March 9, 2010 - Beginning on April 5^th, the next big bank bailout to be paid for by taxpayers will launch. The official name it has been given by the Obama administration is the Home Affordability Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program. Unofficially, it can be referred to as Cash of Keys. The program is being paid for by taxpayers and it provides money to mortgage servicers and to troubled homeowners. But the biggest beneficiaries of the program are likely to be lenders who are getting bailed out a second time. The only real difference this time is that the government is attempting to disguise the program as something else.

March 5, 2010 - When it comes to protecting your identity from crooks, you always need to remain vigilant. There are two ID theft scams that are becoming more and more popular that our readers need to be aware of. One of them preys on desperate job seekers. The other on virtually anyone. Both of them can catch their victims completely off guard.

March 4, 2010 - The Federal Reserve is proposing new credit card rules that would limit fees that banks can charge credit card holders. The rules are the last portion of legislation enacted by Congress to place certain limits on banks with regard to interest rates and fees. Most of the new regulations went into effect last month, with the remaining rules to go into effect in August. As a part of the rule making process, the public can comment on the rules. We strongly encourage our readers to participate in this process.

March 3, 2010 - Tomorrow morning, the latest job numbers are due to be released by the federal government. They are expected to be bleak and the White House is now in full-on finger pointing mode. But they aren't pointing the finger where you might think. They're not blaming those pesky Republicans or tea baggers. They're not singling out individual members of Congress that they consider to be obstructionist. No, they are blaming the weather; specifically the snow fall that has blanketed much of the country. Who would have thought that with global warming being such a big problem that snow could possibly result in an additional 100,000 or so job losses? Maybe we should track down Al Gore to explain how this all works!

February 26, 2010 - Today, Vice President Joe Biden laid out his plan for protecting retirement savings plans from unscrupulous brokers and con artists. While the plan does have some good points and it does attempt to protect consumers from conflicts of interest that many brokers have, it also ignores the 800 pound gorilla in the room. The fact that the United States Government continues to collect Social Security taxes from every working American and then spend the monies collected on everything other than Social Security. Any investment manager who acted in this way would find themselves quickly locked up in a federal penitentiary.

February 23, 2010 - Two weeks ago today, I wrote an editorial titled Why Does The Government Need To Know If Your Oven Is On? It was picked up by a variety of other websites; many of which are focused on consumer activism. The piece was about the federal government's plan for incorporating smart-grid technology in all home appliances (as described in the Federal Register on February 9^th). The technology has the potential to be highly intrusive and end privacy in your home as you know it today. Since the notification published in the Federal Register asked for comments, I suggested that readers respond by telling the government that any data collected should belong to them and that use by third parties should not be allowed. I can only assume that the government didn't like the comments it was receiving since the White House published a new Federal Register notice on February 19^th and any comments submitted prior to today are nowhere to be found. Is this just a mistake or is it sleazy government in action?

February 22, 2010 - Every ten years, the Constitution mandates a federal Census. The data collected in the Census is used by the federal government to allocate resources to the states and to change the make-up of Congress. States that gain a lot of new residents will gain congressional seats and those that lose a lot of residents will lose seats. But what would happen if conservatives in liberal leaning states said that they didn't want to be counted in the Census? Could a targeted effort shift the House of Representatives to the right and actually reduce the size of the US Government?

February 19, 2010 - The American people want jobs and a booming economy. They have been making that point known to all who will listen. But the point appears to be lost on the White House even in light of the recent election results in Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts and most recently in New York where a TEA Party candidate has apparently won a state assembly race this past week. If you are wondering what the White House considers more important than the economy, the answer appears to be overweight children… yes, you read that correctly. And based on a Presidential Memorandum published yesterday, the President appears to be ready to put considerable financing and resources behind a push to make all children fit and trim. Is this really what we need to have our government focused on right now?