A Look back…

Barclays Plc is a major multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London.

Barclays has an impressive rap sheet of scandals, from violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, to the LIBOR fiasco, to Food Speculation

Excerpts from  Bloomberg  Nov 28, 2011:

“There was not a direct subsidy to Barclays” from governments during the financial crisis, Chief Executive Officer Robert Diamond told a U.K. House of Commons hearing in London on June 8, 2011. While the company avoided taking government capital, it was more accepting of emergency cash from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Data show that the London-based bank borrowed $64.9 billion from the Fed on Dec. 4, 2008, more than two months after it agreed to buy the North American unit of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in a bankruptcy auction. The London-based bank was still borrowing more than $40 billion from the Fed as late as June 2009, nine months after the Lehman deal closed. Sarah MacDonald, a Barclays spokeswoman, declined to say whether the bank also got liquidity from the Bank of England.

Peak amount of debt on 12/4/2008:  $64.9B                

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U.S. citizens deserve nothing less than to be granted the same direct access to liquidity that the Federal Reserve provided to global banking titans, like Barclays Plc, during the great financial crisis.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (19065 downloads )

A look back….

Even foreign banking interests, with U.S. subsidiaries, enjoyed massive liquidity infusions to help them deal with their faltering financial conditions and debt burdens.

Deutsche Bank has a long list of scandalous practices: Money laundering in Russia, U.S. mortgage transactions (selling top rated complex financial products that instantly became worthless, Interest rate manipulation, violations of U.S. – Iran embargo.

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Excerpts from:  Bloomberg  Nov 28, 2011:  “Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s biggest bank, navigated the financial crisis without capital injections from the German government. The Frankfurt-based bank, which in 2008 reported its first annual loss since World War II, wasn’t so shy about getting liquidity in secret from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The lender tapped the Fed for $66 billion on Nov. 6, 2008 — $28.2 billion from the Term Securities Lending Facility, $21.8 billion from single-tranche open market operations and $16 billion from the Term Auction Facility. John Gallagher, a Deutsche Bank spokesman, declined to say whether the bank took emergency loans during the crisis from other central banks, such as Germany’s Bundesbank.”     

Peak amount of debt held on 11-6-2008:  $66B                                     

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U.S. citizens deserve nothing less than to be granted the same direct access to liquidity that was provided to multi-national financial institutions, like Deutsche Bank, during the financial crisis..

Deutsche Bank tapped billions from the Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF), single-tranche open market operations (STOMO), and theTerm Auction Facility (TAF).

It is now time for the creation of a Citizens Credit Facility (CCF) to provide direct access to liquidity for U.S. citizens – to successfully manage their own financial challenges and reduce debt at the family level.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (19065 downloads )

Washington-based Democrats and Republicans have a long-standing record of growing government, creating greater dependence on government among the citizenry, dreaming up new spending programs riddled with inefficiencies, waste and outright fraud. 

Washington political policy initiatives over the past two decades have impoverished millions of Americans, created record Household Debt burdens, stymied economic growth, and generated soaring, nightmarish federal budget deficits, massive enough to now constitute a national security issue.

Now imagine a future America where millions of U.S. citizens were to be granted equal access to direct liquidity extensions to those which were so generously provided to major Wall Street financial institutions during the great financial crisis (2007-2010) and the Covid economic crisis (2020-2022), including: Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America, State Street Corp, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase, Wachovia, Lehman Brothers, Wells Fargo, Bear Stearns) and major foreign financial institutions (Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Barclays, Credit Suisse. Dexia, BNP Paribas).

Imagine a future America where millions of hard-working, tax-paying U.S. citizens have eliminated massive sums of mortgage debt, paid off auto loans and installment debt, paid off student loans (or were fully reimbursed for previously paid off student loans), and are able to improve their current quality of life and save considerable sums of money toward future plans and dreams. 

Imagine a future America where millions of ‘below-the-poverty-line’ families did not need ongoing government support to cover life’s basic necessities (food, housing, and primary health care expenditures). 

Imagine a future where families did not need two incomes, or additional government assistance to barely cover family-specific expenses like child-care, private education, and federal, state, and local tax burdens.

And now visualize a future America where government spending has dropped precipitously, tax revenues have risen dramatically (without raising taxes), federal (and state) budget surpluses have become an ongoing reality. 

America’s economy – surging into a new, long-term, revitalized, free market growth cycle.

And citizen-centered healthcare largely replacing the current big government / big corporation market-dominating partnerships.

That future is here.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – loaded up and ready to launch.

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The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (18476 downloads )

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Participation Qualifications: 

• Must prove U.S. citizenship.
• Must prove positive credit risk profile (job history, credit history).
• Blood-test proving negative addiction risk.
• Agree to forego income tax refunds for a period of 5 years.
• Agree to forego federal/state Income Security programs and select means-tested welfare programs, social insurance programs, and federal unemployment insurance benefits for a minimum of 5 years.  . 
• Participants concurrently enrolled in Medicare / Medicaid / VA / TRICARE / FEHB benefit programs would be required to pay an annual deductible of $6,000 per year per enrolled family member for each year in the initial 5-year period.  MSA funds would provide a full offset for the costs of the higher deductible.  MSA funds could also be used to pay Medicare supplement premiums and other potential co-pay obligations. 

The left’s $7 trillion lie: Biden far outpaces Trump in racking up the national debt

By Stephen Moore and E. J. Antoni – Heritage Foundation Fellows | June 30, 2024

Excerpts:

Projection is blaming someone else for your own bad behavior.

We saw a classic case of projection in Thursday’s presidential debate, when President Biden — who is overseeing annual budget deficits of $2 trillion — asserted that his predecessor, Donald Trump, added more to the federal debt than anyone else….

Debate moderator Jake Tapper joined the chorus of federal finance falsehoods when he claimed Trump had “approved $8.4 trillion in new debt,” while Biden’s actions will increase the debt by (merely) $4.3 trillion over a decade.

Tapper was referencing a recent report by the left-leaning Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which twisted and turned the debt statistics in every contortionary way it could to reach its incredible conclusion.

CRFB, by the way, is a group that opposed the successful Trump tax reform in 2017 — yet supported several of Biden’s multitrillion-dollar spending bills…. It’s not nonpartisan, but a front group for the policies of the political left….

Over Trump’s entire term, including the 2020 spate of emergency COVID spending, the debt increased by $7.7 trillion — a staggering total, to be sure.

However, about 15% of that debt total was the result of Treasury’s choice to keep additional cash on hand during the pandemic.

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, unsure how much tax revenue would be collected, borrowed well over $1 trillion — but kept it in reserve, without ever spending it.

Biden, however, spent that reserve, then borrowed another $7 trillion on top of it.

Instead of simply allowing that one-time emergency COVID spending to expire, Biden and the Democratic Congress continued spending at that same COVID-era level, thus institutionalizing multitrillion-dollar deficits.

Accounting for the changes in cash balances at the Treasury, the debt actually rose $6.5 trillion during Trump’s entire term — and is up $7.9 trillion in less than four years of Biden’s tenure.

Worse, the Treasury has announced that it anticipates needing to borrow another $800 billion from July through September of this year, followed by hundreds of billions more from October to December as federal finances further deteriorate.

All told, Biden will likely oversee a net increase in the debt of more than $9 trillion in a single term — a new record.

Biden wanted to spend $2 trillion more in the last year and a half, but conservatives in the House blocked the added bloat. 

You can bet the farm that if the radical left wins the White House and Congress in 2024, that $2 trillion outlay will be first on their legislative agenda. 

Biden’s other big lie, backed by the CRFB analysis, is that extending Trump’s tax reform will drown the economy in debt.

Yet federal tax revenues have increased since that tax reform was enacted — and federal revenues as a share of GDP have not fallen.

All of the increase in today’s debt has been due to massive, out-of-control federal spending — by both parties.

Trump spent and borrowed too much, full stop.

But with a debt headed to $50 trillion if reelected and a political agenda that stifles economic growth, Biden has set America on an unsustainable fiscal path that will lead to financial oblivion.

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Again: “All of the increase in today’s debt has been due to massive, out-of-control federal spending – by both parties.”

There is a new party in town, Main Street America Republicans, with a new federal budget surplus plan – to clean this mess up: $112.6 billion annual budget surpluses covering each of the first five years of activation (2025-2029).

The Leviticus 25 Plan – Summary Details:

·  The Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 Generates $112.6 Billion Federal Budget Surpluses Annually (2025-2029). Part 1: Overview, Deficit Projection

·  The Leviticus 25 Plan Generates $112.6 Billion Federal Budget Surpluses Annually (2025-2029). Part 2: Federal Income Tax Recapture; Economic Security / Means-Tested Welfare Recapture.

·  The Leviticus 25 Plan Generates $112.6 Billion Federal Budget Surpluses Annually (2025-2029). Part 3: Medicaid, Medicare, VA, TRICARE, FEHB, SSDI Recapture

·  The Leviticus 25 Plan Generates $112.6 Billion Federal Budget Surpluses Annually (2025-2029). Part 4: Interest Expense Recapture, Totals Summary

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (18455 downloads )

The Bottom 20% Do Almost No Work, and You Pay for Them: How the Low-Income Bracket Drains Taxpayer Dollars

Antonio Graceffo, MBA, PhD | June 18, 2024 – Excerpts:

When you pay taxes, remember that the bottom 20% of income earners do almost no work, do not pay taxes, and receive government aid. The next lowest 20% pay minimal taxes but also receive government support.

Considering credits, the bottom half effectively pay about $667 per year. In contrast, the top 1% of income earners contribute roughly 38.8% of all federal income taxes, and the top 10% pay about 70% of the total federal income taxes. Most of the rest is paid by the Middle-income earners.

Households in the bottom 20% of income often pay little to no federal income taxes due to low taxable income and tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC). According to the Tax Policy Center, about 44% of U.S. households pay no federal income tax, largely because of these credits and deductions.

Many low-income households receive transfer payments from government programs like Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and housing assistance.

In 2023, about 70.6 million Americans received benefits from programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), including Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Additionally, millions more benefit from other social safety net programs. For example, in the 2022 fiscal year, approximately 41.2 million people received SNAP benefits.

There is a claim that while low-income households may not contribute significantly to federal income taxes, they do contribute to other forms of taxation such as payroll taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes on their homes. However, these arguments are easily refuted.

The Social Security contributions of the low-income group are minimal because they earn less money and work less frequently. Middle-income and high-income groups pay more into Social Security, with the maximum contribution occurring at an income of $168,000.

Additionally, low-income workers can receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a needs-based program that provides cash assistance to disabled adults and children with limited income and resources. SSI is not dependent on work history or contributions to Social Security.

The property tax argument falls apart because the poor are less likely to own a home. Property taxes are used to fund public schools, so people who do not pay property tax can still send their children to schools funded by other people’s property taxes under Title I.

A counter-argument is that renters indirectly pay property taxes through their rent payments, which landlords use to cover property taxes. However, in the old tenement system, there was a building owner who paid property taxes.

In the new system of projects and state housing, the government is the owner, and no property taxes are paid. Therefore, all the funding for local schools must come from other taxpayers in other neighborhoods.

Middle- and high-income earners contribute significantly to payroll taxes, which fund Social Security and Medicare. Self-employed individuals pay both the employer and employee portions of these taxes, effectively paying double.

Middle- and high-income individuals often own businesses and create jobs, contributing to the economy and generating employment opportunities, while also paying the employer’s share of payroll taxes. This entrepreneurial activity supports economic growth and can lead to increased tax revenues….

…..

Research from the Center for Poverty and Inequality Research at UC Davis suggests that a significant portion of children who grow up in poverty and receive public assistance continue to rely on these programs into adulthood.

Approximately one-third to one-half of children who experience poverty for a substantial part of their childhood remain poor as adults. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that welfare receipt among parents significantly increases the likelihood of welfare participation among their children. This intergenerational correlation suggests that welfare use is, to some extent, a learned behavior, perpetuating the cycle of dependency.

In short, nearly the bottom half of the population is either paying no taxes, very little taxes, and/or receiving benefits. Every new social program for the non-payers represents a forced transfer of wealth from the working to the non-working and a transfer of government services from the taxpaying to the non-taxpaying.

Full article: here

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The Leviticus 25 Plan is the only plan in America with the power to re-balance this debt-ballooning fiscal abomination – and lift millions of American in the bottom 20% of income earners up out of poverty.

In return for the Citizens Credit Facility dynamic liquidity extensions of $90,000 per qualifying U.S. citizen, participants would no longer need, and no longer qualify for, the following programs: Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and housing assistance.

Millions of Americans in the bottom 20% of income earners would no longer be dependent on federal and state government programs for life’s basic necessities. They would no longer be penalized for engaging in gainful employment. They would become overnight positive contributors to income and payroll tax revenue flows.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (17985 downloads )

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Student Debt Cancellation Is Extremely Unfair – Here Are 10 Reasons Why…

ZeroHedge, Jun 04, 2024 – Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com, – Excerpts:

Deeply Unfair – There is something about this “cancel” student debt bill that just feels *deeply* unfair to me.

Why have taxes from plumbers & electricians go towards paying the unpaid bills of college & masters grads?…

10 Reasons Why Student Debt Cancellation is Unfair

1. It is unfair to those who sacrificed to pay off their student loans and it’s unfair to those who foot the bill.
2. It is an upward transfer of wealth. The plumber pays for someone  else’s college education.
3. It encourages going to college when there might be better choices such as learning a trade. And It creates incentive to take on new student loans.
4. It is blatant election year bribe to college students and college graduates.
5. It creates creates a moral hazard for college administrators to sell useless degrees creating another overhang of new student debt.
6. It creates a moral hazard for students who might feel that their debt should be forgiven in the future
7. It subsidizes poor decision-making such as majoring in useless degrees including gender studies, anthropology, archeology, art history, music, culinary arts, fashion design, philosophy, etc.
8. The president has no power to forgive student loans. Doing so creates another precedent for presidential rule by decree. This is too big a financial decision not to involve Congress. The current student loan program was authorized by Congress and contains no such authority to the president.
9. Biden is openly flouting the Supreme court, another dangerous precedent.
10. Free money is highly inflationary. .

[Note] – As a Senator Biden sponsored a law that made it so student debt could not be discharged  in bankruptcy.

Then he was buying donations from the big banks who run their credit card operations out of Delaware.

Now he is buying votes.

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‘Student Loan Cancellation” schemes also: 1) Add to the national debt; 2) Set a bad political (and economic) precedent for future loan forgiveness schemes; 3) Reward idleness; and 4) Effectively penalize those who persevered through hard work and saving to pay off their student loans.

Main Street America Republicans have a plan that corrects these glaring deficiencies.

The Leviticus 25 Plan provides a far more powerful and comprehensive ‘debt elimination’ liquidity flow, a U.S. Citizens’ Credit Facility, that will benefit all qualifying U.S. citizens. It re-incentivizes work and industriousness, and does not add a dime to the national debt.

The Leviticus 25 Plan will revive free market economics and generate massive new tax revenue flows for federal, state, and local governments, resulting in an annual average of $112.6 billion federal budget surpluses each of the first five years of activation.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (17369 downloads )

Global Bankers Are Suddenly Worried About The Soaring US National Debt

ZeroHedge, May 21, 2024 – Excerpts:

In January of this year JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon argued in an interview with Fortune Magazine that the record US debt ‘Is a cliff…and we’re going 60MPH towards it.”  He claimed that the situation was a global market rebellion waiting to happen.  His comments preceded reports that the national debt was increasing by approximately $1 trillion every 100 days due to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.  US debt has climbed over $11 trillion since March of 2020.

It’s a problem that bankers should have been able to predict well in advance:  The inevitable Catch-22 scenario in which the Fed must either raise rates to stop inflation but cause debt to skyrocket, or, the Fed must lower rates and return to QE to alleviate debts but also trigger an even greater inflation crisis.

The bottom line?  There’s no way out.  While Jamie Dimon suggested the economy was headed off a cliff in another ten years, it’s likely the threat is approaching much sooner.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted in remarks Tuesday to an audience of bankers in Amsterdam that: “We’re running big structural deficits, and we’re going to have to deal with this sooner or later, and sooner is a lot more attractive than later…”

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now estimates that debt held by the public compared to GDP will rise to “an amount greater than at any point in the nation’s history,” caused by surging deficits.  We witnessed the first sparks of a debt crisis in spring of 2023 with five bank failures, until the Fed stepped in and stalled the avalanche with its backstop program.  The assertion by global bankers is that the next crisis will be sparked in markets (rising bond yields spilling over into equities)….

[Dimon]: “The problem will be caused by the market and then you will be forced to deal with it and probably in a far more uncomfortable way than if you dealt with it to start.”…

The greater problem which most international and central bankers will deny is the threat to the US Dollar and US treasuries.  An exponentially expanding debt could lead foreign investors to question if the US will be able to cover its debts, which may lead to more investment in short term treasuries over long term bonds, or a hands off approach to all dollar denominated debt instruments.  A dollar crash would be the logical consequence.    

Of course, one thing financial elites fail to mention is what the practical solution would be to the debt problems they describe?  One might argue that this is a ploy by bankers to convince the public that a return to the printing presses is “necessary” in order to prevent a deflationary spiral. 

Banks would be the primary beneficiaries should the Federal Reserve bring back QE…

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The Leviticus 25 Plan will effect a stunning 180-degree reversal of America’s ‘through-the-roof’ federal budget deficits, generating $112.6 billion annual budget surpluses (2025-2029), versus projected $1.795 trillion annual deficits for the same period.

And just as importantly, it will eliminate trillions of dollars of debt and restore financial security for millions of hard-working, tax-paying American families.

The Leviticus 25 Plan retargets Federal Reserve liquidity flows. Instead “banks being the primary beneficiaries” of future Fed liquidity flows, the liquidity flows they receive will pass first through the hands of U.S. citizens – and then on to the banks in the form of debt reduction/elimination.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (15851 downloads )

Note – House Republicans want to “slash $27 billion off food stamps in this month’s farm bill.” There is ‘zero’ chance that the Senate would agree to the cuts.

Cutting Food Stamps is NOT an intelligent vote-winning election year strategy. It will do virtually nothing to reign in America’s soaring federal budget deficits. And it will do nothing to actually help lift poverty-stricken U.S. citizens up out of their ongoing dependence on government programs.

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Shock study shows how 42M recipients spend their food stamps – and they’re not buying broccoli

By James Reinl, Social Affairs Correspondent, For Dailymail.Com | Updated: 13:57 EDT, 20 May 2024 – Excerpts:

An alarming study has spotlighted how 42 million food stamp recipients spend their welfare handouts on ultra-processed junk food.

Coca-Cola, Sprite and other soft drinks are the most commonly-bought items via the $135 billion-a-year Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a new study says.

Candy, potato chips, frozen pizza, ice cream, cookies, and other ultra-processed food dominates the top 20 items, says a report from the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC).

Report author Matthew Dickerson says recipients spend ‘spend significant portions of their allotments on junk food.’

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The research comes as Washington lawmakers debate the text of an updated farm bill, with Republicans gunning to cut some $27 billion worth of nutrition program funding over 10 years.

Health experts warn against junk food, which is often high in calories, fat, and sugar, and low in fiber, which can lead to many health problems.

Poor diets can lead to weight gain, digestive issues, liver and kidney damage, depression and cancer….

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SNAP’s work requirements are ‘limited, weak, and are currently waived completely or in part in 34 states,’ … ‘The story of the food stamp program is one of expanding enrollment, higher spending, benefit payments growing faster than inflation,’ Dickerson says in his report.

The food stamp program that was launched in 1978 faces strengthening political headwinds.

The US House Agriculture Committee on Friday released its long-awaited farm bill draft that includes provisions to cut SNAP benefits by $27 billion over 10 years, a committee aide said.

The savings result from restricting the Department of Agriculture’s authority to update the cost of a sample grocery budget that underlies the benefit calculation. Benefits would continue to rise with inflation, a committee aide said.

Anti-hunger groups have said they oppose any cuts.

Congress faces steep odds to pass the bill this session as the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-majority Senate remain far apart.

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The Leviticus 25 Plan is a powerful vote-winning election year strategy that would provide a positive ‘transition’ for millions of Americans off federal and state entitlement programs, and get the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of the business of subsidizing unhealthy life styles.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is an upwardly-mobile transition program that eliminate trillions of dollars of Household Debt for participating U.S. citizens.

It will generate $112.6 billion federal budget surpluses over the first five years of activation – and entirely pay for itself over a 10-15 year period.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is the most powerful, decentralizing, free market economic acceleration plan on the face of the earth.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (15849 downloads )

2021: A $650 billion outlay of IMF IOUs backed by the U.S. Treasury—called special drawing rights—sent money to Moscow [$17 billion] while the world watched Mr. Biden abandon Bagram Air Base to the Taliban. Iran gained access to about $4.5 billion through the IMF deal, and China had a windfall of $40 billion.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), “the United States contributes $117 billion to the IMF quota (17.46%). In addition, the United States has contributed $44 billion to funds at the IMF that supplement quota resources.” Mar 8, 2022

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WSJ: No More IMF Subsidies for Dictators

Biden and Yellen pushed to give Russia $17 billion while troops gathered on Ukraine’s border.

By John Kennedy | WSJ, March 22, 2022 – Excerpts:

U.S. European Command warned a year ago that a crisis could be imminent in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin had set up more than 100,000 members of his military to breathe down Ukraine’s neck—the biggest mobilization since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. As Mr. Putin prepared to invade a sovereign democracy, the Biden administration continued pushing for more than $17 billion in International Monetary Fund allocations for Moscow.

President Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ultimately got what they wanted in August, when the IMF doled out more money in one general allocation than ever before. The $650 billion outlay of IMF IOUs backed by the U.S. Treasury—called special drawing rights—sent money to Moscow while the world watched Mr. Biden abandon Bagram Air Base to the Taliban. Iran gained access to about $4.5 billion through the IMF deal, and China had a windfall of $40 billion.

In this case, there were no sanctions to evade because the Biden administration simply handed Vladimir Putin, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Xi Jinping the money. The IMF special drawing rights function as subsidies, since countries awarded these tokens can exchange them for hard currency like dollars and euros on demand without having to repay the principal. Immediately after the White House finalized these subsidies, Russia’s foreign reserves hit a new high.…

The White House’s most egregious move may be yet to come. The Biden administration purposefully structured the 2021 allocation as a down payment on another flood of special drawing rights this year, totaling $350 billion. Some Democrats asked Ms. Yellen in November to back a tranche of about $2 trillion. In either case, Treasury would again lay tens of billions of dollars at the feet of dictators and terror states. But more free money won’t beget better behavior.

As the new axis of evil grew richer last fall, it grew markedly more belligerent. Russia invaded Ukraine, Iran became more incorrigible in its nuclear-deal demands, and China signaled recently it believes its claim to Taiwan is even stronger than Russia thinks it has to Ukraine.

Mr. Biden and Ms. Yellen can’t say they weren’t warned. I started imploring Ms. Yellen not to subsidize our enemies in the name of Covid relief last March, as did the Journal’s editorial board.

The Biden administration also can’t claim it was forced into the deal by the IMF, given that the U.S. has the largest voting share in the fund. The allocation that lined the pockets of Messrs. Putin and Xi had to have U.S. approval because the world’s largest economy can veto major IMF decisions.

Treasury can’t claim it had no other options. The IMF could have avoided spending the bulk of the $650 billion general allocation on dictators and countries that didn’t need the aid by making the special allocation for the poorest nations. Again, these pages pointed out that Mr. Biden’s objection to a tailored approach was that it would require him to submit to Congress—which he seems generally reluctant to do.

The White House’s eyes were wide open, and its hands weren’t tied. Team Biden knew Mr. Putin was mobilizing against Ukraine and greenlit $17 billion for Russia anyway, while slowing military aid for Ukraine.

China and Iran have been taking notes at every turn. Mr. Biden’s end-run around Congress left rogue leaders emboldened and enriched. His task now is to get America out of Iran-deal negotiations, force Russia out of Ukraine, and keep China out of Taiwan.

He needs to demonstrate resolve. He can start by disavowing future IMF allocations that would pour money into Russia, China, Iran and their like. Let’s shut off the IMF spigot to communists and terrorists and make sure it stays shut.

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WSJ:  IMF Seeks to Allay Doubts Following Data-Rigging Scandal, Move Forward With New Agenda

By Josh Zumbrun | WSJ, Oct. 14, 2021 – Excerpts

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, was cleared by the organization’s board for her role in a World Bank report that was manipulated to benefit China— just one of the recent challenges before the IMF.

Following a data-rigging scandal that engulfed its managing director, the International Monetary Fund is working to regain its footing in international financial markets while it works to balance the competing interests of its two main backers, the U.S. and China.

The IMF board cleared the group’s leader Kristalina Georgieva earlier this week for her role in a World Bank report that was manipulated to benefit China, but the scandal remains an active issue for the U.S. Treasury and some American lawmakers. “If the allegations are true that China can intimidate objective economic analysis to get its desired outcomes, that’s concerning,” said Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee….

Private investors, new lending facilities of the Federal Reserve, and the rise of China as a lender to other countries have all supplanted some traditional IMF functions. That leaves the organization with a diminished role in global finance and growing skepticism from many in Washington about its future.

The rise of China as a lender presents a particular conundrum. Many U.S. officials have grown concerned that IMF programs can ultimately benefit China. Such concerns emerged clearly when in 2018 Pakistan came to the IMF seeking a bailout, partially because it had taken on too much debt for projects with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. China’s external lending and U.S. concerns have only grown since then. Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the IMF at the time, insisting IMF funds shouldn’t be used to bail out China.

During recent financial upheavals, it was the U.S. Federal Reserve that flooded the global financial system with hundreds of billions of dollars of central-bank liquidity swaps. The Fed provided funds directly to many emerging markets, traditionally the IMF’s domain.…

Nearly 100 countries sought loans. Total IMF lending climbed from $74 billion in 2019 to as high as $106 billion at the end of 2020. Loans made on concessional, or zero-interest, terms climbed from $7 billion to $14 billion. The IMF committed at this week’s meeting to boost such lending further.…

[During the pandemic] Nearly 100 countries sought loans. Total IMF lending climbed from $74 billion in 2019 to as high as $106 billion at the end of 2020. Loans made on concessional, or zero-interest, terms climbed from $7 billion to $14 billion. The IMF committed at this week’s meeting to boost such lending further….

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Review… President Joe Biden along with Janet Yellen ‘greenlit’ the “$650 billion outlay of IMF IOUs backed by the U.S. Treasury—called special drawing rights—sent money to Moscow… Iran gained access to about $4.5 billion through the IMF deal, and China had a windfall of $40 billion.

U.S. tax-payer dollars have been flowing freely, through the IMF, to America’s dearest enemies… to provide liquidity and assist them ‘in their time of need.’

Special note: “During recent financial upheavals, it was the U.S. Federal Reserve that flooded the global financial system with hundreds of billions of dollars of central-bank liquidity swaps.”

There is no better time than right now to ramp up Federal Reserve ‘liquidity flows’ directly to hard-working, tax-paying U.S. citizens to clean up America’s own debt-saturated financial quagmire.

The Leviticus 25 Plan is a dynamic economic initiative providing direct liquidity benefits for American families, while at the same time scaling back the role of government in managing and controlling the affairs of citizens.  It is a comprehensive plan with long-term economic and social benefits for citizens and government.

The inspiration for this plan is based upon Biblical principles set forth in the Book of Leviticus, principles tendering direct economic liberties to the people.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (15616 downloads )

Federal Food Stamps Program Hits Record Costs In 2022

ZeroHedge, Jan 28, 2023 – Excerpts:

In early January, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board warned that one peril of a large administrative state is the mischief agencies can get up to when no one is watching.

Specifically, they highlight the overreach of the Agriculture Department, which expanded food-stamp benefits by evading the process for determining benefits and end-running Congressional review.

Exhibit A in the over-reach is the fact that the cost of the federal food stamps program known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) increased to a record $119.5 billion in 2022, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture…

Food Stamp costs have literally exploded from $60.3 billion in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, to the record-setting $119.5 billion in 2022.

In 2019, the average monthly per person benefit was $129.83 in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That increased by 78 percent to $230.88 in 2022.

Even more intriguing is the fact that the number of participants had increased from 35.7 million in 2019 to 41.2 million in 2022…

All of which is a little odd – the number of people on food stamps remains at record highs while the post-COVID-lockdown employment picture has improved dramatically…

Source: Bloomberg

If any of this surprises you, it really shouldn’t given that ‘you, the people’ voted for the welfare state. However, as WSJ chided: “abuse of process doesn’t get much clearer than that.”

In its first review of USDA, the GAO skewered Agriculture’s process for having violated the Congressional Review Act, noting that the “2021 [Thrifty Food Plan] meets the definition of a rule under the [Congressional Review Act] and no CRA exception applies. Therefore, the 2021 TFP is subject to the requirement that it be submitted to Congress.” GAO’s second report says “officials made this update without key project management and quality assurance practices in place.”

Abuse of process doesn’t get much clearer than that. The GAO review won’t unwind the increase, which requires action by the USDA. But the GAO report should resonate with taxpayers who don’t like to see the politicization of a process meant to provide nutrition to those in need, not act as a vehicle for partisan agency staffers to impose their agenda without Congressional approval.

All of this undermines transparency and accountability for a program that provided food stamps to some 41 million people in 2021. The Biden Administration is using the cover of the pandemic to expand the entitlement state beyond what Congress authorized.…

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Watchdog Says 66,000 People Kept Getting Food Stamps Despite Disqualifying Lottery Wins

ZeroHedge, Oct 22, 2023 – Excerpts:

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A watchdog has revealed that over 66,000 people stayed on food stamp rolls despite winning enough money in lotteries to make them ineligible—and that’s just based on data obtained in just 13 states—with the figure for all 50 states “likely in the hundreds of thousands.”

The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to all 50 states, seeking information on the number of people in the food stamp program since 2019 who won big in the lottery, according to Hayden Dublois, data and analytics director at FGA.

“We aren’t talking about the proud owners of $20 prizes from scratchers. We’re talking about those who won at least $4,250, which, under federal law, makes a person ineligible for the taxpayer’s help,” Mr. Dublois said in an Oct. 20 op-ed for Fox News.

He said that, through a combination of state negligence and federal loopholes, over 66,000 substantial lottery winners continued to receive food stamps in the 13 states for which the FOIA request yielded survey data.

“Across all 50 states, the number is likely in the hundreds of thousands,” Mr. Dublois said, with the stark figures being the latest sign of persistent food stamp program abuse that FGA has been sounding the alarm on for a long time.

“Congress should get lottery winners off this low-income program when passing the Farm Bill later this fall,” Mr. Dublois added.

Loophole In Focus – In the past several decades, food stamp enrollment has skyrocketed.

In 2000, there were 17 million people on the rolls, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. By 2023, that number had swelled to 42.4 million.

The cost to taxpayers has, over the same time period, soared by nearly 600 percent, according to an August review by FGA.

Part of the problem, according to FGA, is that 41 states and Washington DC ignore the federal income and asset limits, letting millions of ineligible enrollees to keep getting food stamp benefits while opening the system to waste, fraud, and abuse.

Roughly 5.4 million food stamp recipients who enrolled through BBCE don’t meet eligibility requirements because states have used federal loopholes to overlook eligibility criteria, according to FGA.

Households that managed to qualify under BBCE were nearly three times as likely to have payment errors than other households, according to the FGA study….

The food stamp program is losing roughly $1 billion per month because of fraud and errors, according to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who in late September introduced legislation aimed at reducing the tidal wave of money being lost from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is the official name of the food stamp program….

Food Stamp Expansion Blamed for 15 Percent Rise In Grocery Prices

An earlier FGA study blames increased food stamp spending—including a massive expansion of the program under President Joe Biden—for contributing to soaring grocery prices.

In 2021, under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) introduced updated nutritional guidelines for federal food stamp benefits. These changes led to an approximate 27 percent expansion of the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) compared to its pre-pandemic scale….

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There is precisely one plan, marked up and ready to launch, which will responsibly transition millions of Americans off the Food Stamp welfare gravy train – and back into economic liberty and non-dependence on government.

The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America

$90,000 per U.S. citizen – Leviticus 25 Plan 2025 (15408 downloads )