Hold your nose boys, the stench of this one is overwhelming!

In typical Washington fashion, lawmakers bent on passing the bailout added a few carrots in the hopes of getting more support.

Most major news organizations will tell you the bill ballooned to $810 billion with added tax breaks and "other sweeteners."

It's those other sweeteners that should concern you. It's typical Washington. Unfortunately most Americans aren't aware of how common the practice is, completely distorting the public's perception of proposed legislation.

Can't seem to figure out why your congressman didn't vote for legislation intended to stop government corruption and wasteful spending? It's entirely possible it was the added "sweeteners" of sending $50 billion to the Congo to study the mating habits of gorillas, sending $140 billion to a research company trying to discover if people who like the color red are more inclined to shop at Target and another paragraph buried that would allow the mice squatter's rights in your home. (*Please note these are fictional examples, however many of the measures slid into legislation are even more ridiculous.)

This is what causes lawmakers to "hold their nose" to vote for key legislation. Yes, I have actually heard US Congressmen use that phrase on more than one occasion.

This recent bailout, which seems more like a temporary stop-gap to prolong the inevitable and a fast track to the slippery slope of socialism, is no different. The legislation that began as less than 20 pages is now the length of a novel and includes such "sweeteners" as the following:

• More than $100 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class. Most of these breaks are merely extensions of current breaks offered, but there are a few tempting extras such as $8 billion in tax cuts to those affected by natural disasters in the Gulf. Some of the more obscure tax breaks will go to certain wooden arrows made by children (no, this is not an exaggerated example) and litigants in the '89 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

• Raising the Federal Deposit Insurance Cap from $100,000 to $250,000. Lawmakers say this measure was included to alleviate panic among the citizens, fearing that people jerking money out of the bank would further cripple the country's ability to receive credit. It may be a bit more reassuring if the FDIC actually had the funds to cover the current deposits. There's no way they'll be able to cover an additional $150,000 per depositor and lawmakers are banking on the American people being too stupid to realize that. The media doesn't seem to be going out of their way to educate folks either. And have any of these economic geniuses realized yet that living on credit is what got us into this mess to start with? In an effort to make this seem more like a bail out of middle America than Wall Street, several lawmakers actually offered the example of small to medium-sized businesses who couldn't make their payroll or stock their shelves if they couldn't be extended credit for those expenses. Seems to me like if you can't keep your folks paid or your shelves stocked without taking out a loan, you're probably not going to be in business much longer anyway.

• Also crammed into the bailout bill is a measure to force large companies' health plans to give equal treatment to mental health and addition issues, if such are covered by the plan. Can anyone tell me what THAT has to do with the current financial crisis, other than the fact that the complete incompetence of our leaders is enough to drive anyone over the edge?

MEANWHILE....The Securities and Exchange Commission has decided to make it a little easier to allow companies to look better on the books, easing rules that currently call for companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market. In other words, this whole crisis would seem much less dire if you guys could go back to inflating the worth of your assets.

Jackasses. No matter how much sugar you add to a big boiling pot of shit, it's still a pot of shit and no one in their right mind should be able to "hold their nose" to get past THAT stench!

Want to know where YOUR money's going?

If you're anything like me, I'm sure you would be angered to see exactly where billions of our tax dollars are being spent.

The Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008 (H.R.2764) has been passed by the US House of Representatives, sent through Senate Committee and is now being reported in the Senate where it will soon come to the floor for a vote.

While I am certain someone has what they consider to be good reasons for these expenditures, I fail to see how many of them are in the best interest of the American people when our nation is on the verge of economic collapse.

Here are just a few examples:

• For a grant to the Asia Foundation, as authorized by the Asia Foundation Act $16,000,000 (The Asia Foundation is a private, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization under the section 501 (C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code that "collaborates with partners from the public and private sectors to build leadership, improve policy and regulation, and strengthen institutions to foster greater openness and shared prosperity in the Asia Pacific region.)

• For expenses necessary to enable the Broadcasting Board of Governors, as authorized, to carry out international communication activities, including the purchase, rent, construction, and improvement of facilities for radio and television transmission and reception and purchase, lease, and installation and operation of necessary equipment, including aircraft, for radio and television transmission and reception to Cuba, and to make and supervise grants for radio and television broadcasting to the Middle East, $662,727,000.

• For necessary expenses of the United States Institute of Peace as authorized in the United States Institute of Peace Act, $25,000,000. (The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase peacebuilding capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide.)

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of chapters 1 and 10 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, for global health activities, in addition to funds otherwise available for such purposes, $6,531,425,000. (Keeping in mind this appropriation is under the Foreign Assistance Act, this amount shall be made available for such activities as: (1) child survival programs; (2) immunization and oral rehydration programs; (3) other health, nutrition, water and sanitation programs which directly address the needs of mothers and children, and related education programs; (4) assistance for children displaced or orphaned by causes other than AIDS; (5) programs for the prevention, treatment, control of, and research on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, polio, malaria, and other infectious diseases, and for assistance to communities severely affected by HIV/AIDS, including children displaced or orphaned by AIDS; and (6) family planning/reproductive health)

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of section 491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for international disaster relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction assistance, $322,350,000, to remain available until expended, of which $20,000,000 should be for famine prevention and relief.

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, $3,015,000,000. (This is listed as the Economic Support Fund, you've got to read the full text to fully appreciate it. Funds going to preserve wildlife in Lebabon, scholarships in Egypt, etc.

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989, $294,568,000.

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of chapters 11 and 12 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the FREEDOM Support Act, for assistance for the Independent States of the former Soviet Union and for related programs, $401,885,000.

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, $1,200,000,000. (The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a United States Government corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world. Established in January 2004, MCC is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom and investments in people.)

• To support counterdrug, economic and social development, rule of law, and other activities in the Andean region of South America, $415,050,000

• International Military Education and Assistance, $85,877,000. (That funds appropriated under this heading that are made available for assistance for Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Libya, and Nepal may be made available only for expanded international military education and training.)

• For the United States contribution for the Global Environment Facility, $106,763,000 to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as trustee for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), by the Secretary of the Treasury. (GEF is an independent financial organization that provides grants to developing countries for projects that benefit the global environment and promote sustainable livelihoods in local communities.)

• For payment to the International Development Association by the Secretary of the Treasury, $1,000,000,000. (The International Development Association (IDA) is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. Established in 1960, IDA aims to reduce poverty by providing interest-free loans and grants for programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities and improve people’s living conditions.)

• Up to $13,500,000 of the funds made available by this Act for assistance under the heading `Global Health Programs', may be used to reimburse United States Government agencies, agencies of State governments, institutions of higher learning, and private and voluntary organizations for the full cost of individuals (including for the personal services of such individuals) detailed or assigned to, or contracted by, as the case may be, the United States Agency for International Development for the purpose of carrying out activities under that heading.

• Of the funds appropriated by this Act, up to $1,057,050,000 may be made available for assistance for Afghanistan, of which not less than $75,000,000 should be made available to support programs that directly address the needs of Afghan women and girls, of which not less than $12,000,000 shall be made available for grants to support training and equipment to improve the capacity of women-led Afghan nongovernmental organizations and to support the activities of such organizations, and not less than $3,000,000 should be made available for reforestation activities.

And then we have the following:

• For necessary expenses of the Department of State and the Foreign Service not otherwise provided for, including employment, without regard to civil service and classification laws, of persons on a temporary basis, representation to certain international organizations in which the United States participates pursuant to treaties ratified pursuant to the advice and consent of the Senate or specific Acts of Congress; arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament activities as authorized; acquisition by exchange or purchase of passenger motor vehicles as authorized by law; and for expenses of general administration, $3,885,375,000.

And here are some of the things otherwise provided for:

• For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General, $35,508,000. (OIG inspects each of the approximately 260 embassies, diplomatic posts, and international broadcasting installations throughout the world, to determine whether policy goals are being achieved and whether the interests of the United States are being represented and advanced effectively.)

• For expenses of educational and cultural exchange programs, as authorized, $509,482,000.

• For expenses, not otherwise provided for, necessary to meet annual obligations of membership in international multilateral organizations, pursuant to treaties ratified pursuant to the advice and consent of the Senate, conventions or specific Acts of Congress, $1,374,400,000. (Such as the United Nations)

• For necessary expenses to pay assessed and other expenses of international peacekeeping activities directed to the maintenance or restoration of international peace and security, $1,352,000,000.

Oh and here's an interesting tidbit included in this appropriations bill:

International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico

• For salaries and expenses, not otherwise provided for, $30,430,000

• For detailed plan preparation and construction of authorized projects, $88,425,000

The appropriations listed here barely scratch the surface of federal spending. Read the full Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008 (H.R.2764) here. This act alone contains billions more and doesn't even begin to address domestic issues. Can we really afford to continue giving away so much money?

The State of our Finances

One of the most basic functions of government, at any level, is to demonstrate financial responsibility, being good stewards of tax dollars.

The Controller General of the United States does not seem to think our Federal Government is handling our money in a very responsible way.

David M. Walker, the nation's chief accountability officer and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, or Controller General gave his opinion to Congress at 10 a.m., Tuesday, January 23, 2007.

He summed it up quite neatly by stating the following:

• Our current financial condition is worse than is widely understood.
• Our current fiscal path is both imprudent and unsustainable.
• Improvements in information and processes are needed and can help.
• Meeting our long-term fiscal challenge will require (1) significant entitlement reform to change the path of those programs; (2) reprioritizing, restructuring and constraining other spending programs; and (3) more revenues—hopefully through a reformed tax system. This will take bipartisan cooperation and compromise.
• The time to act to save our future is now!

He continued to explain:

A great deal of budget reporting focuses on a single number—the unified budget deficit, which was $248 billion in fiscal year 2006. This largely cash-based number represents the difference between revenues and outlays for the government as a whole. It is an important measure since it is indicative of the government’s draw on today’s credit markets—and its claim on today’s economy.

And:

To understand the long-term implications of our current path requires more than a single year’s snapshot. In this regard, the long-term outlook has worsened significantly in the last several years. That is why for more than a decade GAO has been running simulations to tell this longer-term story.

Then, he says:

Our long-range imbalance is growing daily due to continuing deficits, known demographic trends, rising health care costs, and compounding interest expense.

And:

To “grow our way out” of the current long-term fiscal gap would require sustained economic growth far beyond that experienced in U.S. economic history since World War II.
Similarly, those who believe we can solve this problem solely by cutting spending or solely raising taxes are not being realistic. While the appropriate level of revenues will be part of the debate about our fiscal future, making no changes to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other drivers of the long-term fiscal gap would require ever-increasing tax levels—something that seems both inappropriate and implausible. That is why I have said that substantive reform of Social Security and our major health programs remains critical to recapturing our future fiscal flexibility. I believe we must start now to reform these programs.

Ok, it seems as though most intelligent people in this country understand that, after all, we've been told all this for years now. He really spells it out in his 24 page report to Congress. If you can suffer through all the dead weight of so many budget and finance terms, you can glean a lot of interesting points out of it. I can't help but wonder how watered down it was by various well-meaning individuals before it ever reached Congress, and the public.

Read his full report here.

So where's all the money going?

Sheesh...no wonder some want to transform our economy into a continental one, our own seems to be on the verge of collapse.