john maddente | midwestern clarity

I sympathize with the great nation and people of America's oldest ally  FRANCE .  May God soothe their anguish at this difficult time following the deaths of 130 French citizens at the hands of jihadist murderers.   Our President is mistaken about the national security challenges we face.  Unfortunately, he proclaims that evil abroad is "contained".   All the while, t he national debt has grown more under his tenure than it has under all previous US presidents combined.  Perhaps that's why a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff famously quipped that the biggest " ...threat to our national security is our debt ."

D estruction of evidence, failure to comply with Congressional subpoenas and giving false testimony before Congress are impeachable offenses.  One thinks of Watergate which resulted in prison time for a few officials and forced the resignation of President Richard Nixon, but I'm actually referring to the IRS scandal I first wrote about over two years ago ( "IRS Plot Could Be Worse Than Watergate" June 9, 2013).   I'm surprised how little fallout has occurred since. An article for interested readers to examine was published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) last month by two Congressmen Ron  DeSantis  and Jim  Jordan .  Anyone who still denies existence of a partisan scandal might want to read this WSJ article: "The Stonewall at the Top of the IRS" -- July 28, 2015 by Congressman Ron DeSantis and Congressman Jim Jordan (Also worth reading in WSJ: "How Congress Botched the IRS Probe" -- May 15, 2015 by Foley & Lardner attorney, Ms....

W hile it's still too cool in southern Wisconsin to get excited about the weather, the morning sunlight streaming across my lawn is enough.  A week of travel on a sour stomach and poor weather in north Texas, makes me appreciate the moment all the more.  On a heavier note... I recently discovered a quote by John Stossel that captured my attention.  I don't know much about Stossel, other than he's a Libertarian .  I've seen a few of his topical reports on television and that's about it, but his pithy take on the nature of taxation is interesting.  Mr. Stossel says.... "Politicians, bureaucrats and the people they 'rescue' get money through force — taxation.   Don't think taxation is force? Try not paying, and see what happens."

“ I sn't this what got us in trouble in the first place? ”   That was the first reader comment following a CNN/Money web article concerning a recent shift by government sponsored entities (GSEs) who buy most mortgages from lenders, to accept down payments as low as 3%. The previous minimum was 5%.   In an era when banks are forced to hold more capital, the GSEs which became insolvent during the financial crisis and received one of the largest bailouts in American history, have cut the minimum down payment for home buyers. This policy change enacted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) which regulates the GSEs and by extension, influences trillions of dollars in mortgage exposure to American taxpayers, is worrisome.  Defenders of the FHFA actions point out that the change still protects taxpayers by requiring private mortgage insurance (PMI) a nd it applies only to issuance of fixed rate loans.   Fixed rate requirement To be fair, fixed rate...

Y ou've probably heard of crowd funding web sites like Kickstarter that function as online forums for investors to fund new business enterprises or community projects.  People fund these ventures because they believe a given solicitor's work has intellectual merit, serves some worthy ideal, or includes a compelling new technology.  Contributors do not receive any equity or financial return in exchange for their "investment".    There are also online forums for "Debt Crowdfunding" which reward investors with a financial return on invested capital.  One leader in this space is Lending Club Corporation which was incorporated in 2007, trades on the NYSE under ticker LC and is registered with the SEC.  A competing company is called  Prosper Funding LLC.    Lending Club touts itself as " the world’s largest online marketplace connecting borrowers and investors " and it has made a palpable impact on the future of consumer lending by facilitati...