You have to give credit where credit is due, and the FBI and the Department of Justice deserve to be recognized for their effort to crack down on mortgage fraud schemes. From March 1 to June 18, 2008, more than 400 defendants were charged for roles in mortgage fraud schemes as part of operation "Malicious Mortgage." The FBI estimates that approximately $1 billion in losses were inflicted by the mortgage fraud schemes employed in these cases.

Most recently, two senior managers of failed Bear Stearns Hedge Funds were indicted yesterday in separate mortgage-related security fraud cases.

Since July 2002, the DOJ has made almost 1,300 corporate fraud convictions, including the convictions of more than 200 chief executive offices and corporate presidents, more than 12 corporate vice presidents, and more than 50 chief financial officers.

These efforts are crucial for the benefit of American homeowners and taxpayers and the housing market. All the agencies involved deserve a great deal of respect for their efforts.

On Wednesday, I appeared on the O'Reilly Factor to discuss the Countrywide Mortgage Scandal involving “VIPs” Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND). Take a look.

Inflation was up in 2007, but this stands out because the 16 previous years were close to inflation-free; living standards are the highest they have ever been, including living standards for the middle class and for the poor.

All forms of pollution other than greenhouse gases are in decline; cancer, heart disease and stroke incidence are declining; crime is in a long-term cycle of significant decline; education levels are at all-time highs.

Apparently, John McCain can't say that not everything is terrible, lest he be nailed again by the DNC -- and seem terminally out of step with the hysterical zeitgeist being promoted by the press.  But facts are facts, and they are worth knowing.

This is something I just had to share with all of you now that I received the pictures. Last week, I got to stop by the New York Stock Exchange and meet with their new CEO, Duncan Neiderauer. Despite the meeting starting in the early AM, this was one of the most interesting and worthwhile experiences I’ve had during my time in Congress. We met for almost an hour to discuss ways to enhance America’s global competitiveness.

Soon I’ll be posting a recent column I sent to the local Chambers and Rotaries in my district that highlights ways to put America’s economy on the fast track to greater prosperity. 

Barack Obama will deliver a speech today in NYC on the economy.  The truth is that there is not a single thing  Obama's would do as president that would make you or I more wealthy -- and there is a lot in he would do to make us less wealthy.  

An Obama Administration, based on his campaign and his record, would likely include higher income taxes, higher corporate taxes, and, at least, a step closer to socialized healthcare.  And that's just the things we know about ...

Of course, rhetorically, Obama almost always acknowledges both sides of any given argument, which tends to give the false impression that he is open-minded.  The fact that the the non-partisan National Journal named him the most liberal senator in 2007 demonstrates which ideology he always settles on, after acknowledging the other side. 

When it comes to the economy, Obama frequently mentions the conservative fiscal policies that have brought us unprecedented wealth since the Reagan Administration -- but at the end of the day -- he looks to FDR's New Deal.  As he wrote in his book:

“But our history should give us confidence that we don’t have to choose between an oppressive, government-run economy and a chaotic and unforgiving capitalism. ... What might such a new economic consensus look like? ... [W]e can begin to modernize and rebuild the social contract that FDR first stitched together in the middle of the last century.” (Barack Obama, The Audacity Of Hope, 2006, pp. 158-159)

Obama's positive rhetoric often belies his Leftist ideology.  Anyone hoping he be a "deliverer" who will invent some sort of hybrid system that provides for a fiscal "third way" -- has not been paying attention to his past positions, or his campaign promises. 

While Obama will likely seek to talk-down the economy, harp on the down-turn, and promise government give-aways for supporting him, McCain is actually providing the public with straight talk, and honest solutions.  For example, one of the things McCain supports -- but Obama will all most certainly demagogue against as a "tax cut for the rich" -- is the reasonable and important idea of cutting the corporate tax rate.

McCain realizes the fact that only Japan has a higher corporate tax rate than the U.S., puts us at a strategic disadvantage.  Moreover, he realzes that cutting it-- and the capital gains tax -- would provide an influx of money for businesses to begin creating jobs, building factories, etc. (not bad for a guy who supposedly isn't an "expert" on the economy.)

McCain's plan would mean 401 K's would also bounce back by the end of the year, and that would be good news for many of us (something like 60 percent of Americans now "investors" in some form or another -- so this will be harder for Obama to criticize than it would have been in the past). 

And because people who create businesses today are concerned about long-term economics, a long-term solution is also a short-term solution.

If Americans hope to make this a short-term down-turn, they will resist the temptation to support Obama's long-term Leftist fiscal policies.