Did you hear about Carmageddon? It turns out the apocalyptic shutdown of the nation’s busiest freeway, the 405, wasn’t apocalyptic at all.

Media hyped the billion dollar construction project for weeks, claiming it could “back up traffic as much as 64 miles,” and politicians blunted told constituents, “Stay the hell away from the 405.” But none of the predictions about a Carmageddon came true.

Instead we found politicians ready to sing the praises of the newly added carpool lane and tear down of the Mulholland Bridge. We also found Angelinos skeptical that the project would actually alleviate traffic.

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Facing a July 29 deadline, John and Judy Dollarhite of Nixa, Mo., responded Friday to officials at the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service with a “Substitute Stipulation Agreement” that, hopefully, will allow the couple to avoid fines of up to $4 million in fines for selling too many bunnies.

The substitute agreement, prepared on behalf of John Dollarhite by attorney Richard Anderson, was submitted almost a month after I reported on John Dollarhite being “not happy” with the USDA’s revised offer which came on the heels of substantial national attention — including coverage on Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Drudge Report — about their plight.

The substitute agreement was addressed to Sarah L. Conant, a USDA bureaucrat with a very long title — Chief, Animal Health and Welfare Enforcement Branch, Investigative and Enforcement Services — who was the focus of my June 27 post, Animal Rights Activism Fuels USDA Rabbit Chase.

Below is the “meat” of the cover letter that accompanied the substitute agreement:

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Ever since these two interviews in Forbes Magazine, in which CEOs of rent-seeking utilities blurted out that that of course they were behind the cap-and-trade/global warming legislative agenda, because they receive a large wealth transfer in return for helping the statists grow the state, I have maintained the following very basic principle: crony capitalists, when engaged in behavior the public would be less than pleased with were it brought to their attention, ought to not allow their CEOs to give interviews.

But here we go again. Today, T. Boone Pickens went on the air with Bloomberg and proved way too much about his latest great idea — on the heels of also pushing the global warming agenda, specifically a national windmill mandate — to mandate a market for his huge natural gas investments (windmills generally don’t work so require a gas plant to be built for ‘backup’. Windmill mandates failed, politically, but he had a backup ready there, too).

This is, naturally, a backdoor for the climate agenda. As Christine Todd Whitman recently and precisely admitted about the whole ‘clean energy’ Plan B, incidentally, in defending President Obama from Al Gore’s barbs.

His next Pickens Plan is at root a cash or clunkers scheme gone stark raving mad.  And remember, this was considered less appealing than a windmill mandate. It seeks to force the transport sector onto natural gas where that is not in fact economic. Hence the big ol’, new government scheme a la ethanol and wind and solar subsidies and preferences, and the mélange of ethanol subsidies and mandates which it more closely resembles.  Requiring, e.g., auto dealers to float not five grand or so but up to $64,000 per vehicle, to ultimately be paid back by you and I, it is little wonder Pickens thought a windmill mandate was the less-bad bet.

T. Boone is of course not alone among gas interests to have bet big and come up short on the global warming agenda, seeking to scare people into allowing the state to for all intents and purposes regulate coal, our most abundant energy supply, out of existence.

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Blocking oil companies’ ability to benefit from two key tax relief provisions could drive up the deficit and the national debt, according to a study released Tuesday by Louisiana State University professor Dr. Jospeh R. Mason (PDF).

The study, sponsored by the American Energy Alliance, focuses on two tax relief provisions: dual capacity (foreign tax credits) and the Section 199 deduction, currently available to nearly all American businesses.  It concludes that while eliminating the availability of the provisions to oil companies would increase revenue by tens of billions in the short term, it would cost the country hundreds of billions in economic output, provoke about 155,000 job losses (with consequent impacts on wages and employment-derived tax revenues), and ultimately result in a net fiscal loss of $53.5 billion in tax revenues.

“The administration’s proposal to eliminate tax deductions on U.S. oil and gas companies is grossly counterproductive toward the goal of increasing federal revenues,” said Dr. Mason in a statement. “Such a move would have a net negative impact on revenue, thereby increasing federal deficits.”

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President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats face in 2012 running for reelection into the stiff headwind of a terrible economy – largely of their own making.

In just the last four years, the federal government – run by a Democrat Congress since 2007, and adding a Democrat President in 2009 – has increased spending by 29%.

2007 Federal Budget: $2.73 trillion.

Note: This was the last all Republican budget – the House, Senate and White House were at the time all run by the Rs.

2011 Federal Budget: $3.82 trillion.

Note: This is an estimated total.  Because the Democrats that were at the time running the House, Senate and White House didn’t write a budget – because they were afraid to go on the record with how much they actually wanted to spend in advance of the 2010 election.

Meaning – it could have been WORSE.

That is a $1.09 trillion increase – in just the last four years.

Behold the nation’s third Age of Bailout.

And the resulting Age of Bailout economy has been – atrocious.

Thusly, Democrats are seeking to rewrite recent history – and the present – in terms far more favorable to them than Reality to assist them in their re-electoral pursuits.

Much as our entire Left-Liberal cultural nexus -  our government (i.e. public) schools, the Leftist PlayLand colleges and universities and the Hollywood-Media Corridor – have rewritten the histories of the first two Ages of Bailout.

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Call it hokus pokus or smoke and mirrors. The Norwich Bulletin reports that the leaders of Connecticut’s state employee unions (SEBAC) plan to meet on Monday to vote to change their bylaws in order to stave off Democratic and Working Families Party Governor Dannel Malloy’s threats of 4,300 layoffs and the halt of many government services. As was reported here several weeks ago, 57% of public sector union members rejected a concession package, which was to close a $1.6 billion hole in the state’s budget, where, currently, 80% rank and file is required for approval of concessions.

Amidst much fanfare focused on the special relationship between Connecticut’s public sector unions and their choice for governor, Mr. Malloy and union leaders agreed to the concession package, behind closed doors. Union leaders were embarrassed that the concession plan approved by the governor they worked to elect was rejected by a sufficient number of their members, suggesting that they were out of touch with their rank and file members. In June, however, Matt O’Connor, a spokesman for the coalition of union leaders, said some union members were operating under several misperceptions, including a belief that a rejection of the deal would lead to further negotiations.

Apparently, yesterday’s misperceptions are today’s realities.

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The Obama administration stealth amnesty scandal that emerged last year is heating up. It all began with an internal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services memo outlining ways the Obama administration could bypass Congress to enact amnesty for millions of illegal aliens through “administrative means.”

And then the Houston Chronicle exposed an effort by the administration to suspend the deportations of illegal aliens that supposedly have not been convicted of any “serious” crimes.

JW filed two FOIA lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to get to the truth about this deportation plan. And according to documents our litigation recently pried loose, not only did Obama administration officials skirt congressional authority when implementing this unlawful scheme behind closed doors, but apparently they also lied about it when they got caught.

The documents, which we obtained from the Obama DHS, show that DHS officials misled Congress and the public about the scope of the immigration enforcement policy change which gave wide latitude to local immigration officials to dismiss illegal alien deportation cases.

And perhaps most shocking of all, officials considered the dismissal of charges against illegal alien criminals convicted of violent crimes!

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Saying Mitch McConnell is a weak leader is like saying the sun is hot, there’s little point in stating the obvious. The earmark-loving leader of the Senate Republicans leader has a plan to avert the debt ceiling “crisis” – punt. The possible deal being reported is that Congress will give the President increases in the debt ceiling unless, basically, a veto-proof majority rejects it. It’s more involved than that, but that’s the gist of it.

Senator McConnell announced last week a contingency plan. The plan basically would give the President $2.4 trillion in debt limit authority in three tranches (Washington word for stacks of your money) and the President would be empowered to marry cuts to these increases in debt limit authority. The Congress would be empowered by a 2/3rds vote to legislatively veto any proposed cuts by the Administration, as a package deal, with these three increases in debt limit authority.

For example, the first batch of $750 billion in new borrowing authority might be conditioned by the President on massively cutting defense spending. Then Congress would have to vote, in both chambers by a 2/3rds vote, to stop these cuts. This seems at first glace to be a ill conceived and desperate idea out of the Republican “Leadership” to save face. It also may be unconstitutional, in that the legislature can’t delegate this type of authority under the Constitution.

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The debt negotiations raging on in Washington have given Democrats a rare chance to do two of their favorite things at once: (1) Blame straw men for the problem, and (2) Declare class warfare and bloviate about the need for higher taxes on “the rich.”

In their desperate effort to find a way to increase revenue without having to make real spending cuts, Congressional Democrats are mining the tax code for quick fixes. Now, there are some things they could do that would make sense, like tackling federal subsidies and tax credits that involve the government picking winners and losers in the private sector, but those actions would make too much sense and could hurt them politically. So, they are regurgitating a previously failed idea that would do severe damage to the U.S. economy under the guise of “closing a loophole.”

Carried interest refers to the share of investment profits allocated to the manager of a private equity fund. Carried interest is not the manager’s primary compensation for managing the fund; rather it is an additional, investment-based sum, which the tax code classifies as a capital gain. Capital gains are taxed at a lower rate of 15 percent, as they are the fruit of risk-laden investments and not primary sources of income.

Liberals in Congress, realizing that ‘investment fund managers’ are not a very sympathetic-sounding group to the majority of Americans, have sensed an opportunity to paint a straightforward part of the tax code as a loophole benefiting the afore-mentioned evil straw men.

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An historic first-ever Presidential debate on twitter will take place on Wednesday July 20th 3pm-4:30pm EDT (noon-1:30PDT) with all major candidates expected to participate except one.  The debate is being organized by a group called TheTEAParty.net and will be moderated by FOX News contributor SE Cupp along with popular fellow talk show host Rusty Humphries.  Amato For Liberty will be supporting the event as a participating contributor.

“This is the essence of true democracy”, spokesman Dustin Stockton told me.  “With the tools of social media available today citizens across America will be able to ask their questions directly to the candidates… Instead of the old debate format which is basically a joint press conference…We are going to ask one question of all the candidates and see their answers side by side so that we can really distinguish between what one candidate’s position is and and what another candidate’s position is.  Right there in one form.”

TheTEAParty.net is not an actual TEA Party organization but instead a website which provides helpful resources for all TEA Party members.

“We provide the tools to help TEA Party groups be more effective at what they do.  We can help them build a website, provide phone numbers and voting records of elected officials, help them organize a telephone campaign on a particular issue just to name a few examples”, Stockton said. “We connect TEA Party groups across the country with each other and help provide support from a menu of items as needed.”

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss the poor economic productions for 2012, how the economy may impact Obama’s campaign and the latest on the debt ceiling debate.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Panic at the White House? Gloomy Goldman Sachs sees high unemployment, possible recession
Does Obama Have a Problem With His Base?
Josh Treviño says polls show Americans believe the federal debt ceiling should not be raised and the debt and deficit should be dealt with mostly by cutting spending
What Happened to the $2.6 Trillion Social Security Trust Fund?
3 Reasons Why The Debt-Ceiling Debate is Full of Malarkey
Default ‘Off the Table,’ Debt Deal Will Be Struck: Geithner

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From The Hill:

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said Sunday the federal government can save $1 trillion though tax reform, a proposal that will put him at odds with some GOP colleagues.

Coburn plans to unveil a $9 trillion deficit-reduction package Monday that would give lawmakers a menu of policy options to reduce the deficit.

Coburn has suggested $1 trillion in savings could come from eliminating special tax breaks, such as the tax subsidy for ethanol, which he has fought to end.

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The President’s Rope-A-Dope strategy has failed.  President Obama tried to convince the Republican House Leadership that a fair deal would be to trade a reduction in spending, which given the nation’s burgeoning debt and deficit, should be the country’s first order of business, for increases in taxes, which, given the nation’s current economic malaise, should be the country’s last-resort order of business.  President Obama knows the Speaker genuinely wants to reach a bi-partisan solution to the impending debt-ceiling crisis.  Boehner, however, wasn’t buying the President’s offer to reduce future spending if only he would agree to more increases in taxes.  That’s the “balanced approach” the President is selling and which Boehner, so far, sees through.  It reminds us of the rope-a-dope strategy made famous by Muhammad Ali in the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman.  Foreman was the big loser then and Boehner, had he yielded to White House pressure, would be the big loser now (and so would the country).

We are not anti-tax dogmatists. We simply believe tax policy can only be wisely considered in the context of a strong national pro-growth agenda.  All of the Administration’s most positive projections for reducing the deficit and the national debt have been predicated on Pollyannaish growth projections that are meaningless (and worthless) to everyone in Washington with the apparent sole exception of the President’s speechwriters.

It’s a clever sleight of hand (or, perhaps, we should say sleight of tongue). The President talks about the need to raise revenue (who can argue with that) and demands an increase in tax rates (on higher earners) to achieve that goal, and if no one is paying attention, presto!  He gets to increase taxes.  What is so obviously needed is a substantial increase in economic growth, which would, of course, produce increased tax revenue. Fortunately, it seems Speaker Boehner was paying attention.

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Across the nation, states, counties, and municipalities are facing a fiscal calamity. Even before the 2008 economic meltdown, many states were facing a sea of red ink due to over-promising, poor fiscal planning, and too much political influence from government union bosses. Now, as politicians of both parties grapple with the mess created by years of passing the buck, they are faced with taxpayers revolting on the right, businesses fleeing union-dominated states and radicalized government unions on the left.

In addition to the headline-grabbing Republican governors Chris Christie (NJ), John Kasich (OH), Rick Scott (FL), Rick Snyder (MI) and Scott Walker (WI), Democrat governors are also finding themselves increasingly in the crosshairs of government union bosses—most notably from the government union bosses at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). All too often, AFSCME’s response to the budget shortfalls in the various states where it operates is to clamor for more taxes, even when so many taxpayers are tired of a already crushing tax burden.

AFSCME: Big Government Bully or Ward of the State?

In Illinois, prior to his reelection, Governor Pat Quinn negotiated $75 million worth of raises for state workers, only to rescind the promised increases after he was reelected due to a lack of money. Now, AFSCME bosses are suing Quinn in court for breaking his pre-election promise. If AFSCME is successful, with no money to fund the increases, Illinois politicians will have to make some tough decisions—do they lay off more employees? Or, do lawmakers pass the costs on to Illinois taxpayers who are still reeling from a 67% income tax hike earlier this year? (more…)

Today, in 1976, Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast to earn a perfect 10 at the Olympics.

Sen. McConnell’s contingency plan on the debt ceiling is to pay $2.5T to topple Obama.  And if I were 100% SURE it would end IMPOTUS, I’d support it.  But since there is no guarantee, it’s better to gird our loins and prepare to fight Obama with a no new taxes plan.

The bigger issue with McConnell is that he didn’t run his plan past the Tea Party, Boehner, and Cantor first.   Since we run the House, that means the Senate should take its cues from our riotous freshmen, whether they like it or not.

Right now, Republican Senators are the weaker sex.

What is truly awesome is that there is an easy way for Rep. Cantor to prove his Tea Party bonafides and smack Obama right back after the challenge he received:

Yesterday, House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor used colored-coded spreadsheets to detail $2 trillion in spending cuts he asserts were agreed to by the Biden group. The President asked Cantor “if he wasn’t missing a page”, meaning the revenue aspect of the Biden talks. Cantor also proposed $350 billion in additional mandatory health care spending cuts. Obama pointed out that this $350 billion still isn’t enough to get the $2.4 trillion in savings necessary to solve the debt ceiling crisis through 2012.

OMB disputed Cantor’s numbers, citing, at most, only $1.7 trillion in potential spending cuts tentatively agreed to by the Biden group. By either side’s arithmetic, negotiators are left with a $400 – $700 billion gap – a huge amount by any standard.

Then, on July 13th, Obama sent Cantor back to  the drawing board again, by actually walking out on the debt ceiling meeting.

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That is, if she wants to be critical of Paul Ryan’s plan.  HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was quick to say that seniors would “die sooner” under the Ryan Medicare plan, but did she even read it and furthermore does she even understand it?

One would think that she would understand “premium support” as she’s a former insurance commissioner.  Kaiser Health News reviews premium support and its history (emphasis mine):

Under a premium support system, the government would pay a percentage toward the insurance premium for each individual; there would likely be more help for low-income and sicker people. And enrollees could kick in more money to get better coverage.

Henry Aaron, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Robert Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute and former head of the Congressional Budget Office, in 1995 were among the first to explore alternatives to Medicare’s system of paying for individual services. And in 1998, President Bill Clinton’s National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare, chaired by then-Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., and then-Sen. John B. Breaux, D-La., developed a “premium support” idea, but it never became a formal recommendation. Breaux and then-Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., tried unsuccessfully to advance the plan as separate legislation.

Let’s take a look at her ‘confuzzled’ look as she was clearly caught off-guard by Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX and a physician) as seen here at the July 13 subcommittee hearings (skip to 0.59 to 2:16):

The Weekly Standard also  reiterates and shreds her original comment:

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For the State of California and its counties and cities; tax collections tend to be lumpy during the year due to half of all income, corporate and other taxes being collected in the two months of November and April. Given that the fiscal year starts on July 1st and politicians like to spend money all year long; the State and local municipalities have relied on the sale of short term municipal bonds to tax free money market funds to even out cash flow. The total amount of this borrowing can run as high as $25 billion.

Unfortunately for California, with the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the default crisis in the U.S.; credit rating agencies are in the process of downgrading 7000 muni bond issuers. California who has the lowest rating on the continent, could receive a junk bond rating. Such a rating would make purchase of California bonds by money funds deemed to be imprudent investments. Consequently, California is being forced to try to borrow money from banks at interest costs that may be 5 to 10 times higher in cost.

Starting around the third week in July, California’s Treasury will begin to run increasingly negative cash balances until larger tax payments arrive in early October. With the State continually cash-strapped; those nice people at JP Morgan Bank and their banker buddies bailed California out with bridge loans of $1.5 billion in 2009 and $6.7 billion in 2010 (See here and here.). At the time, because there was no risk of the State being downgraded to junk levels, the interest cost on the two loans were less than 2%. But loaning money to government today is perceived as a much more risky proposition. Last week, JP Morgan bank loaned $2.25 billion to New Jersey, which has a higher rating than California, at a cost of up to 9% interest. At a low 2% cost of interest, it would take 35 years of compounding before the borrowed money would double. But at 9%, the loan doubles in just 8 years.

To instill confidence in the lenders, California voters elected “Moon Beam” Jerry Brown to replace “Terminator” Arnold Schwarzenegger last year. Brown has always been a complicated figure in California politics. In 1975, Jerry Brown became the youngest Governor in the history of the United States by being elected at age of 37. After taking office; Brown was widely liberal on social issue, but was actually a fiscal conservative that favored a Balanced Budget Amendment. After the passage of Proposition 13 limitations on property tax collections, Brown did such a good job balancing the State’s budget that the initiative’s author, Howard Jarvis, actually made a television commercial supporting Brown for his successful reelection bid in 1978.

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