Congressman and 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul has issued a statement strongly condemning Gene Sperling’s call for a global minimum tax. Sperling is President Obama’s director of the National Economic Council. See comments below:

“Gene Sperling’s call for a global minimum tax is yet another example of this administration’s hostility toward liberty, as well as its ignorance of economics. A global minimum tax would logically require some sort of global IRS to ensure the tax was paid, and it would give the government even more excuses to invade our financial privacy.

“History shows that any time ‘minimum’ taxes are created, they do not remain minimum. Greedy politicians will eventually increase both the tax rate and the number of people subject to the tax.

“A global minimum tax will further cripple economic growth, as more money is sucked out of the productive sector to be wasted by politicians and government bureaucrats. The American people are already struggling under the burden of high taxes, high spending, and outrageous debt. They do not need new taxes imposed on business at the international level.

“Instead of trying to impose new global taxes, President Obama and Mr. Sperling should join me in supporting repealing all taxes on the repatriation of foreign capital. This would inject trillions of dollars into the American economy and help create new businesses and new jobs. Tax-free capital repatriation is a major part of my Plan to Restore America.

“I hope my four rivals for the presidency – Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and President Obama himself – will join me in denouncing Mr. Sperling’s call for a global tax.”

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“I will not remain indifferent when our competitors do not follow the rules,” he said. The Obama administration has set up a newcommercial surveillance unit ”has a single mission: investigatingunfair practices used by countries like China.”

China - ”the main export market of U.S.”

Obama’s speech took place just one day after he had receivedthe Xi Jinping, Chinese vice president at the White House, part of the visit of a week of ”freezing relations” taken by him in the United States. Xi, who will become president of China next year, could lead the country for the next decade.

After visiting the White House, Xi went to Iowa for a visit wasaimed at underlining the increasing volume of U.S. exports to China and Chinese investment potential. Agricultural exports, especially soybeans, increased by 1200% in the last decade, he argued.

Xi used the opportunity to and respond to the allegations againstChina’s economic policies.
“China has become the U.S. export market,” said Vice Presidentof China. Chinese trade surplus as a proportion of GDP fell from7% to 2%, said Xi, who criticized also increased American military presence in Asia-Pacific.

The legend of Jeremy Lin continues to grow as he is fast becoming a global icon right before our eyes. You can addPresident Obama to the list of fans jumping on the Lin bandwagon. Politico 44 is reporting thatPresident Obama is very impressed with Lin’s skills on the basketball court, but more impressed with Lin’s life story.

White House spokesman Jay Carney, speaking to reporters said, “The President is an avid sports fan and particularly avid basketball fan and we were speaking about Jeremy Lin on Marine One as we flew here to Andrews Air Force Base this morning. It’s just a great story and the President was saying as much this morning. Obviously terrific for theNew York Knicks but it’s the kind of sports story that transcends the sport itself. It’s a great story and yes, he’s very impressed and fully up to speed. I know he’s watched Lin play already and he’s seen the highlights from last night’s game.”

The young New York Knicks guard has already had a whirlwind two weeks since being inserted into the starting lineup, and has shown no signs of slowing up since his coming out party against Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Read more @ http://mediapatio.wordpress.com

President Obama speaks at the James Lee Community Center in Falls Church,… (Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images)

Reporting from Washington — Distancing himself from Republicans on housing issues, President Obama pitched a $5-billion to $10-billion plan to help a key segment of struggling homeowners — those still making monthly payments, but on underwater mortgages.

Obama proposed Wednesday to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

He argued that those homeowners — and the country — couldn’t afford to let the housing market bottom out, as many Republicans, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, have advocated.

“This plan … will not help the neighbors down the street who bought a house they couldn’t afford, and then walked away and left a foreclosed home behind,” Obama said. “It’s not designed for those who’ve acted irresponsibly, but it can help those who’ve acted responsibly.”

His administration took steps last fall to help as many as 11 million underwater homeowners whose loans were backed or owned by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or the Federal Housing Administration. Now Obama wants to expand that program to the remaining underwater homeowners, whose loans are owned by banks or investors.

But the refinancing plan is strongly opposed by many congressional Republicans and faces an uphill climb in an election year. They contended that the administration’s previous housing plans have been unsuccessful and that the market needs to settle on its own.

“How many times have we done this?” House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said. “I don’t know why anyone would think this next program would work.”

Obama also proposed to pay for the refinancing plan with a new fee he wants Congress to levy on large banks. The financial industry strongly opposes that fee, which Obama has been unable to push into law since first proposing it in 2010.

Such a fee could delay the housing recovery because it would “directly reduce lending capacity and banks’ ability to lend” by up to $100 billion, said Frank Keating, president of the American Bankers Assn.

Obama’s proposal appeared designed to draw a sharp distinction between him and Republicans on help for struggling homeowners.

In October, Romney told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the housing market needed to “hit the bottom” before it could recover, and he has since talked about the need for foreclosures to run their course.

Obama alluded to those comments Wednesday, noting that more than half of all homeowners in Las Vegas were underwater.

“It is wrong for anybody to suggest that the only option for struggling, responsible homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom,” Obama told a crowd at a Falls Church, Va., community center. “I refuse to accept that, and so do the American people.”

The administration released 10 pages of details on the refinancing proposal as well as other steps to help the housing market, such as streamlined refinancing requirements and a homeowner bill of rights with simple disclosure forms and protection from inappropriate foreclosures.

To be eligible, homeowners would have to be current on their mortgage payments for the last six months and have missed no more than one payment in the previous six months. Homeowners also would need a credit score of at least 580.

Also, homeowners would have to be no more than 40% underwater on the loan, owing, say, $140,000 on a home now worth only $100,000. Obama also proposed that Congress set new guidelines for loans that are more deeply underwater.

To speed approvals, lenders would need only to confirm that the homeowner has a job. Borrowers would not need to submit tax returns or get a new appraisal of the property. Unemployed homeowners also would be eligible for the refinancing plan, but would be required to provide more detailed financial information.

The program would be open only to mortgages below the FHA’s conforming loan limits, which are $271,050 in low-cost areas and $729,750 in Southern California and other high-priced markets. By refinancing, borrowers would save an average of $3,000 a year. The cost of the program would be to cover the increased risks for the FHA, which would back the refinanced loans.

Some Republicans said it was irresponsible to add new risk to the FHA, whose finances are already in trouble and could require a federal bailout.

But Barry Zigas, director of housing policy for the Consumer Federation of America, said the refinancing proposal was “a sensible and modest federal ‘helping hand’ that is long overdue.”

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said the White House was open to finding a different method, other than the bank fee, to pay for the refinancing plan. But he said administration officials believed banks should help pay for the plan because they helped cause the housing crisis.

Bert Ely, an independent banking analyst, said the plan could not pass Congress and appeared to be a political move by Obama to put heat on Republicans, particularly Romney.

“Is this really to help the housing market? Or is this really to give the president something to talk about on the campaign trail?” Ely said.

He said the plan probably would not do much to reduce foreclosures because it targeted homeowners who have been making their payments. And he questioned why the administration would want to reduce the amount of paperwork required for refinancing.

“It’s ironic that the whole reason we got into this mess was, in part, because of sloppy underwriting and misrepresentations about the ability to pay, and they turn right around and put a proposal on the table which is essentially the same thing,” Ely said.

Anyone paying attention to the news over the last couple of weeks has noticed that Obama stepped in it when he and his “Catholic” cabinet secretary, Kathleen Sebelius required the Catholic Church to pay for birth control for their women employees in complete contradiction to Catholic dogma.  Even when the Catholic Church was hijacked by modernists in Vatican Council II in the 1960’s, the Church maintained its opposition to artificial birth control with the bull, Humane Vitae from Paul VI in 1968.  The Church cannot fund what it finds to be sinful.  But Obama worships at the altar of birth control and abortion.  Of course, many birth control methods are abortofacients which means that they kill babies right after they are conceived as opposed to devices that simply prevent conception. 

Chris Matthews runs his Hardball show on MSNBC every night.  I watch it because he is funny with his liberal agenda and his tingle up his leg because he loves Obama so much.  Matthews claims to be Catholic when he supports abortion rights and birth control.  Matthews seems to worship Obama more than Jesus.  Anyway, Matthews knows that the Obama White House has stepped in it with this birth control issue.  Yes, almost every one uses birth control.  But people do not want the government telling the Church to pay for it.  This is going to piss off swing Catholics.  In addition, issues like this will unite libertarians and conservatives under the Republican brand.  If Republicans and Libertarians unite, Obama will lose.  Matthews knows this and is warning Obama not to piss off Catholics.  It is also not helping Obama that Rick Santorum, a conservative Catholic, is moving to the front of the Republican race.

It is going to be interesting if Obama can get himself out of this mess he himself made.  This is just further sign he is in trouble in November. 

The actor Al Pacino and country music singer Mel Tellez 17 to a poet, historian and thegenerosity and other White House on Monday for their contributions in the arts or human services.

U.S. President Barack Obama that they “left their mark not Tmha in American culture.”Obama is honored and awarded the National Medal of Arts and the National Medal for Humanitarian Services for 2011 in a ceremony at the White House.

He said the president, who joined first lady Michelle Obama, “we were told that we as a people, but suddenly Angsmona for the Arts was the force that binds us together.”

Obama said, “You … Tjelbon new possibilities for us all. This special feature.” Theaudience applauded when he said that the arts and human services will remain a priorityas long as the president of the United States.

And got Al Pacino (71 years), who starred in the movie (The Godfather The Godfather)and (Doug Dey Afternon Dog Day Afternoon) on the National Medal of Arts.

Tellez won the Arts Award for his contributions to country music. Tellez and record (79years), more than 60 album and wrote more than 1000 songs.

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House announced on Monday plans to offer more than 800 million dollars in economic aid to countries “Arab spring” in the time that keeps it on the U.S. military aid to Egypt in spite of the crisis caused by the Egyptian campaign against militants American Defenders of Democracy .

In a year of strong discussions about the budget cuts sought U.S. President Barack Obama to preserve the basic U.S. spending on foreign aid and development while reducing the expenses of existing programs and reduce the proposals to build new embassies and hire more diplomats.

He asked Obama in his annual message on the budget to Congress to maintain military aid to Egypt at the same level of recent years, amounting to $ 1.3 billion per year and sought to provide $ 250 million in the form of economic aid normal for Egypt as it seeks to shift from tyranny after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak last year.

These proposals are part of the budget request submitted by Obama for the financial year 2013 which begins on the first of October. Must be approved by Congress on the budget.And preferably some U.S. lawmakers cut spending to address the external budget deficit.

Obama’s request and $ 51.6 billion for the State Department and foreign aid generally includes $ 8.2 billion in aid to war zones.

The White House has sought to increase of 1.6 percent in the budget of the Ministry of Foreign excluding spending on Iraq and Afghanistan, which is estimated separately.

Obama said in his budget that most of the new economic aid to countries of the Arab Spring -770 million – will go to “Incentive Fund Middle East and North Africa.”

Officials said the bulk of that money will be spent on new initiatives to support economic reforms, political and commercial long-range states where a shift such as Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen.

Said Tom Nadez Deputy U.S. Secretary of State, “We are in a new world. Arab spring solution.

“We have to make sure that we have the tools and flexibility to fund these initiatives .. the world is evolving as we see it and feel that a fund is important.”

Obama continued in his style on the development of the proposed foreign aid to war zones in a special account. This account includes $ 8.2 billion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Aid.

This includes $ 3.3 billion for Afghanistan and Pakistan billion and four billion dollars for Iraq, which U.S. forces departed, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took over some functions such as police training.

The decline in public spending for Iraq by almost ten percent from fiscal 2012 to $ 4.8 billion.

Continued aid to Israel steady at about 3.1 billion dollars.

She said the budget document that the new initiative to fund the Middle East in the other programs include up to two billion dollars in financing the private investment outside and up to two billion dollars in the form of exchange of debt for Egypt and nearly $ 500 million in funds current was re-allocated to respond to the region last year .

It did not say how the document will be divided Incentive Fund Middle East and North Africa between the countries did not give any further details of the plan.

Source: Reuters

Suggested that U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, military aid to Egypt $ 1.3 billionin fiscal year 2013, to ask this Congress to keep the size of annual aid at the same level during the past years, despite the crisis that still exists after the crisis of American organizations.

The U.S. State Department that Obama made ​​the proposal in his budget for fiscal year2013 which begins in early October, and must be approved by Congress on aid, and somelawmakers have called to cut off aid to Egypt if did not fall charges for some American activists and lift a travel ban imposed on them.

Source: Seventh Day

Showed a detailed document obtained by Reuters that the budget of the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) for the fiscal year 2013 of 525 billion dollars.

The budget includes spending 178.8 billion dollars to develop and purchase new warships, fighter aircraft and other weapons, the main deficiency of 7.5 percent from the level that was initially anticipated for next year.

The document showed the decline in the overall budget by about 12.2 per cent from last year’s budget.

It is expected in fiscal year 2013 spending of $ 109.1 billion on purchases and 7.69 billion dollars on research and development spending compared to previous projection 117.6 billion on purchases and 75.7 billion on research and development.

It shows the U.S. military to keep high levels of spending on the latest aircraft and warships in the time it turns its focus towards the Asia-Pacific in the new military strategy announced by U.S. President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last month.

At the same time spending on programs will be much less armor, where the U.S. military reduces the size of its ground forces and marines after ten years of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Panetta delivered last month highlighted the budget in 2013 is his first budget as minister of defense and the first to take into account measures to reduce the deficit in the budget approved by Congress, which include the reduction of 487 billion dollars of spending over ten years.

This is also the first budget for the Pentagon since the attacks of September 11, 2001 which requires spending less than the previous year.

Weapon and wait for companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics and Huntington Anjals and Raithwnin impatiently details of programs that will work on it.

It is scheduled to officially announce the details of the Pentagon budget on Monday, when Obama sends budget to Congress in 2013, which must be approved spending plan.

And requests the fiscal year 2013 budget, which begins on the first of October of $ 9.17 billion for the biggest weapons programs that are working on a program that Pentagon F-35 fighter, a little less of the $ 9.25 billion requested in fiscal year 2012.

Panetta announced last month that the Pentagon will slow the production of the new fighter to allow more time to test and to avoid costly modifications.

Source: Reuters

President of the United States (U.S.), Barack Obama may be a baby allotment of the world’s active of accompaniment who has assorted talents.

Not alone has the aptitude to be the baton of a abundant nation, Obama was aswell an able basketball coach.

Yes, Obama, a basketball drillmaster Sidwell Accompany School area his daughter, Sasha Obama, get an education.

Located in Washington DC, the school’s basketball aggregation Sidwell Friends, is consistently visited by Obama’s every weekend, at which time it afflicted the role of a U.S. Admiral to be a basketball coach.

He had been promised in every weekend to yield the time to alternation the school’s basketball aggregation Sidwell Friends.

On Sunday, accompanied by his daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama, Barack Obama, abounding the training affair on Sunday. Wearing a accidental dejected jacket, white with atramentous jeans, Obama seemed actual enthusiastic, training session.

First Lady Michelle Obama describes her bedmate as a man who is actual committed to maximizing the abeyant of their daughters in sports.

“He never absent any individual week,” he said as quoted Dailymail, Sunday (12/02/2012).

Obama himself, was accepted as ‘geeks’ basketball. Last ages he was accomplishing a dream of abounding admirers of basketball, if he was accustomed a brace of Nike Air Jordans shoes endemic by basketball fable Michael Jordan.

His adulation of basketball, is aswell apparent from a basketball jersey with the words ‘Obama 44′ emblazoned on it, which sells for 95 U.S. dollars per one fruit, in a fundraising accident for his choice to be U.S. president.

But his amusement was, had put him in danger, in 2010, he had to accept 12 stitches in his lip, afterwards a ancestors affiliate accidentally elbowed in a basketball bold with accompany and family. (dailymail)