2012 election meets no challengers, though US is challenged by 16 trillion debt; what'd lead America leaping over fiscal cliff?

"2012 election meets no challengers, though US is challenged by 16 trillion debt; what'd lead America leaping over fiscal cliff?" - Editor

*update*
Nov. 07 2012 - Canada on alert as U.S. nears fiscal cliff Serious economic problems are threatening to bleed over the border from the United States into Canada in the wake of the presidential election. The Canadian economy is so dependent on the economic performance of the United States...



Nov 8, 2012 - In a report prepared for the Group of 20 finance ministers' meeting in Mexico on November 4-5 and published on Thursday, the IMF warned that the euro zone crisis and the threat of a political impasse in Washington over the looming fiscal cliff posed the biggest risks to the world economy.
Nov 8, 2012 - Representative Ron Paul, a 12-term Texas congressman, said the situation had become irrevocable: "We're so far-gone. We're over the cliff. We cannot get enough people in congress in the next five to ten years who will do the wise things." "Romney was hit because one issue he was correct on, he was opposed the bailouts, and the people in the Midwest voted against him. Oh, we have to be taken care of!" Dr. Ron Paul said.

*update*
11/9/2012 - Ron Paul is likely correct. America has for too long lived beyond its means, justifying its hegemony and entitlements as necessary, and paying only the minimum installment on the debt, leaving the bulk of it to the next generation. In reality, many of these purchases on the national credit card are intended to buy the support of key voting blocks. While some foreign presence and international activity is necessary, along with a reasonable safety net, at some point our nation crossed from necessary to wasteful.

Unless we quickly find that old threshold between what is prudent and what is wasteful, we will continue to careen off the fiscal cliff before us, and Ron Paul, often chided as a Cassandra, will prove himself a prophet.

As for Congress, it remains virtually the same as it was before the election. The current Congress is the least productive Congress since World War II. In 22 months, they have accomplished very little. It is difficult to expect they will change the nation's course in the last two before we really do hit that fiscal cliff.

Image source: usdebtclock.org, usgovernmentdebt.us, creditloan.com, and nowpublic.com

*update* 2012 election met no challengers, though US has been challenged by 16 trillion debt, which leads to a "serious proposition" right after the election day -
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November 12, 2012 - 20 states across the country, Americans have filed petitions on the White House Web site seeking to secede from the union and form new state governments. Petitions have been filed for Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

“We petition the Obama Administration to peacefully grant the State of Alabama to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own new government,” reads the Alabama petition. The following text is the same in most of the 20 filed so far:
As the founding fathers of the United States of America made clear in the Declaration of Independence in 1776:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
“…Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government…”

November 11, 2012 - Citizens in 15 states file petitions to secede from United States As a result of Tuesday's election, Americans in 15 states have filed petitions to secede from the United States, Regina Conley reported at Red Alert Politics on Saturday. So far, she says, residents in Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, Colorado, New Jersey and ten other states, have filed petitions at the White House petition site requesting secession. A petition for New York to secede was file by "C R" of Grand Forks, North Dakota on Saturday. Examiner's Sheila Carroll says those other states include Montana, North Dakota, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Oregon.

On November 7, the day after the election, "Michael E" from Slidell, Louisiana, filed a petition at the White House "We the People" site, requesting that Louisiana be allowed to secede.

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation," the petition reads, quoting the Declaration of Independence.

On Friday, a Texas resident created a petition to secede in order to protect the standard of living Texans now enjoy.

"The US continues to suffer economic difficulties stemming from the federal government's neglect to reform domestic and foreign spending. The citizens of the US suffer from blatant abuses of their rights such as the NDAA, the TSA, etc. Given that the state of Texas maintains a balanced budget and is the 15th largest economy in the world, it is practically feasible for Texas to withdraw from the union, and to do so would protect its citizens' standard of living and re-secure their rights and liberties in accordance with the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government," the petition reads.

"While these petitions serve more to make a point than to present a serious proposition, they are a physical symbol of the deep resentment for the direction in which the United States is moving under the Obama administration," Conley added.

Petition Created: Nov 09, 2012 - "Peacefully grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government." "The US continues to suffer economic difficulties stemming from the federal government's neglect to reform domestic and foreign spending. The citizens of the US suffer from blatant abuses of their rights such as the NDAA, the TSA, etc. Given that the state of Texas maintains a balanced budget and is the 15th largest economy in the world, it is practically feasible for Texas to withdraw from the union, and to do so would protect it's citizens' standard of living and re-secure their rights and liberties in accordance with the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government."
Total signatures on this petition: 25,172 (as of Nov.12, 2012);

Louisiana Petition Created: Nov 07, 2012 - "Peacefully grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government." As the founding fathers of the United States of America made clear in the Declaration of Independence in 1776:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

"...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government..."
Total signatures on this petition: 15,834 (as of Nov.12, 2012);

check updates at "OPEN PETITIONS"
Louisiana - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 07, 2012
........Total signatures: 36,174 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Texas - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 09, 2012
........Total signatures: 113,501 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Alabama - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 09, 2012
........Total signatures: 29,545 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Mississippi - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 9, 2012
........Total signatures: 17,965 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
N. Carolina - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 09, 2012
........Total signatures: 29,537 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Florida - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 33,562 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Georgia - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 33,734 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Georgia - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
......**Total signatures: 12,108 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Georgia - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
.....***Total signatures: 7,889 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Tennessee - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 30,224 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
S. C. - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 23,405 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
S. Carolina - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
......**Total signatures: 14,802 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Arkansas - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 22,255 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Arizona - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 22,403 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Colorado - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 21,363 (as of Nov.16, 2012)
Kentucky - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 18,325 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Missouri - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 19,399 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Missouri- to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
......**Total signatures: 13,436 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Michigan - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 18,933 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Montana - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 13,501 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Oklahoma - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 17,503 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Oklahoma - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
......**Total signatures: 9,177 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Indiana - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 20,678 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
New York - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 14,629 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Ohio - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 11,332 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Ohio - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 12, 2012
......**Total signatures: 8,294 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Ohio - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 12, 2012
.....***Total signatures: 4,149 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
New York - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 14,696 (as of Nov.16, 2012)
New York - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 11, 2012
......**Total signatures: 8,135 (as of Nov.16, 2012)
New Jersey - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 10, 2012
........Total signatures: 13,806 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
California - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 11, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 14,352 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
California - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 11, 2012
......**Total signatures: 1,969 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
California - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 12, 2012
.....***Total signatures: 1,322 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Pennsylvania - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 11, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 13,232 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Pennsylvania - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 11, 2012
......**Total signatures: 8,743 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Illinois - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 11, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 5,024 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Illinois - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 11, 2012
......**Total signatures: 5,000 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Utah - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 11, 2012
.......*Total signatures: 8,015 (as of Nov.17, 2012)
Utah - to-withdraw Petition, Created: Nov 11, 2012
......**Total signatures: 6,562 (as of Nov.17, 2012)

Nov. 13, 2012 - Secession: The List Of States Posting Petitions To Secede Has Now Grown To 30 The list of states posting petitions to secede grew to 30 by Tuesday morning.

Nov. 13, 2012 - Here's a list of 34 states where residents have filed secession petitions in recent days: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Nov. 13, 2012 - Citizens in 47 states sign petitions to secede from United States Citizens in 47 states have signed petitions seeking secession from the United States, the Daily Caller reported Tuesday. Maine, Vermont and Washington are the only states that currently do not have petitions asking to leave the Union, David Martosko wrote. Earlier Tuesday, we reported that citizens from over 30 states had signed petitions, more than twice the number reported Monday.

Some states have multiple petitions (i.e., Georgia, Oklahoma, etc.), despite the site's warning that "a duplicate or similar petition will make it harder" to get an official response.

Nov. 13, 2012 - The Real Fiscal Cliff is a Dollar and Debt Bubble - "Washington’s total debts and obligations are actually over $200 trillion. That’s about $2.8 million for every family of four in the nation", according to Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff, a former senior economist with Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers.

"As metaphors go, "fiscal cliff" must surely rank as one of the most striking ever coined. It implies something scary, irreversible, even fatal." Nov. 13, 2012 - Bernanke wanted American politicians and their constituents to feel his alarm over this "cliff" and the economic danger it posed. To put it bluntly, he wanted them to get it, and may have been aiming his remarks at a U.S. audience. But the whole world was listening... and with good reason. The general consensus seems to be that if the Americans don't figure out a way of avoiding the cliff, the potential damage caused by that failure on the Canadian and the global economy could be huge.

Nov. 19, 2012 - Aussie, Canada dollars termed reserve currencies - The Australian and Canadian dollars, the world’s leading commodity-rich currencies, are being formally classified as official reserve assets by the International Monetary Fund, marking the onset of a multi-currency reserve system and a new era in world money. Commentary: IMF expands list of official reserve assets.

In a seemingly innocuous yet highly portentous move, the IMF is asking member countries from next year to include the Australian and Canadian dollars in statistics supplied by reserve-holding nations on the make-up of their central banks’ foreign exchange reserves. The technical-sounding measure, reflecting growing diversification of the world’s $10.5 trillion of reserves, is likely over time to exert wide-ranging impact on world bond and equity markets.

Expanding by two the list of officially recognized reserve assets from the present five — the dollar, euro, sterling, yen and Swiss franc — signals a new phase in the development of reserve money. For most of the past 150 years, the world has had just two reserve currencies, with sterling in the lead until the First World War, and the dollar taking over as the prime asset during the past 100 years.

Sterling — although still the world’s third reserve currency on IMF figures, just ahead of the yen — has been in relative decline since the Second World War. The birth of the euro in 1999 has turned the European single currency into the world’s No. 2 reserve unit, but it is now officially accepted that the dollar and the euro share their role with smaller currencies.

Enshrining in official thinking a development already evident among reserve managers and on private markets, in a sense, does no more than catch up with reality. However, the IMF step has both practical and symbolic importance and will likely promote further asset diversification among official and private asset managers.

*update*
Nov. 25, 2012 - U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK: $16,298,781,964,090.76; The estimated population of the United States is 313,937,787 - so each citizen's share of this debt is $51,917.24; The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$3.87 billion per day since September 28, 2007!

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