Blog Archives
Where's Obama? Brackets or Being an Effective Leader
With the recent events in Japan and Libya, one has to ask where is President Obama’s response in the midst of these events. No need to ask, all you have to do is look at the headlines. Obama has shown that he is more focused on predicting bracket winners for the NCAA Basketball tournaments (both men and women), rather than the global affairs. It is no wonder why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looks more Presidential than Obama, as she is pulling overtime work to address these issues. Meanwhile, Obama, who favors Kansas and Connecticut to win NCAA tournaments, is traveling on global missions to focus on economic development. I guess this is what you would call a “vacation,” in Obama terms.
Well, it’s obvious that Obama has shown that effective leadership revolves around vacations. In fact, he has traveled on more “vacations,” when troubled times have come about. The Washington Times wrote an editorial recently chiding Obama for his golf outings, basketball bracket selections, and his trip to Brazil, rather than handling the potential of a government shutdown and the crisis situations in both Libya and Japan.
The Mideast crisis is continuing, and Hillary Rodham Clinton has been the one taking the 3 a.m. phone calls. The secretary of state has been dealing with political reform in Egypt, a military crackdown in Bahrain and the continuing civil war in Libya. However, she is hampered by a chief executive who can’t make up his mind which course of action would best secure his place in history. It’s no wonder she took the opportunity to tell CNN she had no interest in continuing in the job in a theoretical Obama second term.
It’s 4 a.m., Mr. President, and you have obviously been hitting the “snooze” button since 3 a.m.
Side note: Since Obama has a penchant for bracket picks, let’s analyze what has happened to his bracket. Of course, everyone is feeling his pain, as the following picks have gone down to defeat: Michigan State, Louisville, and Georgetown. Basically, his bracket is the same as my bracket…not too shabby. This is coming from a hardcore NCAA basketball fan, but being an effective leader is more important than predicting winners in a sports tournament…don’t you think?
Where the Candidates Stand: George Allen on Earmarks
This is the first part in a series that CCC will be running for the 2012 Republican U.S. Senate Primary. Yes, I know 2012 is some time away, but it never hurts to use this as a reference throughout the year to ponder. The first part in this series focuses on earmarks, and it does not count as an endorsement of any candidate featured.
When George Allen was serving in the U.S. Senate, he was voted against legislation that included government waste and would abuse the taxpayer dollars. When it came to the Senate voting on funding the “Bridge to Nowhere,” Allen was one of fifteen Senators at the time who voted in favor of shifting funding to help New Orleans and surrounding region recover from the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Allen has been criticized in the past for supporting earmarks. However, Allen voted in favor of earmark reform in the Senate, as he supported legislation that would create a 60-vote point of order against earmarks added in conference to appropriations or authorization bill (the earmark would be killed if point of order was upheld). Allen also voted in favor of expanding the definition of earmarks and to increase transparency. In terms of transparency, Allen was co-sponsor of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which passed the Senate. Additionally, Allen has spoken out in support of the work that Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has been doing in terms of eliminating earmarks. In his blog entry, Allen said:
“The people have spoken. Travelling around Virginia the past few months, one thing is clear
to me: Virginians and Americans are tired of wasteful Bridges to Nowhere, orchid gardens
in Pittsburgh, and indoor rainforests in Iowa. These wasteful projects have tainted their view
of all earmarks. And, the Republicans should forego earmarks and cut much more spending
than just earmarks. I am proud of the leadership that Eric Cantor, Jim DeMint and others
showed on this issue.”
During the 2012 elections, there will be no doubt that the economy will still be one of the most important issues in the U.S. Senate race in Virginia. Government spending reforms need to be addressed by every candidate.
Way to Drive Business Out of Virginia, Dave!
According to The Washington Post, Del. Dave Albo (R-Springfield) is trying to sabotage Gov. Bob McDonnell’s efforts of bringing jobs to the Commonwealth by proposing legislation to tax out-of-state corporations that sell services in Virginia as a way to generate funds for transportation improvements. These corporations include law firms and computer programming companies.
I really love that Albo is not considering this a tax increase. It is a tax increase, plain and simple.
Albo sent the proposal to his Republican colleagues in the House Wednesday with a note explaining that it is not a tax increase.
“This is not a tax increase on Virginians,” Albo said. “They’ve got to vote for this. I can get 51 votes in the House and I’ll get every reasonable Republican.”
Chris over at Mason Conservative has a great post about this, and his point is spot on regarding transportation.
Of course this solves nothing because Virginia’s standard for transportation spending is still based on road miles and not overall usage – which means the rest of the states roads look great but there is never enough for us no matter how much we tax.
It is my hope that every reasonable Republican will stand on principle and vote against this bill. This legislation will place the burden on non-Virginians and make Virginia less attractive to new businesses.
Survey says we are headed the wrong way
You know, I hate being a naysayer. I hate it, especially during this time of year. According to a recent Rasmussen Reports survey, 71% of voters believe our country is headed on the wrong track.
Why doesn’t this surprise me? The President and Congress continually pass legislation that places our economy in harms way. Unemployment numbers are at an all-time high and the government seems to be consumed by wasting the taxpayers dollar (rather than putting it to good use by giving it back to them). Add to this, the fact that Americans are also concerned with how the Obama Administration is dealing with the Muslim world and they recognize that U.S. relations with Israel will continue to worsen over time.
If anything, it will take a long time to get the country back in the right direction with the Obama Administration. The only way we can see a possible turnaround might be in 2012. In the meantime, the incoming Congress needs to address the unemployment crisis, focusing on lowering taxes across the board, and cutting all unnecessary expenditures.
Tax Increases are Not the Way to Rebuild our Economy
Guest Post by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.)
The American people continue to face one of the most challenging times in our nation’s history. The latest unemployment numbers mark the 16th consecutive month that our nation’s unemployment rate has been at or above 9.5 percent – the longest period since the Great Depression. Unfortunately, these are numbers that the American people are all too familiar with and yet the Democrats in Congress continue to pursue an agenda that will further threaten American job creators and families. This week House Democrats pushed through legislation, without my support, which includes massive tax increases on American families and small businesses who are already struggling to make ends meet. While the legislation would make permanent some of the tax relief provisions from the 2001 and 2003 tax laws such as the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit, it allows other existing tax cuts to expire, resulting in tax increases on January 1, 2011.
While it is common-sense that you should not raise taxes on employers at a time when unemployment is so high, this point seems lost on the Democrats in Congress who aredetermined to raise taxes on America’s job creators. Small business owners across the country want to invest in their firms and hire new workers, but instead they are bracing for costly new tax increases. It’s been estimated that these tax increases will hit 750,000 small business owners who employ more than 25 percent of our total workforce.
Additionally, American families will be hit hard with the reinstatement of the estate tax, also known as the death tax. The Democrats’ legislation allows the death tax relief fromthe 2001 tax law to expire which means that the tax will return with a 55% tax rate which will penalize many small business owners including farmers. These folks have spent a lifetime building a business and creating jobs only to have their families hit with confiscatory taxes often requiring the family business or farm to be sold.
The only way to help rebuild our struggling economy is to ensure American families and small businesses are not confronted with these oppressive tax hikes. For this reason I am a strong supporter of the Tax Relief Certainty Act, which would permanently extend the current tax rates, provide a permanent repeal of the death tax and implement permanent relief for the Alternative Minimum Tax.
The American people are demanding that Congress abandon its job-killing, tax-and-spend policies and instead focus on real solutions that will create jobs, putting Americans back to work and restore economic prosperity to our nation. If Democrats are serious about job creation,there’s one clear way forward, and that’s for us to come together in a bipartisan way and passlegislation immediately that cuts spending and stops all of the approaching tax hikes.Congress must focus on passing legislation which puts money back into the hands ofthose who can really turn our economy around – the American people and small businesses.
Bill Bolling: Chief Job Creation Officer
Recently, the Roanoke Times had an article focusing on Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling and his role as Chief Job Creation Officer. The McDonnell Administration is focused on making Virginia a better place to do business, as their focus has been on economic development. Bolling has done an exemplary job in his role. As the Roanoke Times highlighted in their article, Bolling saved one of the NASCAR races from being moved to Kansas City.
Bolling’s star continues to shine through his role as Chief Job Creation Officer, as well as his overall service.
Quantitative Easing Explained
Perhaps, we need to look at what the Federal Reserve has been up to and how we ended up in the fiscal crisis we are in now.
Americans Are Asking “Where are the Jobs?”
Guest Post by Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.)
Just two weeks ago the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest unemployment numbers and once again it was more bad news. The national unemployment rate is at 9.6 percent, with 95,000 jobs lost in the month of September alone. With joblessness topping 9.5 percent for the past fourteen months in a row, it is the longest such stretch since the Great Depression. Despite this alarming announcement, the Congress continues to pursue an agenda that will further threaten the American economy. While Americans are asking “Where are the jobs?,” the Majority in Congress continues to demonstrate that they do not appreciate how private sector jobs are created.
Twenty months ago President Obama signed into law the trillion dollar “stimulus” bill on the promise that it would create jobs immediately and keep unemployment below eight percent. The “stimulus” bill has failed to create robust private sector jobs. It certainly proves that the Democrats policies of higher taxes, runaway spending, government takeovers and record debt are having a chilling effect on the nation’ s small businesses, the economic engine of our economy.
I am committed to finding real solutions to address our nation’ s unemployment crisis. The first thing we must do is remove barriers to employment including the threat of higher taxes, new government regulations and costly mandates. It is common-sense that you should not raise costs and taxes on employers at a time when unemployment is at record levels. By stopping the looming tax increases it would allow working families to keep more money in their pockets, encourage investment and provide financial relief for America’ s small businesses. It would also provide immediate certainty for American job creators so they can hire new workers with the confidence that a higher tax bill is not on the way.
In addition, we must restore confidence in America’ s economic future by restraining federal spending. This would allow banks who are financing the debt to invest in more productive activities, like small business growth to help turn our economy around. Other common-sense solutions for job-growth including reforming the unemployment system to help those out of work find jobs, increasing the education and training of our workforce, and removing unnecessary barriers to domestic energy production. Energy independence by itself could create millions of American jobs with a national goal of reaching energy independence from foreign oil.
The American people want to see an end to the economic uncertainty and a plan to create jobs. Congress must abandon its job-killing, tax-and-spend policies and instead focus on real solutions that will grow our economy, create jobs and get Americans back to work.
To contact me about this or any other matter, please visit my website at www.goodlatte.house.gov.
Today's Dose of Biden: You're the most dullest audience
In today’s segment (I know I have been falling off the tracks…forgive me, as my laptop is fried at this point) of Biden gaffes, The Hill reports that Vice President Joe Biden told an audience at a rally in Wisconsin today that they were the dullest audience he has ever spoken to. You have to hand it to Biden…he knows how to captivate attention.
Today in History: TARP
Two years ago today, the first bailout, TARP was passed in Congress and President George W. Bush signed it into law. (Even more ironic, this was also the two-year anniversary of John McCain’s campaign defeat, as he decided to suspend campaign operations to vote for this disaster.) Many of the TARP supporters claim that this was the only way to prevent a total economic collapse at a lower cost to the taxpayers. Of course, without passing TARP, many were saying that we were headed into a second Great Depression.
Fast forward to 2010, since TARP was enacted and many of the banks were bailed out, the government continued this trend by bailing out other failing industries, such as the auto manufacturers in Detroit. If anything, TARP paved the way for failing industries to receive money from the government to help them stay alive. Unfortunately with the passage of TARP, there will be more negative ramifications from this bill.
The Congressional Oversight Panel said, “The greatest consequence of the TARP may be that the government has lost some of its ability to respond to financial crises.”
The program also helped politicize the Fed, putting it in Congress’s crosshairs for its willingness to work alongside the Treasury Department to aid Wall Street. It spawned deep distrust on Capitol Hill, threatening Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s nomination and prompting Congress to curtail some of the Fed’s autonomy and authority. The central bank is now subject to broader oversight than it was before and is limited in its ability to single out individual institutions for financial rescues.
TARP may have saved America in 2008. This does not mean that TARP or any other bailout program will work in the future. Perhaps, it is time to remember free market economics before bailing out failing businesses and other entities in the future.
