A Question; An Observation, and An Outrage

On the 26th of December, Bernie Sanders sent the following Tweet:
Bernie Sanders @SenSander
"You have families out there paying 6, 8, 10 percent on student debt but you can refinance your homes at 3 percent. What sense is that?"

The question: Can Senator Sanders really be so economically illiterate?

Senator, loans backed by assets have lower rates because they are lower risk. If you default on your mortgage, they bank can take the house. If you default on your student loan, can the government confiscate your brain?

The Observation
I saw an article the other day reposted on Facebook from the liberal online site www.manymanyadventures.com entitled, "The Top 7 Countries To Move To If Donald Trump Becomes President".
Here is the list:

7. Ecuador

6. Bahrain

5. New Zealand

4. Germany

3. Luxembourg
2. Singapore 

1. Switzerland

 

These type articles and "I'm moving" claims always make me laugh. All are pretty nice places to be sure but there are just a couple problems. One is most Americans can't speak a foreign language and 6 of these 7 are non-English speaking countries. People speak English there but it isn't the first language. Good luck Yank!

 

The other is most Americans have never lived outside the U.S. or even traveled to a foreign country (No, an all inclusive week at Sandals in Jamaica doesn't count) nor do they even have a passport. I'd also be willing to bet they couldn't pick out any of these countries on a world map.   

 

No, none of these people ever actually leave the country but we can still hope, can't we?

 

The Outrage

US Attorney declines prosecution of former VA execs  Published December 29, 2015 Associated Press http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/12/29/us-attorney-declines-prosecution-former-va-execs.html

Federal prosecutors have decided not to press criminal charges against two former executives at the Department of Veterans Affairs who were accused of manipulating the agency's hiring system for their own gain. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said Thursday it has declined a referral from the VA inspector general for criminal prosecution of Diana Rubens and Kimberly Graves. The inspector general said in a report this fall that Rubens and Graves forced lower-ranking regional managers to accept job transfers against their will. Rubens and Graves then stepped into the vacant positions themselves, keeping their pay while reducing their responsibilities. Rubens had been earning $181,497 as director of the Philadelphia regional office for the Veterans Benefits Administration, while Graves earned $173,949 as leader of the St. Paul, Minnesota, regional office. Before taking the regional jobs, Rubens was a deputy undersecretary at the VA's Washington headquarters, while Graves was director of VBA's 14-state North Atlantic Region. Rubens and Graves were accused of obtaining more than $400,000 in questionable moving expenses through a relocation program for VA executives, the inspector general's report said. The U.S. Attorney's office said it has "referred the matter to the VA for any administrative action that is deemed appropriate." Rubens and Graves were demoted in November, but their demotions were rescinded this month after a paperwork mix-up. The VA has said it will reissue the demotions after the problem is resolved.

In a conversation with a friend, I predicted this would happen. I wish I had written about it in this blog at the time.  So they were demoted? Big deal! They should have been fired and sent to prison!!! It has also been reported that the government can't do anything to recover the $400,000 these two embezzled and will probably eventually be permitted to retire with all their benefits.
This is like something from a Third World Banana Republic - there is no rule of law in America anymore.