6/5/2009 2:33 PM

DRAFT # words 867 plus 1 chart, 1 grid.

Town Meeting is 7PM Monday night Oct 20 in the high school auditorium. We get to vote for or against 15 articles. It might be worth taking a night off from your usual break-dancing activities to drop in.

Article 15 is reason enough to attend. Your vote will decide whether you can look forward to a tax cut for yourselves – or approving more spending that will bankrupt our town.

Article 15 requests approving about $1.5 million more spending for teacher union pay raises over their 3-year settled contract period. Voting NO forces the belt tightening that’s needed now -- before the spending compounds even more trouble for us in future years. “No” will result in a small tax reduction if unspent.

It’s your money. Our real estate taxes are already about 70% higher than the state average as a percent of valuation. Voting “yes” will raise taxes to an even higher percentage over the state average.

Here’s the financial picture if you don’t vote NO on article 15 -- adding $1.5 million more spending for

If Westborough Approves $1.5 Million Extra for Teacher Union Raises in Fiscal ’09, it Appears We Will be a Total of $7 Million in Deficit Over the 3-Year Contract Period.

Fiscal Year

Adjusted 2009

Est 2010

Est 2011

3-Year Total

Excess (Deficit) Levy Capacity

$ 254,786

$ (2,485,354)

$ (5,171,128)

$(7,401,696)

union teachers.

You should ask, of course, “Where do these projections come from?” And, “Didn’t I read that the town has an additional $1.5 million to spend after a Verizon court decision which upheld our assessing and the taxes already collected? So there’s money to pay the teacher union request (THIS year) without a tax override?”

Yes, Dear Reader, there now appears to be available funds without a tax override this year to approve article 15. But it just doesn’t appear our revenues will cover the three-year cost of the union contract.

But just because one HAS an additional $1.5 million to spend doesn’t mean it should be spent. Particularly if spending it now will lead to bigger problems in the near future. (Just because you have $50,000 in a savings account doesn’t mean you must spend it the next time you go by the Lexus dealership.)

So where does the $7 million bankruptcy predications in the chart come from?

Revenues are projected to grow about the same 3% they’ve gone up for the last 5 years – even though we’re facing a recession. It assumes the “state” will continue to send us back a growing $4.4 million per year for Chapter 70 School Funds in the face of Question 1 on the ballot eliminating the state income tax. If Question 1 passes, the state may feel justified in “punishing us” by cutting back Chapter 70 funds significantly instead of cutting the waste.

School salary expenditures in fiscal 09 include the extra $1.5 million. The next two years they rise an average of 6% annually. The 6% rise what the union teachers actually got when they received “only” a 3% across the board increase in Fiscal 06-07 (the extra 3% reflects the “step raises” union teachers don’t think are really raises even though we pay them.) School health benefit growth still explodes but is reduced an estimated $227,000 annually due to Fallon participants now paying the same 25% of their own benefits as the rest of the town. Just try to forget that the new contract calls for “mitigation monies” of $2,000 for families and $750 for Fallon single plan members.

Police, Fire, Library, Public Works and Town benefits rise about the same respective amount as their last 3-year percentage average. For any readers wanting the lurid spread-sheet details I’ll be happy to send them to you if you e-mail me at mead1720@gmail.com. The projected result is what you see on the chart -- $7 million in the hole if we don’t say NO now to the added $1.5 million next Monday.

Good people in our schools and town departments have given graciously of their time in helping me compile this information for years – and they’ve always received this data and analysis to correct before you read it here.

Friends, is saying NO to article 15 “mean-spirited?” Will the schools collapse? Not at all. Saying NO gives our fine schools the will to finally control spending and cut many things they don’t have the backbone to do unless you give them the “tuff-love” they need. Maybe they’ll find a few assistants they just don’t need. Maybe the teachers will agree to pick up a higher percentage of their own healthcare the same way Shrewsbury did to save lay-offs. Who knows?

But what we taxpayers do know is that our retirement savings are down trillions of dollars while our bumbling federal public officials who caused the financial problem will be sending us $850 billion in new tax bills for “solutions” that still don’t fix anything. Solutions such as not forcing banks to make loans to borrowers even though they can’t pay them back in the name of “affordable housing” fairy tale goals.

City or town

IRS tax filing Data from Boston Globe including single and joint filers by zip area

Average income, 2005

% change in avg. income, 2001-5

Southborough

$172,442

Grafton

$73,686

Northborough

$91,756

Hopkinton

$146,530

Upton

$85,144

Westborough

$90,776

Lastly, here a little factoid grid showing that taxable income in Westborough grew only 1% for 4 years in a row (thru 2005) compared to our surrounding towns. During this same time, our union teacher salary growth – paid by us -- was 4 times higher each year and their benefit growth was 6 times higher.

So vote NO on article 15, knowing it’s finally time to control spending growth and make it more in line with our own income growth. It’s the right thing. It’s the fair thing.

Len Mead can be reached at mead1720@gmail.com

Will Politicians Help Themselves

Or Us in this Crisis?

In the private sector, a financial crisis actually facilitates making painful improvement changes that just don’t get implemented when things are “fat.” Waste is eliminated, unproductive activities are shut down and sub-par employees are laid off allowing them to find productive employment elsewhere.

Alas, Dear Reader, when the public sector faces a financial crisis such as we have now, history shows that most politicians use it to exploit us. They raise taxes, hire more government workers (who can help them get re-elected) and pass more onerous regulations that burden the private sector. These power grabbing actions bring further economic destruction, prolonging the time the free market needs to straighten out the mess.

Is it reasonable to expect our public leaders to act differently in this financial crisis? Well, the saying goes, “The leopard doesn’t change his spots.” It’s also bitter irony that this crisis was caused by politicians, not any failure of free markets.

The financial system melted because lenders were forced to loan to people who couldn’t pay back their home loans in the name of “affordable housing.” And now Detroit auto unions are getting “pay back” for $400 million donated to the Democrat president elect by extracting special loans to continue their iron grip on manufacturers.

Let’s review where we stand locally. A few weeks ago this paper reported that our School Committee “may have to make $2.4 million in cuts to the fiscal 2010 budget.” Reaction from the School Committee to this news? “It’s sobering.” Sobering? Can we wonder what state of sobriety the Committee was in when they approved the 3-year teacher union contract cost increases that caused this problem?

Although I publicly pleaded with the School Committee to finally control the cost increase of the next teacher union contract because I projected such a deficit, the advice wasn’t taken. At Town Meeting I moved that a decision on fully funding the teacher union contract be postponed because few present affirmed that they had even read the new contract terms and it would bankrupt our town. The reaction? I was hooted off the floor so the union crowd in the back rows could vote themselves a pay raise and quickly adjourn.

Now, friends, let me say that our school committee and school administrators are good people – I personally like and respect them. But they are trapped like all local boards between bare-knuckle union demands and distant taxpayers whose only protection is Proposition 2 ½.

To give unions credit, their successful tactics keep the contract negotiating focused only on comparisons with what other unions get, not what is reasonable or what taxpayers can pay. Worse, what the media reports about the contract cost increases only describe the overall percentage raises year by year without adding in the 5% per year “step raises” also built into annual contract agreements. That’s why you are lucky to have me informing you!

One of my favorite School Committee members told me, almost proudly, that they worked hard to “keep the raise to about 7% over three years.” If this view reflects the entire School Committee’s thinking, it goes a long way to explaining how far apart the total contract settlement costs were in the School Committee’s mind compared to what we taxpayers will be paying. The real three year taxpayer cost total is not 7% over three years; it’s 7% plus 15%, or 22% -- more if you calculate the compounding effects of the overall percentage raises..

Our new State Representative and Senator recently held a forum in Westborough but don’t seem to have waste elimination high on their priority list. In fact, they both seem enthralled with getting a piece of the proposed $1 trillion spending scheme being hatched in Washington to fix roads and bridges. My comment that such unglamorous maintenance was supposed to be paid for with taxpayer monies already being collected for these needs was not well received.

Already our Governor, Patrick Duval, is cheering on more spending rather than needed waste cutting. He asserts, “It’s clear that the federal government needs to step in and jump-start the economy.” Really? So --- let’s see --- the first thing a laid-off biologist or computer technician is going to do is grab a pick and shovel and fix a road? Puhlleeeze.

Last year our governor hired 1,000 more “payroll patriots.” Last week it was reported he created a new $120,000 per year position, “Director of Real Estate Services,” for a Milton neighbor. This, while the DC based non-partisan Tax Foundation reported our per capita state and local tax burden is the 5^th highest in the nation. $5,377 for every man, woman and child in the commonwealth. Maybe all these new hires can finally deliver the property tax relief the governor promised as a candidate.

Folks, it is up to us to protect our own wallets and our own freedoms. Expecting politicians to actually use this crisis to make government more efficient just ain’t going to happen unless we demand it. This crisis is our only opportunity to support the few courageous public figures who will champion the elimination of waste and inefficiency.

In my next column, I’m going to give you a list ways that really could help cut state and local government waste and improve efficiency so more of our precious taxes could be returned to our schools and other public needs. Then it will be up to you to take action -- to demand our politicians really act in our interest, not theirs.

Teacher Union Contract Will Bankrupt Westborough

September 19, 2008

Last week my friends at the Westborough NEWS editorialized that our union teachers deserved thanks for devoting themselves to our students and “settling” the contract by voting approval of the last offer made to them by our school committee.

The NEWS editorial also claimed that teacher union members made a “huge concession” in their health care deal, and accepted a 1% raise for the past year and a 3% raise for each of the next two fiscal years. Unfortunately, this seriously understates the true amount of increases teachers will receive and the resulting taxpayer costs.

But fortunately, Dear Reader, you have me ready to correct these misconceptions about what our teachers are really getting in their new contract. They are getting much more than “only” a 1%, 3% and then 3% raise. They ALSO get automatic “step raises” of about 5% except those at the top of their twelve “steps”.

Unions have so brainwashed their members that the underlying “steps” aren’t raises that even our teachers themselves seem to believe the money to pay these step raises just falls out of the sky.

And to “ease the pain” of those Fallon Health Care teacher members who now have to pay the same 25% of their own healthcare as all other union town employees, the settled contract provides “mitigation monies” of an additional $2,000 starting July under the family plan and $750 under a single plan.

OK, OK, only 30% or so of teachers are at the top of their step ranges (and don’t get another 5% “step raise”). But the last time all our teachers were paid “only” a 3% raise -- in Fiscal 07 – the salary increase cost to taxpayers over ‘06 was up 6% and the benefit costs up 27% in just one year. This increase was for 10 months work in one of the most modern school facilities in the state.

And for months last year, union teachers whined publicly that they weren’t getting respect and were somehow underpaid relative to other far-away communities. This claim was destroyed May 16, 2008 in an article by Chris Sinacola, Worcester T&G Editorial Writer who stated, “For the record, since 1996-97, the average salary for Westboro teachers has outpaced the state average in every year but one. At $62,275, it is currently 6.9 percent above the state average.”

In truth, our teacher’s union and school committee have “settled” on contract raises that appear to be twice what the rate of revenue growth of our town will be over the next three years. These raises to individual teachers are now a binding obligation of Westborough; and if millions more dollars aren’t found to pay these raises to everyone, the “settled” obligation can only be fulfilled within the school budget if other savings are found or if a significant number of union teachers are removed so those remaining can be paid the contract raises.

We have only $36,684 of levy limit capacity in the fiscal ’09 budget, and paying just the first year of this new contract will require another $1.3 million not currently in the budget.

Now, I didn’t have to pass the MCAS math tests when I graduated high school – but it doesn’t take much accounting skill to see that paying this contract will bankrupt our town.

So are we “under taxed” now? Will raising taxes to pay for this contract make our taxes “fair” relative to other communities in the state? Hardly. Data from the MA Department of Revenue comparing our property taxes as a percent of assessed values shows that living in Westborough is almost 70% higher than the state average.

Our town Coordinator says he plans to sit down with his financial managers this month to review the projected effects of funding this new contract. Our Town Accountant has already graciously spent time with me reviewing my own conservative projections of our town income and new (higher) expenses over the next three years.

Our School Committee has stated, “[It does not] support a Proposition 2 and One-Half override as it recognizes the need to keep Westborough’s schools affordable to all residents.”

As dire as not funding the new teacher union contract might be, an override fight could tear our community apart and a possible tax hike will surely not leave our town affordable for all of us.

Before reporting to you what my projections show, I hope to have the usual benefit of additional input and review by our Town Coordinator and School Superintendent to verify the accuracy of my estimates before showing you my conclusions.

But you can probably guess already what the financial picture looks like.

Liberals who CAUSED the financial crisis in the name of "Affordable Housing" now send Responsible Taxpayers an $850 BILLION tax Bill to "Bail out" the Greedy Lenders and Regulatory Hacks RESPONSIBLE for this NIGHTMARE.

(Notice the smiling faces in the picture below as they gloat, "We screwed 'em again." (The October Surprise)

Bankruptcy -- Not a BAILOUT -- was the Right Answer. (See brilliant article below)

E-Mails 9-30-08 to

Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader and

John Boehner, Minority House Leader

Thank goodness the "bail out" failed.

Kindly reconsider any legislation that will do even MORE DAMAGE.

My suggestions, increase FDIC coverage, change MARK TO MARKET, suspend Sarbanes Oxley, strengthen the dollar, eliminate the “uptick rule” for short stock selling and prohibit naked short selling of stocks, fire Secretary Henry Paulson for arrogantly thinking ANYONE in this country just gets $700 billion to spend with NO OVERSIGHT, let Fanny and Freddy go BANKRUPT and be purchased by creditors and prosecute to the FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW the liberal democrats and the hacks at Fanny and Freddy who knowingly cooked the books and failed to act to stop what was coming while making millions.

Thank you

Len Mead, Westborough, MA

October 3, 2008

Friends,

Please help stop the dangerous, misguided ‘bail out being considered in Washington. by immediately calling your Washington “representatives.”

This $850 billion pork-laden program won’t solve anything But it will let government bureaucrats take over our nation’s finances instead of a well-regulated free market.

Without finger-pointing or blame, kindly call and strongly say something like:

Dear _______ (Senator or Representative in Washington)

Please, please do not approve the current financial bail-out bill. Just let the organizations that made bad loans go bankrupt and be taken over by others. Our free market can best solve the problem, not government meddling which caused this crisis.

Thank You.

To help you -- below is the best, simplest explanation of our current mess I’ve seen. But please DO CALL today. We unwashed citizens stopped the horrible amnesty bill for illegal immigrants this way – we can stop this financial monster, too if you act now.

Thank you in advance,

Len

Len Mead

Senator John Kerry - 202-224-2742(Washington)

Congressman James McGovern - 202-225-5759 (Washington) 508-831-7356 (Worcester)

State Rep Karyn Polito - 617-722-2230/508-845-2300

State Rep George Peterson - 617-722-2100/508-839-1000

Bankruptcy, not bailout, is the right answer

By Jeffrey A. Miron, Harvard Economist Mon September 29, 2008

The bailout plan presented to Congress is the wrong solution to the crisis Rather than a bailout, government should let firms go bankrupt. Talk of economic Armageddon is scare-mongering.

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- Congress has balked at the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion (NOW $850 Billion) bailout of Wall Street. Under this plan, the Treasury would have bought the "troubled assets" of financial institutions in an attempt to avoid economic meltdown.

This bailout was a terrible idea. Here's why.

The current mess would never have occurred in the absence of ill-conceived federal policies. The federal government chartered Fannie Mae in 1938 and Freddie Mac in 1970; these two mortgage lending institutions are at the center of the crisis. The government implicitly promised these institutions that it would make good on their debts, so Fannie and Freddie took on huge amounts of excessive risk.

Worse, beginning in 1977 and even more in the 1990s and the early part of this century, Congress pushed mortgage lenders and Fannie/Freddie to expand subprime lending. The industry was happy to oblige, given the implicit promise of federal backing, and subprime lending soared.

This subprime lending was more than a minor relaxation of existing credit guidelines. This lending was a wholesale abandonment of reasonable lending practices in which borrowers with poor credit characteristics got mortgages they were ill-equipped to handle.

Once housing prices declined and economic conditions worsened, defaults and delinquencies soared, leaving the industry holding large amounts of severely depreciated mortgage assets.

The fact that government bears such a huge responsibility for the current mess means any response should eliminate the conditions that created this situation in the first place, not attempt to fix bad government with more government.

The obvious alternative to a bailout is letting troubled financial institutions declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy means that shareholders typically get wiped out and the creditors own the company.

Bankruptcy does not mean the company disappears; it is just owned by someone new (as has occurred with several airlines). Bankruptcy punishes those who took excessive risks while preserving those aspects of a businesses that remain profitable.

In contrast, a bailout transfers enormous wealth from taxpayers to those who knowingly engaged in risky subprime lending. Thus, the bailout encourages companies to take large, imprudent risks and count on getting bailed out by government. This "moral hazard" generates enormous distortions in an economy's allocation of its financial resources.

Thoughtful advocates of the bailout might concede this perspective, but they argue that a bailout is necessary to prevent economic collapse. According to this view, lenders are not making loans, even for worthy projects, because they cannot get capital. This view has a grain of truth; if the bailout does not occur, more bankruptcies are possible and credit conditions may worsen for a time.

Talk of Armageddon, however, is ridiculous scare-mongering. If financial institutions cannot make productive loans, a profit opportunity exists for someone else. This might not happen instantly, but it will happen.

Further, the current credit freeze is likely due to Wall Street's hope of a bailout; bankers will not sell their lousy assets for 20 cents on the dollar if the government might pay 30, 50, or 80 cents.

The costs of the bailout, moreover, are almost certainly being understated. The administration's claim is that many mortgage assets are merely illiquid, not truly worthless, implying taxpayers will recoup much of their $700 billion.

If these assets are worth something, however, private parties should want to buy them, and they would do so if the owners would accept fair market value. Far more likely is that current owners have brushed under the rug how little their assets are worth.

The bailout has more problems. The final legislation will probably include numerous side conditions and special dealings that reward Washington lobbyists and their clients.

Anticipation of the bailout will engender strategic behavior by Wall Street institutions as they shuffle their assets and position their balance sheets to maximize their take. The bailout will open the door to further federal meddling in financial markets.

So what should the government do? Eliminate those policies that generated the current mess. This means, at a general level, abandoning the goal of home ownership independent of ability to pay. This means, in particular, getting rid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with policies like the Community Reinvestment Act that pressure banks into subprime lending.

The right view of the financial mess is that an enormous fraction of subprime lending should never have occurred in the first place. Someone has to pay for that. That someone should not be, and does not need to be, the U.S. taxpayer.

Jeffrey A. Miron is senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University. A Libertarian, he was one of 166 academic economists who signed a letter to congressional leaders last week opposing the government bailout plan. http://wwwcnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/29/miron.bailout/

2010 school budget could lead to [$2.4 million in] cuts

By John Fenuccio/STAFF WRITER

Fri Dec 19, 2008, 11:30 AM EST

Westborough Taxpayers Association

Westborough's Minutemen Ready to Fight Higher Taxes