/PRNewswire/ -- With a new poll by Rasmussen showing that 63% of likely voters want to repeal ObamaCare, the American people have an unparalleled opportunity to make their voices heard by signing Revere America's national petition to repeal and replace the government takeover of healthcare. The petition is available at www.revereamerica.org as part of Revere America's national petition drive to collect the names and signatures of at least one million Americans who want to repeal and replace ObamaCare.
Revere America Chairman Governor George Pataki said:
"Rasmussen's new poll shows beyond any doubt the depth of opposition to the government takeover of healthcare. But it's not enough to just tell a pollster that you oppose ObamaCare and hope that out of touch politicians in Washington will pay attention.
"That's why I urge everyone who opposes this dangerously liberal law to sign Revere America's national petition to repeal and replace ObamaCare at www.revereamerica.org. Together, we can deliver a powerful message that Washington won't soon forget and won't be able to ignore."
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Don't Doubt Bernanke's Ability to Create Inflation
/PRNewswire/ The National Inflation Association today released the following inflation update to its http://inflation.us/ members:
With the Dow Jones now down 11% nominally from its high last month, NIA has been getting hundreds of emails and phone calls asking if there is any way we could be wrong about the threat of hyperinflation in the U.S. and if indeed deflation is the real problem we need to be worried about. The names Nouriel Roubini, Robert Prechter, and Harry Dent get mentioned to us a lot, with many NIA members asking why these so-called "experts" believe deflation is in our future.
Roubini, Prechter and Dent have been wrong about the overwhelming majority of their economic forecasts over the past decade. When it comes to their latest predictions about deflation, they will actually be right to some extent. We will see deflation in some assets like stocks and Real Estate, but only when priced in terms of real money - gold and silver. In terms of dollars, prices for pretty much all goods and services are guaranteed to rise dramatically over the next few years. Creating inflation is the only thing in the world Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke knows how to do and is good at.
During the past week, the mainstream media has shifted from saying we are experiencing an "economy recovery" to now saying we are at risk of a "double dip recession." Nothing fundamentally has changed in our economy. The fact is, the U.S. economy has been in a recession since mid-2000. All government reported positive GDP growth since mid-2000 has been due to nothing but inflation. Our economy should have experienced a depression in 2001 and an even greater one in 2008, but the depression has been temporarily avoided at the expense of an inevitable Hyperinflationary Great Depression down the road.
NIA believes it is impossible for the U.S. to experience price deflation when the Federal Reserve has held interest rates at 0% for the past 17 months. Sure, there will probably be a second wave of mortgage defaults that could cause another round of forced liquidations on Wall Street, but during any future period of forced liquidations, we doubt the U.S. dollar will still be looked at as the "safe haven" it was in 2008/2009. Gold and silver will soon be looked at as the only real safe havens because they are the only assets that provide protection from both a deteriorating economy and massive inflation. Precious metals will decouple from the Dow Jones and we will begin to see gold and silver rise at the same time as the stock market falls.
Bernanke was questioned yesterday following a speech at the Bank of Japan about whether a 4% inflation target would be better than the Fed's current inflation target of 2%. Bernanke responded that "it would be a very risky transition" if the Fed changed their inflation target, claiming that U.S. inflation expectations are currently "very stable" (NIA estimates the real rate of U.S. price inflation is already north of 5%).
Unfortunately, no policymaker in the world is smart enough to accurately control the rate of price inflation through the manipulation of interest rates, and certainly not Bernanke. It's mind-boggling to us how the mainstream media could believe anything Bernanke says about inflation after how wrong he has been about everything else. Maybe the press has already forgotten that it was Bernanke who in July of 2005 said, "it's a pretty unlikely possibility" that home prices will decline across the country, "house prices will slow, maybe stabilize but I don't think it's going to drive the economy too far from its full employment path." We are 100% sure that Bernanke will be proven wrong again when it comes to inflation.
The U.S. Dollar Index has rallied from 75 to 87 since December and is approaching its high from March of 2009 of 89. This has given Bernanke the cover to keep interest rates at a record low 0%, but NIA believes Bernanke is misreading these economic signals. When the U.S. Dollar Index reached its high last year of 89, gold was only $900 per ounce. Today, gold is approximately $1,200 per ounce. The fact that gold has held up so strong despite a rapidly rising U.S. Dollar Index, proves that our financial system is getting ready to overdose on excess liquidity. The U.S. Dollar Index has rallied only because it is heavily weighted against the Euro. The Euro is now overdue for a huge bounce, which we believe will send the U.S. dollar crashing while sending gold to new record highs.
It's not good for us to pay too much attention to short-term volatility in the financial markets. Short-term "noise" often causes investors to second guess what they know is true. In our new documentary 'Meltup' (which has now surpassed 441,000 views in 10 days) we said, "If stocks were to see a nominal decline one last time, we will likely see Bernanke shoot up his largest ever dose of quantitative easing, which could turn the current Meltup into hyperinflation."
We are seeing signs of this coming true already. Washington is now calling for another stimulus. Larry Summers, senior economic adviser to President Obama, has asked Congress to begin drafting a new stimulus bill in an attempt to prevent a "double dip recession." The proposed size of this new stimulus is so far only $200 billion, much smaller than the last $787 billion stimulus bill. However, we are sure Congress will increase the size of it, especially if stocks continue their nominal decline. The new stimulus bill will likely coincide with trillions of dollars in additional quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve.
With the Dow Jones now down 11% nominally from its high last month, NIA has been getting hundreds of emails and phone calls asking if there is any way we could be wrong about the threat of hyperinflation in the U.S. and if indeed deflation is the real problem we need to be worried about. The names Nouriel Roubini, Robert Prechter, and Harry Dent get mentioned to us a lot, with many NIA members asking why these so-called "experts" believe deflation is in our future.
Roubini, Prechter and Dent have been wrong about the overwhelming majority of their economic forecasts over the past decade. When it comes to their latest predictions about deflation, they will actually be right to some extent. We will see deflation in some assets like stocks and Real Estate, but only when priced in terms of real money - gold and silver. In terms of dollars, prices for pretty much all goods and services are guaranteed to rise dramatically over the next few years. Creating inflation is the only thing in the world Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke knows how to do and is good at.
During the past week, the mainstream media has shifted from saying we are experiencing an "economy recovery" to now saying we are at risk of a "double dip recession." Nothing fundamentally has changed in our economy. The fact is, the U.S. economy has been in a recession since mid-2000. All government reported positive GDP growth since mid-2000 has been due to nothing but inflation. Our economy should have experienced a depression in 2001 and an even greater one in 2008, but the depression has been temporarily avoided at the expense of an inevitable Hyperinflationary Great Depression down the road.
NIA believes it is impossible for the U.S. to experience price deflation when the Federal Reserve has held interest rates at 0% for the past 17 months. Sure, there will probably be a second wave of mortgage defaults that could cause another round of forced liquidations on Wall Street, but during any future period of forced liquidations, we doubt the U.S. dollar will still be looked at as the "safe haven" it was in 2008/2009. Gold and silver will soon be looked at as the only real safe havens because they are the only assets that provide protection from both a deteriorating economy and massive inflation. Precious metals will decouple from the Dow Jones and we will begin to see gold and silver rise at the same time as the stock market falls.
Bernanke was questioned yesterday following a speech at the Bank of Japan about whether a 4% inflation target would be better than the Fed's current inflation target of 2%. Bernanke responded that "it would be a very risky transition" if the Fed changed their inflation target, claiming that U.S. inflation expectations are currently "very stable" (NIA estimates the real rate of U.S. price inflation is already north of 5%).
Unfortunately, no policymaker in the world is smart enough to accurately control the rate of price inflation through the manipulation of interest rates, and certainly not Bernanke. It's mind-boggling to us how the mainstream media could believe anything Bernanke says about inflation after how wrong he has been about everything else. Maybe the press has already forgotten that it was Bernanke who in July of 2005 said, "it's a pretty unlikely possibility" that home prices will decline across the country, "house prices will slow, maybe stabilize but I don't think it's going to drive the economy too far from its full employment path." We are 100% sure that Bernanke will be proven wrong again when it comes to inflation.
The U.S. Dollar Index has rallied from 75 to 87 since December and is approaching its high from March of 2009 of 89. This has given Bernanke the cover to keep interest rates at a record low 0%, but NIA believes Bernanke is misreading these economic signals. When the U.S. Dollar Index reached its high last year of 89, gold was only $900 per ounce. Today, gold is approximately $1,200 per ounce. The fact that gold has held up so strong despite a rapidly rising U.S. Dollar Index, proves that our financial system is getting ready to overdose on excess liquidity. The U.S. Dollar Index has rallied only because it is heavily weighted against the Euro. The Euro is now overdue for a huge bounce, which we believe will send the U.S. dollar crashing while sending gold to new record highs.
It's not good for us to pay too much attention to short-term volatility in the financial markets. Short-term "noise" often causes investors to second guess what they know is true. In our new documentary 'Meltup' (which has now surpassed 441,000 views in 10 days) we said, "If stocks were to see a nominal decline one last time, we will likely see Bernanke shoot up his largest ever dose of quantitative easing, which could turn the current Meltup into hyperinflation."
We are seeing signs of this coming true already. Washington is now calling for another stimulus. Larry Summers, senior economic adviser to President Obama, has asked Congress to begin drafting a new stimulus bill in an attempt to prevent a "double dip recession." The proposed size of this new stimulus is so far only $200 billion, much smaller than the last $787 billion stimulus bill. However, we are sure Congress will increase the size of it, especially if stocks continue their nominal decline. The new stimulus bill will likely coincide with trillions of dollars in additional quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
New Zogby Poll: Americans By 3 to 1 Margin Believe Military Leaders Instead of Congress Should Decide 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, FRC Action, the legislative action arm of Family Research Council, released the results of a commissioned national survey showing that the American people by a 3 to 1 overwhelming majority say that military leaders should make the decision on whether or not homosexuals should serve openly in the military.
The scientific survey by Zogby International asked the following question of likely voters: "As it pertains to homosexuals openly serving in the military, do you believe this decision is best made by military leaders or Congress?"
An overwhelming majority of voters (59%) chose military leaders as the most capable decision makers compared to (23%) who chose Congress. Almost one in five, (18%) were unsure.
"The American people by a three to one margin believe that uniformed military leaders should be a part of shaping this policy, it should not be done by politicians," noted FRC Action President Tony Perkins.
"This Administration and liberals in Congress are attempting to use the military to advance a radical agenda as payoff to their homosexual base of political support. Congress and the White House should be listening to our military commanders and exhausting every resource to understand the concerns of our troops - who will not only be forced to live under this new rule, but who can evaluate the issue through the lens of practicality," said Perkins.
"The study conducted by the Department of Defense should be the start of debate in Congress, not the useless afterthought that President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Levin's actions will reduce it to," concluded Perkins.
Zogby International reports, "A majority in nearly every sub-group believes that military leaders should make the decision about homosexuals serving openly in the military. Exceptions include Democrats (37%), those under 30 (45%), single people (44%), and African Americans (44%) where a plurality believe military leaders should make the decision. One in five (21%) of those who are or has a family member who is a member of the Armed Forces thinks that Congress should make the decision, while 14% of this group is not sure."
The scientific survey by Zogby International asked the following question of likely voters: "As it pertains to homosexuals openly serving in the military, do you believe this decision is best made by military leaders or Congress?"
An overwhelming majority of voters (59%) chose military leaders as the most capable decision makers compared to (23%) who chose Congress. Almost one in five, (18%) were unsure.
"The American people by a three to one margin believe that uniformed military leaders should be a part of shaping this policy, it should not be done by politicians," noted FRC Action President Tony Perkins.
"This Administration and liberals in Congress are attempting to use the military to advance a radical agenda as payoff to their homosexual base of political support. Congress and the White House should be listening to our military commanders and exhausting every resource to understand the concerns of our troops - who will not only be forced to live under this new rule, but who can evaluate the issue through the lens of practicality," said Perkins.
"The study conducted by the Department of Defense should be the start of debate in Congress, not the useless afterthought that President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Levin's actions will reduce it to," concluded Perkins.
Zogby International reports, "A majority in nearly every sub-group believes that military leaders should make the decision about homosexuals serving openly in the military. Exceptions include Democrats (37%), those under 30 (45%), single people (44%), and African Americans (44%) where a plurality believe military leaders should make the decision. One in five (21%) of those who are or has a family member who is a member of the Armed Forces thinks that Congress should make the decision, while 14% of this group is not sure."
Thursday, May 13, 2010
U.S. Citizens Association Files Suit to Overturn Health Care Law
/PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Citizens Association, an Ohio-based conservative organization, with over 23,000 members, has filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Akron, Ohio to repeal the Health Care Bill signed into law in March.
The U.S. Citizens Association has assembled a team of Constitutional litigators to launch a full-scale legal war against the Obama administration's health insurance reform legislation, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The U.S. Citizens' Association is a non-profit corporation civic league with offices in Akron, Ohio. The Executive Director is Lance Davis. It has hired three law firms to make the case in Federal Court that the new law violates protections afforded by the Bill of Rights to Americans.
The U.S. Citizens Association believes that the First Amendment guarantees their members the right to "not associate" with anybody they choose not to, including health insurers and their agents.
The U.S. Citizens Association believes that under several amendments of the Constitution their members have a right to privacy that will be lost when they are forced to divulge confidential medical information, possibly including data derived from blood, urine and DNA samples, physical examinations, listing past or current illnesses, diseases and daily medications as applicants for mandated health insurance coverage.
The U.S. Citizens Association believes that the new law forces members who do not have health insurance nor ever want it to purchase with after- tax dollars, an unwanted product - health insurance. Members' personal liberty right, that is, the right to choose to buy or not buy health insurance is being deprived.
The U.S. Citizens Association uninsured members who have never engaged in interstate commerce involving health insurance, are being wrongfully compelled by federal law to purchase unwanted health insurance due to the wrongful application of the federal interstate commerce clause.
The U.S. Citizens Association believes that the new law provides for a tax penalty not authorized by the Constitution. This tax penalty is an illegal direct excise tax on a non-activity. This is not a tax on property or income and as an excise tax it was not apportioned according to the Constitution.
The lawyers selected to handle the history-making lawsuit include William G. Williams of Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., L.P.A., in Canton, Ohio; Jonathan Emord of Emord & Associates in Washington, D.C.; and David C. Grossack of Newton, Massachusetts.
Mr. Williams is known for his extensive work in commercial litigation and oil and gas law. Mr. Grossack is known for bringing an action against the Trial Court of Massachusetts for gender bias and is also the author of the book How to Win a Lawsuit Without A Lawyer. He is also known as a strong advocate for the rights of unrepresented parties in court. Mr. Emord is active in constitutional litigation with regard to the First Amendment, the Food and Drug Administration, deceptive advertising and libel, plus he is the author of numerous publications.
The U.S. Citizens Association is devoted to protecting individual liberties and promoting conservative values, fiscal responsibility, and the American private enterprise economic system. It includes, as part of its mission, challenging violations of the Constitution by elected public government officials that threaten the federal republic created by the U.S. Constitution.
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www.politicalpotluck.com
The U.S. Citizens Association has assembled a team of Constitutional litigators to launch a full-scale legal war against the Obama administration's health insurance reform legislation, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The U.S. Citizens' Association is a non-profit corporation civic league with offices in Akron, Ohio. The Executive Director is Lance Davis. It has hired three law firms to make the case in Federal Court that the new law violates protections afforded by the Bill of Rights to Americans.
The U.S. Citizens Association believes that the First Amendment guarantees their members the right to "not associate" with anybody they choose not to, including health insurers and their agents.
The U.S. Citizens Association believes that under several amendments of the Constitution their members have a right to privacy that will be lost when they are forced to divulge confidential medical information, possibly including data derived from blood, urine and DNA samples, physical examinations, listing past or current illnesses, diseases and daily medications as applicants for mandated health insurance coverage.
The U.S. Citizens Association believes that the new law forces members who do not have health insurance nor ever want it to purchase with after- tax dollars, an unwanted product - health insurance. Members' personal liberty right, that is, the right to choose to buy or not buy health insurance is being deprived.
The U.S. Citizens Association uninsured members who have never engaged in interstate commerce involving health insurance, are being wrongfully compelled by federal law to purchase unwanted health insurance due to the wrongful application of the federal interstate commerce clause.
The U.S. Citizens Association believes that the new law provides for a tax penalty not authorized by the Constitution. This tax penalty is an illegal direct excise tax on a non-activity. This is not a tax on property or income and as an excise tax it was not apportioned according to the Constitution.
The lawyers selected to handle the history-making lawsuit include William G. Williams of Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty Co., L.P.A., in Canton, Ohio; Jonathan Emord of Emord & Associates in Washington, D.C.; and David C. Grossack of Newton, Massachusetts.
Mr. Williams is known for his extensive work in commercial litigation and oil and gas law. Mr. Grossack is known for bringing an action against the Trial Court of Massachusetts for gender bias and is also the author of the book How to Win a Lawsuit Without A Lawyer. He is also known as a strong advocate for the rights of unrepresented parties in court. Mr. Emord is active in constitutional litigation with regard to the First Amendment, the Food and Drug Administration, deceptive advertising and libel, plus he is the author of numerous publications.
The U.S. Citizens Association is devoted to protecting individual liberties and promoting conservative values, fiscal responsibility, and the American private enterprise economic system. It includes, as part of its mission, challenging violations of the Constitution by elected public government officials that threaten the federal republic created by the U.S. Constitution.
-----
www.politicalpotluck.com
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
ACARE Declares Kerry-Lieberman Bill an 'Assault on Taxpayers, the Economy and the Energy Industry'
/PRNewswire/ -- Today the American Council for Affordable and Reliable Energy (ACARE) declared opposition to the Kerry-Lieberman (KL) "Cap and Trade" bill that was introduced this morning. After many months of speculation, it can be confirmed that the bill contains many costly elements of no benefit to Americans that the Senators claimed it wouldn't, as well as many special giveaways to certain major energy companies who helped to craft the bill.
Mike Carey, President of ACARE, commented that "Senators Kerry and Lieberman have put together an enormously expensive government power grab worse than the recently passed health care reform bill. It will create huge costs for every American family, job losses and redistribution of wealth with no environmental benefit. The escalating costs, mandates, penalties, regulations and taxes in this bill will prove to be a death blow to our economy as it struggles to climb out of a recession. This bill actually creates 60 new agencies, boards, reports and programs that will only bleed money while strangling businesses. This is by far the most egregious expansion of government in history, and our economy cannot withstand it."
Senators Kerry and Lieberman have denied that there will be a specific gasoline tax, and so throughout the bill it is called a "linked fee." This "linked fee" will hit the lower and middle income families particularly hard as they pay a disproportionate percentage of their income on energy. This will run counter to President Obama's promise not to raise taxes on those making under $250,000. This bill directly impacts about 20 percent of the economy through new mandates on transportation, manufacturing industries, electricity and energy production as well as any business that consumes electricity such as agriculture or service-based industries.
Carey continued, "Make no mistake, this bill will kill jobs in the Midwest and across the country. Manufacturers will either be forced out of business or have to export their jobs offshore to places like India, China, Brazil and Mexico. Those countries would never place caps on carbon that the Kerry Lieberman bill will impose here at home, as they know it would kill their economies. This bill is nothing more than an assault on taxpayers, the economy and the energy sector and a massive wealth transfer to energy and other companies, such as General Electric, that bought space at the trough."
ACARE is committed to providing America with the energy it needs, from coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power, renewable sources and technologies yet to be invented. ACARE supports policies that make affordable and reliable energy a reality, energy that will fuel our high standard of living, protect a clean environment and serve as bridge to the future. Public policies, such as the Kerry Lieberman bill should not arbitrarily or unfairly discriminate among energy sources and should be based on sound science and cost-effective and growth-promoting government regulation.
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www.politicalpotluck.com
Mike Carey, President of ACARE, commented that "Senators Kerry and Lieberman have put together an enormously expensive government power grab worse than the recently passed health care reform bill. It will create huge costs for every American family, job losses and redistribution of wealth with no environmental benefit. The escalating costs, mandates, penalties, regulations and taxes in this bill will prove to be a death blow to our economy as it struggles to climb out of a recession. This bill actually creates 60 new agencies, boards, reports and programs that will only bleed money while strangling businesses. This is by far the most egregious expansion of government in history, and our economy cannot withstand it."
Senators Kerry and Lieberman have denied that there will be a specific gasoline tax, and so throughout the bill it is called a "linked fee." This "linked fee" will hit the lower and middle income families particularly hard as they pay a disproportionate percentage of their income on energy. This will run counter to President Obama's promise not to raise taxes on those making under $250,000. This bill directly impacts about 20 percent of the economy through new mandates on transportation, manufacturing industries, electricity and energy production as well as any business that consumes electricity such as agriculture or service-based industries.
Carey continued, "Make no mistake, this bill will kill jobs in the Midwest and across the country. Manufacturers will either be forced out of business or have to export their jobs offshore to places like India, China, Brazil and Mexico. Those countries would never place caps on carbon that the Kerry Lieberman bill will impose here at home, as they know it would kill their economies. This bill is nothing more than an assault on taxpayers, the economy and the energy sector and a massive wealth transfer to energy and other companies, such as General Electric, that bought space at the trough."
ACARE is committed to providing America with the energy it needs, from coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power, renewable sources and technologies yet to be invented. ACARE supports policies that make affordable and reliable energy a reality, energy that will fuel our high standard of living, protect a clean environment and serve as bridge to the future. Public policies, such as the Kerry Lieberman bill should not arbitrarily or unfairly discriminate among energy sources and should be based on sound science and cost-effective and growth-promoting government regulation.
-----
www.politicalpotluck.com
Seniors: 'Unlimited' Bailout of Nuclear Power Under Climate Bill is as Bad or Worse Than Wall Street Bailout
/PRNewswire/ -- If your Member of Congress says he or she opposes more bailouts and then turns around and supports the Senate climate bill released today, they are simply not telling you the truth, according to the independent and nonprofit Alliance for Generational Equality (AGE), which represents seniors as well as Americans in other generations.
AGE wants all seniors to know that the Senate climate bill contains $54 billion in loan guarantees for new reactors, in addition to 20 years of unlimited loan guarantee authority for new reactors established in the referenced Senate energy bill (S.1462) that would leave taxpayers on the hook for what would likely be huge sums. Of particular concern: the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the default rate on new reactors will be "very high - well above 50 percent."
AGE Vice President and CEO Dave Herman said: "This is not about whether you support or you oppose nuclear power. For elected officials, it is about whether they are being sincere in saying no more federal bailouts. Whether it's for banks, car companies, investment firms or nuclear reactors, a bailout is a bailout is a bailout. In fact, this is even worse than the earlier bailouts since the nuclear loan guarantees are unlimited, meaning there is literally no limit to how deeply the industry could reach into taxpayers' pockets."
Herman added: "How can Republicans in the Senate who are opposing financial reform legislation because of the fear of potential bailouts, then turn around here and dole out what are explicit bailouts for another industry? Federal loan guarantees for new reactors encourage utilities that are currently financially sound to take enormous risks and promise in advance to bail out them out with U.S. taxpayer dollars when the bets go bad. Federal loan guarantees that put U.S. taxpayers directly on the hook in advance are not only a huge drain on federal tax dollars waiting to happen, but they actually somehow manage to do the impossible by making the earlier bailouts look like good deals."
Herman concluded: "We need a little less socialism from Washington and a lot more faith in the wisdom of the marketplace. We don't care if the nuclear power industry wants to build more nuclear reactors. This is a very profitable industry with extensive foreign ownership that already makes a guaranteed profit in most states under utility regulation. If these companies controlled by French, Japanese and U.S. interests want to finance new reactors and find investors who want to support that, they have our blessing. But we are not prepared as taxpayers to allow seniors and other Americans to be ripped off by yet another multi-billion-dollar bailout for another industry."
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AGE wants all seniors to know that the Senate climate bill contains $54 billion in loan guarantees for new reactors, in addition to 20 years of unlimited loan guarantee authority for new reactors established in the referenced Senate energy bill (S.1462) that would leave taxpayers on the hook for what would likely be huge sums. Of particular concern: the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the default rate on new reactors will be "very high - well above 50 percent."
AGE Vice President and CEO Dave Herman said: "This is not about whether you support or you oppose nuclear power. For elected officials, it is about whether they are being sincere in saying no more federal bailouts. Whether it's for banks, car companies, investment firms or nuclear reactors, a bailout is a bailout is a bailout. In fact, this is even worse than the earlier bailouts since the nuclear loan guarantees are unlimited, meaning there is literally no limit to how deeply the industry could reach into taxpayers' pockets."
Herman added: "How can Republicans in the Senate who are opposing financial reform legislation because of the fear of potential bailouts, then turn around here and dole out what are explicit bailouts for another industry? Federal loan guarantees for new reactors encourage utilities that are currently financially sound to take enormous risks and promise in advance to bail out them out with U.S. taxpayer dollars when the bets go bad. Federal loan guarantees that put U.S. taxpayers directly on the hook in advance are not only a huge drain on federal tax dollars waiting to happen, but they actually somehow manage to do the impossible by making the earlier bailouts look like good deals."
Herman concluded: "We need a little less socialism from Washington and a lot more faith in the wisdom of the marketplace. We don't care if the nuclear power industry wants to build more nuclear reactors. This is a very profitable industry with extensive foreign ownership that already makes a guaranteed profit in most states under utility regulation. If these companies controlled by French, Japanese and U.S. interests want to finance new reactors and find investors who want to support that, they have our blessing. But we are not prepared as taxpayers to allow seniors and other Americans to be ripped off by yet another multi-billion-dollar bailout for another industry."
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