According to First Data Corp.’s (the largest credit card processor) SpendTrend report, which was released this month, shows an ever increasing amount of credit card uses by consumers paying for basic necessities since salary increases are not keeping up with raising food and gasoline prices. Senior vice president at First Data, Silvio Tavares expressed that it may represent the increasing cost of fuel.

Tavares is quoted “Consumers, particularly in the lower-income end, are being forced to use their credit cards for everyday spending like gas and food.” He continued, “That’s because there’s been no other positive catalyst, like an increase in wages, to offset higher prices. It’s a cash-flow problem.”

The cost of food and gasoline are rising and leaving American less money to spend on discretionary items. Tavares said, Household spending accounts for about 70 percent of the world’s largest economy.
While he commented about this is slowing the pace of the economy, I say that we aren’t in the recovery stage yet. How can you slow something down that doesn’t exist?

In the report it shows the increase across the board in regards to credit card usage. Gasoline purchases, up 39% year-over-year ending June 2011 and food shopping increase 5%.

Figures from the Commerce Department show an After-tax income adjusted for inflation fell 0.1%. According the the Labor Department, energy prices climbed 8.2% and food 2% during the same time. That is a major swing in difference for low to middle income families.

We are not out of the woods yet, so for those of you that are feeling the pinch already, work on your budget since I feel that Congress won’t work on their budget, we will continue to struggle a little more. Those who think this increase usage is a sign of consumer confidence coming back, you might want to think again.

The rights of individuals have been put in the back burner in today’s political world. For example, to prevent terrorism, the government has imposed security measures and enforced racial profiling on individuals. I have traveled on many domestic and international flights in the past few years and have been subject to such security measures.

In fact, I was awaiting the arrival of a family member from a Northwest flight coming in from Amsterdam (a couple days after Christmas) when the irrational restrictions on individual freedoms became ever so obvious. A Nigerian man who felt sick in the plane and used the restroom multiple times was detained because a few days earlier another Nigerian mad tried to set off an explosive on the same flight heading into Detroit. The poor man just felt ill, and the government poured in Department of Homeland Security employees, sniffing dogs, police and ambulances. What a waste of resources and a horrible inconvenience! I waited at the airport for nearly five hours. I would expect the government to be able to handle security threat in ways that do not impose so severely on individual freedoms in this day and age.

In today’s political atmosphere, issues besides terrorism, including government bailouts and universal health care, are also infringing upon the rights of individuals. The U.S. government has swept into the everyday lives of Americans in a big way. Americans facing foreclosure are being offered government assistance and extra money for energy efficient utilities. Instead of encouraging an independent populous, the government at federal, state and local levels, is encouraging dependency.

Government bailout of the auto companies in Detroit is an example of exactly this. Now, Detroiters are turning to the government for more money to improve railways to Chicago and increase jobs. The government should promote the rights and abilities of individuals to improve their lives and those of their community. Universal health care is another bill being pushed by today’s Democrats to involve government to control an essential part of people’s existence i.e. their health care needs.

An individual deserves the right to decide their own health care plans. A competitive, privatized health care industry with few governmental regulations is the way to go. When it comes to government involvement, less is always better. Unfortunately, individuals freedoms are slowly disappearing and the United States is becoming more like Communist China by the day.

This will tax everything. That includes flatulent cows, that’s right cows that pass wind. It doesn’t just end there. the truck driver who drivers the cow to the slaughter house. Let’s not forget the wrapping the is needed to package the meat. All the different processing plants that are needed to get the meat to your plate. Everyone of them will have to pay higher taxes to the government because of the carbon dioxide that they produce.

If you think that won’t affect you, you are dead wrong. It’s a known fact that these costs will be passed on to the consumer.

All in the name of global warming. That’s right we are going to be taxed more to help save the entire planet from a chemical that is a basic necessity for the world to survive. The global warming concern is nothing but a political move to redistribute wealth. Many African countries don’t have an infrastructure system and don’t emit carbon emissions, so counties like America (especially the U.S.) will have to buy the carbon credits from those countries, henceforth wealth distribution.

I expect that type of planning from the Democrats but to see Republicans join the crusade is not. The final vote was 219-212 for the bill. There were eight Republicans that voted for the bill. We need to send a clear message to those eight members of Congress that helped the Democrats raise our taxes. The only way to do so is to call them and let them know that we will not contribute to their campaign because we aren’t going to vote for them.

Here are the names and phone numbers to their office. There is time for them to change their vote and if they want any chance of being re-elected, they will have to do so.

Bono Mack (CA) 202-225-5330
Castle (DE) 202-225-4165
Kirk (IL) 202-225-4835
Lance (NJ) 202-225-5361
Lobiondo (NJ) 202-225-6572
McHugh (NY) 202-225-4611
Reichart (WA) 202-225-7761
Chris Smith (NJ) 202-225-3765

Remember that when you call them to inform them of your dissatisfaction, you must state that you are a contributor. If you don’t, they really don’t care what you have to say (which is a whole other story). They only care about their campaign fund and their own wallets. Which is another reason why we need to vote all of them out when they’re up for re-election.

During these perilous times, the nation needs an experienced, proven leader in the White House. Sen. John McCain is best equipped for the job. The Republican presidential candidate has the character, pragmatism and independence necessary to lead a united America past our poisonous partisan divisions and into a more civil and productive future.

He is both tested and tempered by his extensive political and military experience. But more than anything else, McCain stands out for being his own man, driven by principle and not afraid to challenge the status quo.

He has been among the Senate’s most independent members, repeatedly eschewing ideology to work across the aisle for bipartisan agreements. He has been willing to buck his own party, as he did in leading the push for campaign finance reform, and to rise above political gamesmanship, as he did in negotiating a compromise that broke the judicial nominee logjam. He is nearly alone in the Senate in refusing to thrust his hands into the earmark pork barrel.

And he has been right on the most pressing issues of the day, from climate change to immigration.

Had Congress listened to McCain’s warning in 2005 about the dangers of the exploding sub-prime mortgage market, the financial crisis choking the nation today might be less severe. Had the Bush administration heeded McCain’s plea for a troop surge earlier in the Iraq War, more of America’s soldiers might now be home.

Who wouldn’t want to live in a Socialist type country? All your thinking and hard decisions will be made for you. You can just sit back and let the government make all those choices and you won’t have to worry about a thing.

Why I Am Now Voting For Barack Obama

Also, click here to purchase anti Obama bumper stickers

Transform Electricity

Nuclear Power: Nuclear power is a proven, reliable, zero-emission source of energy, and it is time to recommit to advancing our use of nuclear power. The U.S. has not started construction on a new nuclear power plant in over 30 years. Currently, nuclear power provides 20 percent of our overall energy portfolio. Other countries such as China, India and Russia are looking to increase the role of nuclear power in their energy portfolio and the U.S. should not just look to maintain, but increase its own use. John McCain will put our country on track to construct 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030 with the ultimate goal of eventually constructing 100 new plants.

It is also critical that the U.S. be able to build the components for these plants and reactors within our country so that we are not dependent on foreign suppliers with long wait times to move forward with our nuclear plans. The development of new nuclear plants will re-create a U.S. industry that has disappeared: manufacturing components of nuclear power plants, as well as assembling and operating the plants. A rough estimate is that 45 new nuclear power plants will create roughly 700,000 jobs – jobs in construction, engineering, operation and maintenance.

Coal: John McCain will commit $2 billion annually to advancing clean coal technologies. Coal produces the majority of our electricity today. Some believe that marketing viable clean coal technologies could be over 15 years away. John McCain believes that this is too long to wait, and we need to commit significant federal resources to the science, research and development that advance this critical technology. Once commercialized, the U.S. can then export these technologies to countries like China that are committed to using their coal – creating new American jobs and allowing the U.S. to play a greater role in the international green economy.

The development of clean coal technology will revitalize coal mining and return jobs to some of America’s most economically disadvantaged areas. The demonstration projects alone will employ over 30,000 Americans.

Renewables: John McCain will encourage the market for alternative, low carbon fuels such as wind, hydro and solar power. According to the Department of Energy, wind could provide as much as one-fifth of electricity by 2030. The U.S. solar energy industry continues its double-digit annual growth rate in 2008. To develop these and other sources of renewable energy will require that we rationalize the current patchwork of temporary tax credits that provide commercial feasibility. John McCain believes in an even- handed system of tax credits that will remain in place until renewable energy has progressed to the point that it is competitive with conventional energy sources.

Expand Domestic Production Of Oil And Gas

John McCain will commit our country to expanding domestic oil and natural gas exploration. The current federal moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf stands in the way of energy exploration and production. John McCain believes it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and work with states to put our own reserves to use. There is no easier or more direct way to prove to the world that we will no longer be subject to the whims of others than to expand our production capabilities.

We have trillions of dollars worth of oil and gas reserves in the U.S. at a time we are exporting hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas to buy energy. This is the largest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind. We should keep more of our dollars here in the U.S., lessen our foreign dependency, increase our domestic supplies, and reduce our trade deficit – 41 percent of which is due to oil imports. John McCain proposes to cooperate with the states and the Department of Defense in the decisions to develop these resources.

Estimates from the Minerals Management Service indicate that technically recoverable resources currently off limits in the lower 48 OCS total 18 billion barrels of crude oil and 77 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. John McCain believes in promoting and expanding the use of our domestic supplies of oil and natural gas when people are hurting, and struggling to afford gasoline, food and other necessities, and when our manufacturing businesses are increasingly hampered by the high cost of natural gas.

Addressing Speculative Pricing Of Oil

John McCain believes we must understand the role speculation is playing in our soaring energy prices. Congress already has investigations underway to examine this kind of wagering in our energy markets, unrelated to any kind of productive commerce, because it can distort the market, drive prices beyond rational limits, and put the investments and pensions of millions of Americans at risk. John McCain believes that where we find abuses, they need to be swiftly punished. To make sure it never happens again, we must reform the laws and regulations governing the oil futures market, so that they are just as clear and effective as the rules applied to stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments.

Transform Transportation

The only way America can break its strategic dependence on foreign oil is to change how we power our automobiles and rejuvenate our automotive industry. The Lexington Project will help do that through a comprehensive plan.

Battery Technology: John McCain will propose a $300 million prize to improve battery technology for full commercial development of plug-in hybrid and fully electric automobiles. A $300 million prize should be awarded for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. That battery should deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs. At $300 million, the prize is one dollar for every man, woman and child in this country – and a small price to pay for breaking our dependence on oil.

Clean Car Challenge: John McCain will issue a Clean Car Challenge to the automakers of America, in the form of a single and substantial tax credit based on the reduction of carbon emissions. For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, John McCain will commit a $5,000 tax credit for each and every customer who buys that car. For other vehicles, whatever type they may be, the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit.

Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs): In just three years, Brazil went from new cars sales that were about 5 percent FFVs to over 70 percent of new vehicles that were FFVs. American automakers have committed to make 50 percent of their cars FFVs by 2012. John McCain calls on automakers to make a more rapid and complete switch to FFVs.

Alternative Fuels: John McCain believes alcohol-based fuels hold great promise as both an alternative to gasoline and as a means of expanding consumers’ choices. Some choices such as ethanol are on the market right now. The second generation of alcohol-based fuels like cellulosic ethanol, which won’t compete with food crops, are showing great potential. Unfortunately, today isolationist tariffs and wasteful special interest subsidies are not moving us toward an energy solution. We need to level the playing field and eliminate mandates, subsidies, tariffs and price supports that focus exclusively on corn-based ethanol and prevent the development of market-based solutions which would provide us with better options for our fuel needs.

CAFE Standards: John McCain has long supported CAFE standards – the mileage requirements that automobile manufacturers’ cars must meet. Some carmakers ignore these standards, pay a small financial penalty, and add it to the price of their cars. John McCain believes that the penalties for not following these standards must be effective enough to compel carmakers to produce fuel-efficient vehicles.

Building Efficiency

Government Purchasing: John McCain will make greening the federal government a priority of his administration. The federal government is the largest electricity consumer on earth and occupies 3.3 billion square feet of space worldwide. It provides an enormous opportunity to lead by example. By applying a higher efficiency standard to new buildings leased or purchased and retrofitting existing buildings, we can save taxpayers money in energy costs, and move the construction market in the direction of green technology.

American Homes: Homeowners can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year with better light bulbs, appliances, windows, and insulation. As Americans retro-fit to improve energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint, jobs will flow to the U.S. providers of insulation, windows, appliances, and other sources of energy efficiency.

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John McCain also got an endorsment. His came from The New York Post, who earler this year had endorsed Hillary Clinton.

McCain’s lifelong record of service to America, his battle-tested courage, unshakeable devotion to principle and clear grasp of the dangers and opportunities now facing the nation stand in dramatic contrast to the tissue-paper-thin résumé of his Democratic opponent, freshman Sen. Barack Obama.

They list some of their reasons as;

Taxes: McCain knows that when government absorbs ever-larger shares of national income, the economy suffers. High tax rates diminish investment, killing jobs and stunting growth. And while Obama promises tax cuts for “95 percent” of Americans, what he actually is proposing is some $650 billion in tax-credit-driven hikes in entitlement and other spending, to be paid for with heavier imposts across the board, but especially on investment – like a sharply higher capital-gains tax. This is bad news for the millions of ordinary Americans who own stocks, either personally or through pension funds or who plan someday to sell their homes or other real property. McCain, wisely, vows to keep capital-gains taxes at 15 percent and to keep the Bush-era tax cuts in place – understanding that new growth will boost revenue, and promising to make up the rest with spending restraint. And he’s called for a one-year freeze on most discretionary spending and an end to pork-barrel giveaways.

Energy: On the economic issue most vexing Americans today – energy prices – McCain is aggressive He is a strong convert to offshore drilling: “We have trillions of dollars’ worth of oil and gas reserves in the US at a time we are exporting hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas to buy energy.” He also strongly backs nuclear power – a carbon-free form of energy that America can produce relatively cheaply. Obama, meanwhile, hews to the Democratic Party line on energy: no nukes, no drilling and no comprehension of the consequences of such policies.

We, the undersigned, believe that gas prices are too high. Speaker Pelosi has closed Congress for a five-week paid vacation, without taking any action to lower gas prices. We, the undersigned, have a simple demand: Call Congress Back, Madam Speaker!