The political Left has two basic positions regarding business in America.

1) If a company is making a profit, they characterize the company as evil, and demand that their profits be taken away, so the government can use the money instead (this is known as THEFT in the non-socialist world, but you aren't supposed to think about that). It goes without saying that the bigger a company's profits grow, the MORE evil that company becomes. This means that Exxon-Mobil is the DEVIL INCARNATE.

2) If a company stops making a profit and loses money, the Left will subsidize the company (the Right tends to join in on this part too - Let's privatize profits, socialize losses, and join me on my yacht this weekend, old chum. Life is good).

The above is a twist on Reagan's old joke about government power: If it moves, tax it; if it keeps moving, regulate it; And when it stops moving, subsidize it.

A good example of #1 is Barack Obama traveling around the country telling everyone he wants to take the profits away from those evil oil companies (who, btw, enable our economy and society to function at a post-19th century level that keeps us off horseback and stagecoaches, but you aren't supposed to think about that. Just keep repeating to yourself - 'Oil Is Evil, Oil Is Evil', like Nancy Pelosi (D-Venus) and Harry Reid (D-Mars) do. It's easier than thinking about things.

A good example of #2 is the taxpayer bailout of the mortgage mess, which included bailing out faltering companies like Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Those are private companies, aren't they ? Sure they are. Sort of. But talk about connected. They're practically a branch of government.

As far as I can tell, the following industries comprise the liberal Axis Of Evil Corporations: Oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies. I provide this list as a public service, so you lay persons out there can know who you should hate. Financial companies used to be on the Axis of Evil list too, but they lost so much money recently that they are no longer evil. Now, they must be subsidized.

The mantra the Left uses to demonize profit goes like this: How dare those greedy so-and-so's at the (fill-in-the-blank) corporation make so much money, when that money could be used for a) a government program, or b) the children ? 'The children' is practically foolproof as an excuse for the government to steal money from the private sector. An autocrat can justify anything if it's 'for the children' You aren't supposed to think about the fact that business profits enable people to have jobs, get paid, and become prosperous. You aren't supposed to realize business profits are the reason you live in a house, have an automobile, a refrigerator, a stove, a television, a phone, electricity, heat, and food. You aren't supposed to realize those business profits earned in a free market made the United States the world's leading superpower. Again, thinking is your enemy. Just keep saying to yourself, 'Profit Is Evil, Profit Is Evil', like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama (D-Cuba) do - and Karl Marx did.

Our Glorious Exalted Leader Obama has even taken it a step further. He has proposed a windfall profits tax on the Devil Who Is Called Exxon and the other oily devils, and wants to hand $1,000 of the Devil's profits directly to each American, so Obama can literally buy your vote, er, help you combat the high costs of energy this winter, costs that Obama and friends won't do anything to help lower for maybe 20 years, and only then if the requisite alternative energy miracle happens in the meantime (except for that nifty 'inflate your tires' tip. That was quite helpful. Thanks, BO. If you were running for gas station attendant, you'd definitely get my vote).

The Left hates profit because America isn't perfect. There are still problems here, unlike all those other utopian socialist paradises, like, um, well, uh……….er, never mind. There must be some somewhere. I just can't think of their names right now. Even though we spend nearly $2 trillion each year on some type of entitlement program, the Left reasons that just isn't enough. Not even close to enough. Ever more and more and more money must be spent by the federal government, and ever more and more and more of your money must be stolen through taxation. Then someday, when NOBODY has any money left and the government is our supreme overlord and master of all things, that perfect socialist utopian nirvana will be achieved. I think it says exactly that on Obama's website, because his answer to absolutely everything is for big government to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on it. I guess that's easier than thinking too.

Color me skeptical. It seems like $2 trillion per year should be plenty enough to keep people out of poverty, to keep them from starving. Yet somehow, it isn't. Could the problem be the government itself ? Nah, that can't be it. Impossible ! It must be the Republicans fault. Dick Cheney must be taking that money and giving it to Halliburton or something. It's a conspiracy of some sort. I know it, even though I have no proof whatsoever. I mean, c'mon, that Cheney guy just LOOKS evil. He's all old and corporate and white and stuff. Who needs proof ? And Cheney shot his buddy on that hunting trip. Don't forget that. What more is there to know ?

An old and very wise saying about democracy goes like this:

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising them the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal responsibility, always followed by a dictatorship.” - John Tyler

That was written in 1770, but it sounds pretty relevant to what's going on today.

Think of that when Barack Obama vows to steal someone else's money to give it to you, or to tax the hell out of the rich as if that won't affect you. It certainly will. We are just finishing with one president who didn't care much about fiscal responsibility, Dubya. Dubya was irresponsible on the spending side. Why on earth would we elect another president of "loose fiscal responsibility", but this time, on BOTH the taxation and spending sides ? $3 TRILLION per year should be plenty enough to run the federal government. Far more than enough, in truth. The tax and spend buck must stop here, or we will suffer serious consequences, the very ones John Tyler warned about back in 1770. Barack Obama wants to declare war on profits. I want to declare war on Barack Obama and all of his socialist/communist/totalitarian ilk, before it's too late.

Major kudos to USA Today. An American newspaper has finally told the truth about the real economic crisis facing our country, which is the growth of entitlements, mainly with Medicare and that Ponzi scheme hidden income tax ripoff fake trust fund brought to you by the Democratic Party, Social Security (SS). Read the USA today article here.

As a side note about SS, Barack Obama took to using a little "politics of fear" (if I may borrow an Obaman rhetorical device) to falsely scare senior citizens into thinking John McCain was going to take away their SS. (link) Real classsy move from Obama the "new kind of post-partisan politician" (guffaw). Nobody has EVER suggested taking SS away from seniors. Nobody. Certainly not John McCain. To paraphrase some more Obama-style patter - Barack Obama's appalling attacks are the type of divisive, dishonest, and hypocritical partisan rhetoric that has characterized politics for far too long. It's the politics of the past, and the American people are tired of it. Americans want real change they can believe in, not more fearmongering, not more of the same old down and dirty intransigent politics so typical of the Washington D.C. inside power players - There. How did you like my Obama impersonation ? You know, it's really easy to talk like that. I think I'll form an exploratory committee to make a run for the Senate, Libertarian Party, I guess. The GOP has ticked me off, so they're out. They had their chance, and the Democrats are just flat out wrong about almost everything, so they'd be far worse. Thinking the Republican mess will be fixed by the Democrats is like thinking you can set your hair on fire and then put it out with gasoline.

Which leads me back to my intended subject. The entitlement liability, which constitutes the REAL federal deficit. It's over $500,000 PER HOUSEHOLD right now. Forget the credit crisis. Forget the mortgage crisis. Forget the Iraq war. This is the REAL crisis. I don't know about you, but $500,000 sounds like a chunk of change to me. Before long, we could be talking about real money. And every year we don't get a handle on this problem, the problem grows by a couple TRILLION dollars. If you want the "politics of fear", well, here's something to fear:

Taxpayers are on the hook for a record $57.3 trillion in federal liabilities to cover the lifetime benefits of everyone eligible for Medicare, Social Security and other government programs, a USA TODAY analysis found. That's nearly $500,000 per household.

When obligations of state and local governments are added, the total rises to $61.7 trillion, or $531,472 per household. That is more than four times what Americans owe in personal debt such as mortgages.

The $2.5 trillion in federal liabilities dwarfs the $162 billion the government officially announced as last year's deficit, down from $248 billion a year earlier.

"We're running deficits in the trillions of dollars, not the hundreds of billions of dollars we're being told," says Sheila Weinberg, chief executive of the Institute for Truth in Accounting of Chicago.

The Medicare liability alone increased by $1.2 trillion in 2007, but it doesn't appear in our deficit numbers anywhere. We still have to pay for it. The total Medicare UNFUNDED liability is $30.4 trillion.

Now let's talk about some politics we really should fear (if you aren't scared already). Suppose Barack Obama becomes president and the Democrats seize a larger Congressional majority in november. Both are likely possibilities. That would give the Dems almost unfettered power. The Dems would immediately start implementing BRAND NEW HUGE ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS to add to the enormous entitlement debt tsunami headed our way already. Massive increases in taxes would have to follow, which is another really bad idea when our economy is already slowing and shaky. Add it all together, and the Democrats will create an environment for the PERFECT ECONOMIC STORM (all to help us, of course). Imagine what each American household will be on the hook for then.

You want the truth ? There's the truth. Our politicians can't handle the truth, which is why they hide behind distortions and outright lies. I'm willing to bet you haven't heard any of these numbers being talked about during the presidential campaign (which has been going on for over a year), and I guaran-darn-tee you haven't heard a Democrat mention them probably ever in your lifetime.

I BEG ALL YOU VOTERS TO PAY VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE REASONS I JUST MENTIONED. THE OUTCOME COULD SWAMP THE FINANCIAL VIABILITY OF YOUR CHILDREN FOR TWO DECADES OR MORE.

So liberals, since you are actually in favor of all these entitlements that will bankrupt the country, I beg you to exhibit a little of that alleged liberal compassion and send at least $531,000 to me, Da King. I'm one of those little guys you love to "help". Thank you very much. I knew I could count on you. God bless, er, I mean, dos vedanya.

My fellow americans,

I have a dream, a dream of a shining city on a hill, where the buffalo roam, and seldom is heard a discouraging word. For now the skies ARE cloudy all day, my friends. As Dr. King said, "The thrill is gone, the thrill is gone away from me". We are not thrilled with the status quo. We are not thrilled when we have to work five days a week while pampered movie stars have lots of money, big mansions, and ride around in limousines. I ask you, is this justice ? Is it justice when Rosita, an undocumented worker, has to clean multi-millionaire Barbra Streisand's house for a few hundred dollars a week ? That is not justice. That is not america. No justice, no peace. I will take Mrs. Streisand's profits away and give them to Rosita who deserves them. Let Mrs. Streisand clean her own toilets, and let Rosita ride in the limousine. Yes we can !

If you have ever thought there was anything wrong in the world ever in your entire life, then I am your candidate, because I too have thought there were things wrong in the world. I am just like you. I bring not only change, but real change, and not only real change, I bring REALLY real change, that you can believe in with all your heart, from here to eternity, forever and ever, amen. I am courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. I have been to the moutaintop, I have seen other people's money, and I'm going to take it from them and give it to YOU, all my children. You who deserve that money so much. All you have to do is vote for me, and I will set you free. No longer will you have to work like a slave for things like food, shelter, clothing, and video games, for I will give them to you for free, because you deserve it. Yes we can !

No longer will you have to worry about how you will pay your car insurance or be held hostage by the cable television company, because I will make sure that every citizen in this country has his or her car insurance and cable tv bills take care of. Why should some rich man like Brad Pitt get 250 television channels when Jenny Pratt, a 25 year old waitress from Youngstown, Ohio, with three children and no baby daddy, only gets channels 2-14 ? Is that justice ? The bureacrats in Washington, D.C. say yes, but I say NO. Is it justice when your next door neighbor has three cars while you have only one ? I say NO. As president, I will take that car from him and give it to you, my friend. You who deserve it. No longer will we endure the tyranny of our neighbors having more than we do. No longer will we have to keep up with the Joneses. When I am president, we will ALL be the Joneses. Some say these things could not be done. Some say these things would not be done. Some say these things should not be done. Some say I'm as dumb as a bag of hammers, but I say, yes we can ! Yes we can ! Keep hope alive ! We will, we will rock you ! We will, we will rock you !

Now, some of the naysayers look at my campaign of ecstasy and utopia for all mankind and they say "King has no experience," or, "King's proposals aren't practical," or "King is insane in the membrane". These nattering nabobs of negativity don't want me to give your neighbor's car to you. They don't want me to give you free tv and millions of dollars you didn't earn. They don't want me to give you Nintendo Wii or force Domino's to deliver free pizzas to you door upon request. And why ? I'll tell you why, my children. It's because they are GREEDY, that's why ! They want all those Domino's pizzas for themselves, and they want YOU TO PAY FOR YOUR OWN PIZZA. That's fascism, my friends, plain and simple, and my campaign is about freedom. As president, I will be free to give you anything you want, and I will give you everything your heart ever desired ! Yes we can !

Other naysayers claim "King has no substance on the issues", and that's a debate I'm happy to have. Let me dispatch that notion right now, by proposing substantive solutions to some of this nation's other problems. In my first week in office, I will - end the war, stop trade to end the trade deficit, outlaw corporations (only the big, evil ones), give you all money so you don't need jobs, make school optional and free, erase all american borders, and make health care free. There, problems solved. Did I miss anything ? If I did, just drop me a line, and I'll take care of it in 10 words or less. Thank you for your support.

Yes we can !

When I heard that the Comptroller General and head of the Government Accounting Office (GAO), David Walker, has resigned, I had to write about it. Walker was one of my favorite guys in government, probably due to the fact that he's not a politician. He was the chief accountant for the federal government. He's beholden to no political party. Walker was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1998, and continued serving through the Bush administration until now.

Because David Walker is not a politician, he doesn't engage in political spin. Instead, he has the refreshing habit of telling the plain, unvarnished truth. You can hear him tell some of the truth on Glenn Beck's show here. Please watch the video before you read the rest of this column.

The unspun truth about the state of the federal government's finances is pretty disturbing, and paints a pretty grim picture of america's future, which is why politicians like to cover it up. The politicians who cover it up the most are those politicians who intend to pursue the same irresponsible fiscal policies that led us this far off the rails. You can tell these politicians by their lingo. They tell you they want to raise taxes and increase government spending dramatically, although they use code words to disguise those facts. For instance, they'll talk about "investing" in this or that government program. They think you are too stupid to realize that means raising taxes and increasing government spending. If you elect these politicians, you prove them right. You ARE too stupid. When the government gives you "free stuff", it isn't free at all. YOU pay for it.

What David Walker knows is that unrestrained government spending and the expansion of entitlements is going to bankrupt this country. That is the bottom line, and that is what the pro-big government pols don't want you to know. This is an enormous issue, and we have two presidential candidates in the Democratic party who not only don't want to acknowledge it, they want to ADD MULTIPLE NEW ENORMOUS ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS TO THE ALREADY STAGGERING COMING ENTITLEMENT TSUNAMI. Our financial house is on fire and they want to throw more wood on the blaze. This is irresponsibility on an unprecedented level (okay, maybe not unprecedented. Bush's liberal spending spree threw wood on that fire too). I'm not sure if the Republican presidential candidate understands the enormity of the fire either, but at least he's not chopping up more kindling to throw on.

As David Walker points out, every year we don't act drives us $2-3 trillion deeper in the hole, which already stands at $56 trillion. Do you see any politicians talking about it ? Facing it ? Or do you see politicians promising people the moon instead ? That type of feel-good politics does every one of us a disservice, but the disservice it does to us is nothing compared to what it will do to our children. These chuckleheaded pols actually call you selfish if you resist all this entitlement expansion, and they have over half the country brainwashed into thinking the same way. That takes some real chutzpah, because what is truly selfish is burdening future generations with the tab for OUR spendthrift ways. We want to ride the gravy train and let our sons and daughters pay for it. What could be more selfish than that ?

Reuter's reports that David Walker has resigned to head up the newly formed Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Walker said, "As Comptroller General of the United States and head of the GAO, there are real limitations on what I can do and say in connection with key public policy issues, especially issues that directly relate to GAO's client — the Congress. My new position will provide me with the ability and resources to more aggressively address a range of current and emerging challenges facing our country."

I look forward to hearing from him. Somebody in this country has to start dealing with reality, unless we are ready to forfeit the american dream and all start wearing Che t-shirts instead. I'm not even close to ready for that. How about you ?