Month: July 2011

Categories
Politics

President Obama – No Guaranteed Social Security Checks If G.O.P. Wins Debt Debate

In an interview with CBS today, President Obama laid it all on the line and explained the grave seriousness of the political game the Republicans are playing by not allowing the debt ceiling to be raised. The President explained that if the August 2nd deadline passes and no deal is met, then the 20 million Social Security checks scheduled to go out on August 3rd, might not.

I cannot guarantee that these checks go out on august 3rd if we haven’t resolved this issue.

The President is trying to get the rich to bear some of the weight of an economy that has benefited them tremendously. He has already suggested social spending cuts to programs that benefited the poor and middle class, and is asking Republicans to end some of the tax loopholes enjoyed by the rich. Republicans however, are not budging, and maintains that those tax loopholes stay off the table.

Categories
Employment Politics United States

How To End The Vicious Cycle And Get America Working Again

Image by Koshyk via Flickr

It is simple math, really! The primary incentive for any Corporation is to make money, to make a profit. But in order for these companies to achieve their  goal, their products or services must be in demand and then purchased. When the demand is there and consumers are able to purchase these products or services, companies make a profit then produce more to satisfy consumer demand, thus more profits.

The problem with this economy is not a matter of supply and demand. Records show that Corporations are sitting on a collective financial nest egg of about $2 trillion in cash, so the ability to produce is there. And the problem is not a lack of demand either, for as long as there are consumers, there will always be a demand. The problem with this economy is the ability of consumers to purchase. It’s a vicious cycle – take away consumer’s ability to purchase, and the company’s profit incentive is no longer achievable. If the company can’t see a way to be profitable, they lay off workers and sit on their nest-egg. These laid off workers then join a population of non-consumers who don’t have the ability to purchase and the cycle continues.

What then, is the answer? As far as I can see, the answer is simple – give consumers the ability to purchase.

The best, most ideal way to do this is with jobs. If consumers are working, they get a paycheck and thus, are able to purchase. But in this economy, jobs are becoming scarce because Corporations are trying to hold on to their profits and are laying off. If we can’t attack the problem by making Corporations hire, then we must attack it from the other end  – creating the ability for consumers to buy, thus, increasing demand. When this demand is increased, the profit margin is realized by these Corporations, and hiring is increased to meet the demand of the consumers.

How do you  empower the consumers? There are two ways:

  1. The government must pick up the slack and take the initiative. A perfect example of this was the actions of  President Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression, where the government took more of an active role in The New Deal and was able to reduce unemployment by converting auto manufacturing plants into factories to meet the demands of World War 2. This action alone employed millions of unemployed Americans, giving them a paycheck and essentially reversing the effects of the Great Depression.
  2. A massive direct Stimulus Bill – This will put real dollars into the hands of consumers, thus, giving them the ability to consume. Because of the nature of this method, it is not a long-term sustained effort to get the economy going, but it will provide a necessary needed jolt that can get corporations hiring again to meet the sudden demand by these newly empowered consumers. More hires will eventually lead to more paychecks, thus reversing the effects of this recession.
Can this government employ these two measures now to get the economy back on the right track? Yes, they can, but it takes both sides to come to the table with a real genuine goal to get America back to work. We’ve heard a lot about “shovel ready projects.” These are real areas where people can get work and begin the process of ending this recession. Bridges, roads, schools and America’s communication infrastructures need repair. We talk about green technology and clean energy, well now is the time to put people to work getting these ideas implemented. If Roosevelt had the ability to do it back in the 1930/40’s, there is no reason why it can’t be done now.

So if a simple person like myself can figure this out, why can’t the elected elites in Washington do the same?

Categories
Barack Obama Democratic Politics Republican United States White House

Obama To Republicans – I Will Not Fold!

President Obama called the Republicans’ bluff today, when he stated clearly that he will not sign any short-term deal on the debt ceiling. When asked whether he would veto such a deal, the President replied, “I will not sign a 30-day, or 60-day, or 90-day extension.”

He then accused the Republicans of having a “my way or the highway” stance on the debt ceiling. He also gave this warning – “I don’t see a path to a deal if they don’t budge. Period!”

The President and Democratic leaders have proposed a deal to Republicans totaling $4 trillion in spending cuts over a period of 10 years, in exchange for a few hundred billion in tax revenue. Republicans however, called this a “non-starter,” because taxes would be imposed on millionaires and billionaires. Led by House Speaker John Boehner, Republicans are demanding a smaller, short-term increase in the debt ceiling of about $2 trillion.

The President did not budge, saying “this is the United States of America. And, you know, we don’t manage our affairs in three-month increments.” And referring to those Republicans who have already said they would not support raising the debt ceiling, the President said, “It’s irresponsible. They know better.”

Of course, Boehner continued his call for the middle class to bear the weight, while the rich skates through for free!

Categories
Politics

Another Lie – Jeff Sessions – “The Bush Tax Cuts Led to Yearly Revenue Increases.”

No matter how they try to distort the truth, one thing’s for sure – recorded facts will always remain the same (unless your name is Jon Kyl of Arizona, who unsuccessfully tried to change the record after lying about Planned Parenthood on the floor of the Senate). No, this post is not about Jon Kyl, but rather his Republican congressional lying buddy – Senator Jeff Sessions.

Yesterday on CBS’s Face The Nation, Sessions apparently forgot the power of records and stated that the Bush Tax cuts led to increased revenue for each year the taxes were cut. The way that lie unknowingly fell from Mr. Sessions’ mouth, was in response to a correct statement made by a Democrat on the panel, Mr. Bill Nelson. Nelson stated the facts, saying;

  “Jeffrey, you have to acknowledge that part of our deficit problem was the huge Bush tax cuts in the early part of the decade. What was handed off to the new administration of over a trillion dollars of annual deficit, that accounted for almost half of it. If you’re going to be real about the numbers, you’re going to have to address these kinds of things.”

Jeffery must have thought he was on a Fox News program, where facts and records don’t matter. He responded to Mr. Nelson’s statement by saying;

“That’s not accurate, Bill. The revenue went up every single year after those tax cuts were put in. The revenue is down now because of the low economy … It’s not because taxes have been cut in recent years. It’s because people are not making money. They’re not paying as much taxes. So increasing taxes on that weakened economy is not the way to increase revenue. “

Oh Jeffery, when will you Republicans learn about the Google machine?

A quick search revealed the facts – according to the Bureau of Economic Data, and the White House Office of Management Data, it seems that what Mr. Sessions said, (brace yourself) was a lie. Here are the facts:

  • In 2000, Before Bush took office, Tax Revenue came in at $2.0 Trillion
  • In 2001, Tax revenue totaled – $1.9 Trillion
  • In 2002, the first year of the Bush Tax Cuts went into effect, Tax revenue fell to $1.8 Trillion
  • In 2003, tax revenue fell to $1.7 Trillion – This, after two more tax cuts went into effect over the next two years, revenue saw a 10% decline.
CBS reports the following;
Analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice claims that the Bush era tax cuts resulted in $1,918.9 trillion in lower revenue from FY2001 through FY2009, and that the total cost if implementing the cuts (including interest payments on debt) was $2,141 trillion.
But don’t let the facts get in the way of your lies Mr. Sessions, just keep doing what you do. We’ll keep fact-checking and using the Google machine to prove you wrong.
Categories
Iowa Mitt Romney Politics Republican

Tim Pawlenty Beats Up On Michele Bachmann…Side-steps Question About Romeny

One of the characteristics that describe Republican 2012 Presidential contender Tim Pawlenty among his fellow Republicans is timid. Some would even call him soft, so it was no surprise when he was given the chance today on Meet The Press to criticize his fellow Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, Pawlenty again side-stepped the question. But when the question turned to Michele Bachmann, Pawlenty didn’t bite his tongue, stating that the female Republican contender don’t have a record to stand on.

When host, David Gregory asked Pawlenty about Mitt Romney’s health care policies, the question was a straight forward one. “Are you saying he [Romney] cannot be the nominee, unelectable as, as the nominee of the party, because of his position on health care?”

Question: Can Romney be the Republican nominee? Is Romney unelectable? The answer should have been simple – yes he can be the nominee, or no, he cannot!

Instead, the softness of Pawlenty went on full display.

GOV. PAWLENTY: I think if you’re going to prosecute the political case against President Obama and one of the top three or four issues is going to be the direction of the country in health care, it’s going to be very difficult for our nominee to be one of the co-conspirators or co- designers of that.

MR. GREGORY: I know that’s the argument. I’m asking you what your conclusion is.

GOV. PAWLENTY: It’s going to be very difficult for him to be successful with that on his record.

MR. GREGORY: In other words, he can’t be the nominee if he’s got this background?

GOV. PAWLENTY: I think as we — it’s going to be difficult for him to beat the president with that on his record. And, you know, his record is beyond just health care. It’s also a question of how did he do on judicial appointments? Where did we stand on bail outs? So all of us are going to have to account for our record. I’ve got a record. Governor Romney’s got a record. All the other candidates have record. I’ve got the best conservative record in the race.

The question was left unanswered.

Then the question turned to the only female in the race so far, Michele Bachmann. Pawlenty was asked what he thought about Bachmann’s candidacy and to distinguish himself from Mrs. Bachmann. Another simple question and amazingly, Pawlenty had a simple answer.

 “I like Congresswoman Bachmann, I’ve campaigned for her, I respect her,” said Pawlenty on the program. “But her record of accomplishment in Congress is nonexistent. It’s nonexistent. And so we’re not looking for folks who, you know, just have speech capabilities, we’re looking for people who can lead a large enterprise in a public setting and drive it to conclusion. I’ve done that, she hasn’t.”

Although I agree with Pawlenty and the facts back up his statement that Michele Bachmann have no accomplishments in Congress, one can only wonder why when the question is asked about a male he chooses not to participate in pointing out that opponent’s deficiencies. But ask about his female opponent, and Pawlenty suddenly had a lot to say.

I actually looked up the meaning of “soft” in the dictionary, and no, Pawlenty’s picture was not there, but it’s still early. Give it some time…!

Categories
Barack Obama Medicare Politics Republican Tax United States weekly address White House

G.O.P Putting America In Default Status To Avoid A 3% Tax Hike On Millionaires

In his weekly address to the nation, President Obama spoke about the looming debt ceiling, and the discussion presently going on between Democrats and Republicans. The President detailed what both sides have already agreed to, saying;

“The good news is, we agree on some of the big things. We agree that after a decade of racking up deficits and debt, we finally need to get our fiscal house in order. We agree that to do that, both sides are going to have to step outside their comfort zones and make some political sacrifices. And we agree that we simply cannot afford to default on our national obligations for the first time in our history; that we need to uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of America.”

Mr. Obama also spoke about the differences between what he believes must be done and the position the Republicans have taken to protect the rich, saying, “I believe we need a balanced approach. That means taking on spending in our domestic programs and our defense programs. It means addressing the challenges in programs like Medicare so we can strengthen those programs and protect them for future generations. And it means taking on spending in the tax code – spending on tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest Americans.”

And there lies the problem, the stumbling block between Democrats and Republicans. Mr. Obama’s wish to take on the spending in the tax code is what Republicans are strongly against. It must be noted here, that taking on this tax code equals a 3% tax raise on millionaires, essentially taking their tax rate from 36% to 39%, which is what the rate was under the Clinton Administration.

Republicans are saying no to that 3% raise for the rich, but they are all for spending cuts in programs that benefit the middle class, like cuts in Medicare and social Security.

Categories
Politics

Republicans Vote To Defund Space Exploration

The Republicans in the House of Representatives have been on a rampage, trying to take as much from the middle class as they’re allowed to, and in many ways, they have succeeded. Now, House Republicans are turning their cross-hairs on NASA and one project they are aiming to shutd0wn is the James Webb Space Telescope, a device that will replace the Hubble Space Telescope, and promises to take space exploration to a whole new level.

Work on the James Webb Space Telescope began in 2004, and had an original cost of $1.6 billion. It is scheduled to launch in 2016 and compared with its more advanced technologies to the Hubble, the James Webb Telescope will be able to go further into space where no man or machine has ever gone – an estimated distance of 1 million miles outside the earth’s atmosphere, capturing images from the formations of galaxies and stars, images never seen by man.

Although the project began 7 years ago, the original costs were grossly understated. The $1.6 billion has ballooned to more than $6.5 billion, and for this reason, House Republicans have voted to strip the James Webb Telescope of $1.9 billion, effectively killing the entire project. The only hope for the project to continue would be the Democratic controlled Senate, who must also vote on the measure.

Tod Lauer, of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, had this to say about the Republican’s decision to defund the project:

“[Cancellation] would be an unmitigated disaster for cosmology. After two decades of pushing the Hubble to its limits, which has revolutionised astronomy, the next step would be to pack up and give up. The Hubble is just good enough to see what we’re missing at the start of time.” The James Webb would be able to fill in those gaps.”

The good thing is, Neil Armstrong already landed on the moon. This batch of Republicans would have tried taking that away too.

Categories
Arizona Mitt Romney Politics Republican Sarah Palin United States

America Slowly Abandons The Spectacle That Is Sarah Palin

Even in Alaska, Sarah Palin’s popularity is plummeting. A new poll is shedding some light on the Republican and her possible quest to run for President in 2012.

Ivan Moore Research finds that nearly half of all Alaska voters view Ms. Palin in negative terms. Forty-nine percent of the 647 registered Alaskan voters it polled said they felt negatively about Ms. Palin , while only 39 percent say they held a positive opinion of Ms. Palin.

The poll comes as the former Alaska governor continues to consider entering the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Ms. Palin, who has increased her national profile in recent weeks, launched a nationwide bus tour last month, but abandoned the media spectacle after just one week.

Now we understand her possible move to Arizona.

Categories
Barack Obama marriage Politics Republican Party Slavery United States

For Bachmann, Children Born Into Slavery Were Happier

Call her crazy, call her insane, call her deranged. But no matter what you call her, just don’t call Michele Bachmann a woman of intelligence. Michele Bachmann has stepped up to the plate, and signed a pledge claiming that children born under slavery, were better off than children born under President Obama’s Administration.

Yes, “dumb” and “stupid” also accurately describe this Republican contender for the 2012 Presidential election.

The pledge that caught Mrs. Bachmann’s attention was written by Bob Vander Plaats of Ohio and is called, “The Marriage Vow: A Declaration of Dependence upon MARRIAGE and FAMILY.” In it, the signee agrees to some very outlandish positions. All Republican candidates for President in 2012 are expected to sign the pledge – a pledge that calls for, among other things;

  • Reinstating Don’t Ask Don’t Tell – the military policy that requires military personal to keep their sexual orientation a secret. After a 17 year run in the military, this policy came to an end in December of 2010 when Congress voted and got it overturned.
  • Rejecting Sharia Islam and all other anti-woman, anti-human rights forms of totalitarian control. – Republicans, for whatever reasoning, seems to be under the impression that Sharia Law is coming to America, and the U.S Constitution, (which is what the laws of this nation are governed by) will be shredded to pieces.
  • “Recognition that robust childbearing and reproduction is beneficial to U.S. demographic, economic, strategic and actuarial health and security.” – Another attempt to ban abortion, and with the word “robust,” the implication is made that no matter how the pregnancy occurs, whether its through rape or incest, “childbearing and reproduction is beneficial to U.S demographic.”
  • A Federal Amendment to the U.S Constitution, defining marriage as an act between a man and a woman.
These are just some of the positions the signees of this pledge will be asked to uphold. But what really stands in the “Declaration of Dependence upon MARRIAGE and FAMILY” pledge, is the section that says this;
“Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.”
Cheryl Contee from Jack and Jill Politics said it best:

Given that families were broken up regularly for sales during slavery and that rape by masters was pretty common, this could not be more offensive. I mean, putting aside the statistics on this, which are likely off-base, I could not be more angry.

When will Republicans inquire with actual Black people whether or not we’re ok with invoking slavery to score cheap political points? It has to stop. It is the opposite of persuasive  and is another reason Republicans repel us. It’s hard to believe that Michele Bachmann would be foolish enough to sign this pledge.
The Desmoines Register reports that Michele Bachmann is the first Republican presidential hopeful to sign the pledge.
Oh Michele, just when we think we’ve seen how low you can go, you somehow manage to surprise us – proving once again that we should never underestimate your infinite stupidity.
Categories
CNN Politics Republican United States washington

Republicans And Their Jim Crow Ways

Former President Bill Clinton just figured out what the Republicans are doing. In a speech to a liberal group at the Campus Progress’s annual conference in Washington on Wednesday, Mr. Clinton broke the news – the Republicans are trying to disenfranchise minority voters.

“I can’t help thinking since we just celebrated the Fourth of July and we’re supposed to be a country dedicated to liberty that one of the most pervasive political movements going on outside Washington today is the disciplined, passionate, determined effort of Republican governors and legislators to keep most of you from voting next time.

“There has never been in my lifetime, since we got rid of the poll tax and all the Jim Crow burdens on voting, the determined effort to limit the franchise that we see today.

“They [Republicans] are trying to make the 2012 electorate look more like the 2010 electorate than the 2008 electorate,” Clinton added, referencing the dip in youth voter turnout in the 2010 elections. “Are you fighting? You should be fighting it.”

Jim Crow laws were enacted in the United States for almost 100 years, from 1876 to 1965. The laws were responsible for what was called, “separate but equal,” – a doctrine that demanded separate facilities be set up for blacks and whites, from restaurants to restrooms to drinking fountains to schools and other public places. Jim Crow laws also implemented stiff fines and fees, designed to keep blacks from voting.

So far, 13 Republican governed states have changed their voter registration laws, including Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida and Texas. And although these Republican governors wouldn’t admit to it, the reasoning for making voting more difficult in these states is to discourage the minority vote.

But Clinton is not the first to call out the Republicans on their Jim Crow-like efforts to keep the minority vote away from the polls. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic Committee Chairman told CNN back in June that Republicans “want to literally drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws.”

Mrs. Schultz eventually apologize for using the words “Jim Crow,” what she called, ” the wrong analogy to use,” but the fact still remains the same – trying to make voting more difficult for a particular group of people, whether its 1911 or 2011, whether it’s through fines or changing voting laws to disenfranchise this group, the words Jim Crow in my view, are very appropriate.

Categories
Politics

Rupert Murdoch’s U.K Paper Shuts Down Amid Phone Hacking Investigation

Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News and the United Kingdom’s “News Of The World” news paper, got some bad news today. The 168 year old paper is shutting down, publishing its last paper this Sunday amid an ongoing investigation into the company’s authorization of phone tapping.

BBC reports a statement from the current chairman of News Of The World, Murdoch, advising his staff of the decision to close the paper.

In a statement made to staff, Mr Murdoch said the good things the News of the World does “have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong – indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our company”.

“The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself.”

He went on: “In 2006, the police focused their investigations on two men. Both went to jail. But the News of the World and News International failed to get to the bottom of repeated wrongdoing that occurred without conscience or legitimate purpose.

“Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued.

“As a result, the News of the World and News International wrongly maintained that these issues were confined to one reporter.

“We now have voluntarily given evidence to the police that I believe will prove that this was untrue and those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences. This was not the only fault.

“The paper made statements to Parliament without being in the full possession of the facts. This was wrong.

“The company paid out-of-court settlements approved by me. I now know that I did not have a complete picture when I did so. This was wrong and is a matter of serious regret.”

He reiterated that the company was fully co-operating with the two ongoing police investigations.

Categories
Democrat Democratic hypocrites Politics Republican washington

Bill Clinton Blames Republicans For Present Economic Woes

Former President Bill Clinton blamed Republicans in Congress for the state of the economy. Mr. Clinton called out the  GOP as hypocrites for implementing massive tax cuts and increased spending during the Bush administration, policies that directly contributed to the present recession.

Speaking to a group of liberal group activists in Washington, Clinton said, “”Partly because the Republicans who control the House and have a lot of pull in the Senate have now decided, having quadrupled the debt in 12 years before I took office and doubled it after I left, that it’s all of a sudden the biggest problem in the world.”

The former President, who opposes spending cuts in a downward economy, again expressed his concerns with the present budget talks, and he referenced the United Kingdom and their mistake of cutting spending at a time when spending should have been increased. Clinton continued;

“In the current budget debate, there’s all this discussion about how much will come from spending cuts, how much will come from tax increases, and almost nobody is talking about one of the central points – that everyone who’s analyzed the situation makes, including the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission, which said you shouldn’t do any of this until the economy is clearly recovering.

“Because if you do things that dampen economic growth, and the U.K. is finding this out now, they adopted this big austerity budget, and there’s a good chance that economic activity will go down so much that tax revenues will be reduced even more than spending is cut, and their deficit will increase.”

President Obama meets today with both Republican and Democratic leaders to discuss the debt ceiling. Democrats have offered about $3 trillion in defense and other spending cuts and they have asked Republicans to agree on closing some tax loopholes that benefits millionaires and billionaires. Republicans have so far, dismissed this proposal and have demanded Democrats leave these loopholes alone.

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