Who’s Going to Pay?

The Federal government is on the verge of shutting
down as politicians are unable to agree on budget cuts for 2011. Yes,
2011. It’s April, and Congress has failed to approve a budget for the
year.

I’m not pointing any fingers here. But there are a
few things that make me wonder. 5% of the U.S. population controls nearly
64% of American wealth. And yet budget proposals would rather restructure
Medicaid than raise taxes on the most wealthy.

And it’s not like the super-wealthy are griping
about taxes, either. Warren Buffett says the wealthy should pay more in
taxes. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon says the “…well off should pay a
lion’s share…” of taxes.

I hear people complain constantly that the wealthy
were relatively unscathed by the financial crisis. They were the biggest
beneficiaries of bailouts and TARP money. And yet they are off-limits for
austerity measures. So is the defense budget and corporate tax
loopholes.

I know I’m probably opening a can of worms here,
but I am frustrated by our politicians’ inability to get to the heart of
the matter concerning budget deficits.

*****Is the rise in commodity prices solely based
on demand? Or is “hot money” from government stimulus pushing prices
higher? According to the Bank of Japan, it’s both.

The Resource
Prospector, Kevin McElroy
alerted me to the results of the BOJ’s
study…