Ohio has shifted slightly to Romney

Rasmussen poll shows Romney up by 2% in latest Ohio poll.  A few weeks ago he was down by 2% to Obama in Ohio.  If Romney takes both Ohio and Florida which didn't seem likely a month ago then he will take the Electoral College.  Things could easily change leading up to next Tuesday's election so it will be interesting to watch. 

Closing in on Debt Ceiling

Right now we are near 16.2 Trillion in Debt with the ceiling at 16.394 Trillion.  It looks like by the end of November the Debt Ceiling will be reached.

Ohio now tied

Latest Rasmussen Poll shows Ohio now a tie.  If Romney takes Ohio, Florida and Colorado then he will have enough electoral votes to win the election .

Split Electorate Certainly Possible

Based on the latest data from Rasmussen there are only 66 electoral votes rated as a toss up with Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin to close to call.   Right now Romney is winning in Colorado and Virginia while Obama is slightly ahead in Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Wisconsin.  In Iowa it's a tie.

Right now Obama has 237 electoral votes while Romney has 235.  If Obama takes Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Wisconsin that gives him 275 votes while Romney would end up with 263 by taking Colorado, Iowa and Virginia.

Once again I believe Ohio's 18 electoral votes is the key state in this election.  Obama has a 1 point lead in Ohio so Romney really needs to take Ohio to have a chance to win the election in the Electoral College.  Finally don't be surprised if Romney wins the national vote but loses the Electoral Vote just like we saw in 2000 with Bush and Gore.  

OHIO...OHIO...OHIO

Based on polling from Rasmussen...Romney will need to win Ohio to either take the Electoral Vote outright or force a situation where neither candidate has enough Electoral Votes to win.  It would be fascinating to see neither candidate have enough Electoral Votes to win the election.  In the end it looks like in all of the swing states, OHIO, will be the determining factor as I mentioned a few days ago.

A Repeat of the 2000 Election

Back in 2000 Gore won the National Vote by a narrow margin however Bush won the Electoral College by winning narrowly in Florida.  It appears we may see the same result in 2012 as one candidate will win the National Vote while the other carries the Electoral Vote.  Right now Obama is closer to winning the Electoral College with Ohio being the key state to watch.  Ohio may end being the Florida of 2000 as election day approaches. 

No Questions about Disability Insurance?

The first government program that will be bankrupt in less than 3 years is the Social Security Disability Insurance Fund (SDI).  So far nobody has asked Obama or Romney how they will handle this?  In 2016 whoever is president will have to find over 160 billion dollars (and likely much more) just to fund this program alone.    

Federal Pay Raises

The chart below shows how much of a raise Federal Workers should have received each year based on Inflation.  In 2012 the raise should have been 3.1% and for 2013 it should be 1.5% based on current numbers. 

Does your Department Waste Money?

I would truly like to here from individuals about waste in their departments.  It's hard to explain to Federal Employees that they haven't received a raise in 3 years while their office is remodeled costing thousands of dollars.  

Food Stamps Usage continues to Rise

Based on the latest data from SNAP, 15% of Americans are now on Food Stamps.  This is a 100% increase since 2003.  If the economy is doing so well then why does food stamp usage continue to rise.  This continues to be a disturbing trend.  For example of food stamp usage were to rise another 100% in the next 10 years that would mean 30% of Americans (over 100 million people) would be using them.

 

Ask Obama and Romney how they are going to Handle Disability Insurance?

The data in the chart below is taken from CBO's baseline scenario involving Disability Insurance through 2022.  Notice the Trust Fund is forecast to run our of money by then end of 2015 and it could be even sooner if the CBO baseline scenario is overly optimistic .  Thus the government will have to find at least 160 billion dollars to fund Disability Insurance in 2016 and a whopping 1.28 Trillion Dollars through 2022 based on this baseline scenario.   So Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney how are you going to handle this problem?

Rapidly approaching Debt Ceiling

The new numbers are in for the month of September and we are now only 235 billion from hitting the Debt Ceiling which was set at 16.394 Trillion last year.  Based on the current run rate we should reach the Debt Ceiling by late November at the latest.

What is wrong with society

High Schools in New York City are giving out morning after pills and other birth control drugs to students as young as 14.  This is nuts. 

Ross Perot is Right

There was a recent interview with Ross Perot.  He said if the US didn't get it's financial house in order that another country would eventually control the US.  I agree 100% with this statement.  My guess would be it won't be a single country but will end up being a combination of Oil Rich nations of the Middle East.  The day of reckoning is much closer than most believe and will likely occur before 2020.  We still have time to avoid a fiscal disaster like is occurring in Europe but time is quickly running out..