Famous Judd Gregg notepad– Gracing many a political banquet place-setting since 1993.
When I got my Union Leader out of the tube early this morning and saw the blurb on the left hand side of the front page touting a story about Senator Judd Gregg and the ongoing bailout-mania, I nearly choked on my coffee when I read the words:
Adding to the federal deficit with an economic stimulus package should lead to greater long-term fiscal stability for the federal government, as well as greater productivity and economic competitiveness, U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg said yesterday.
Huh? Spending more money that we DON’T have will HELP our long-term fiscal stability? I can’t think of any big-spending, government loving liberals that could have articulated their beliefs more clearly than has Judd with the above sentiment. Has he completely lost his mind? Having announced his intention to run for yet another term in the Senate in 2010, is his plan to throw all of his supposed long-standing conservatism (and the conservatives that rely on him) out the window? The last thing we need in the next two years– one dominated by a Democratic ruling majority– is another key Republican "leader" dishing out "Democrat-lite."
Conventional wisdom held by many Republicans and Independents alike is that part of the reason the GOP finds itself on the outside looking in is because they blew it when it came to any pretense of fiscal restraint. Now, when taking on the Democrats– the REAL pros when it comes to taxing hard-working, productive Americans and giving it away to the many takers– they have no credibility… and we all suffer (and our children’s children’s children).
Perhaps someone should remind Senator Gregg of the words of another Republican that shows the extent to which he has strayed. From Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address:
I cannot help but feel uneasy about the federal government doling out tax dollars like there’s no tomorrow to people who have already demonstrated a failure to adapt and change within their chosen marketplace. It is said that the definition of lunacy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The same goes for giving people money in the face of future high risk of failure. If the private sector– either through loans or outright purchase offers– fails to demonstrate interest in a business entity, why should the government, in the name of its shareholder/taxpayers, be any different?
I have come to the belief that the only true way to “stimulate” the economy without building more credit debt (adding more levels to the “house of cards” that has been the economy to a certain extent) is by doing it with “real” money. And the only “real” money, when you stop and think about it, is what one has in hand. Instead of printing money–setting the stage for inflation– or taking even more from working and investing Americans and giving it to who Congress and its influence peddlers see fit, how about if they instead simply let working people keep more of what they make each and every week for a period of time?
Take a look at your pay stub. Compare the “gross” pay versus the “net”– your take-home portion. Do the simple subtraction and just imagine what you could do if you were allowed to keep a substantial portion of the difference.
Instead of Senator Windbag taking your money, or mortgaging your great-grandchildren’s futures, and giving it to his favorite banker buddies so they may continue their lavish “hot-tubs and champagne” lifestyles, wouldn’t it be nice to instead use it to purchase something you’ve long wanted? Rather than send that sizeable chunk of your paycheck to states, cities, and counties that refuse to eliminate waste, your money, spent as YOU see fit might be just the “stimulating” boost the manufacturer and retailer of your desired product needs.
Why, given the right incentive, some people might decide to save a little for a down payment on a house or that shiny new Chevy truck that catches their eye in the lot of the neighborhood dealer. Who knows? But one thing’s for certain– more money, if people were allowed to keep more of their “gross” weekly earnings– would be instantly and immediately moving around. Some people might pay off debt, thus infusing badly needed dollars to cash-strapped lending institutions. And yes, some others might simply SAVE the money for future needs- nothing wrong with that, either—and would that not help banks, too?
The bottom line is that the more the free wheels of the economy spin while satisfying the needs and desires of people with cash, the more it should rise. And you don’t have to take my word for it, all you have to do is take a look back to some fairly recent history, and let it be your guide. I’m talking, of course, about the Reagan era—that brief moment in time when we truly were a “shining city on a hill.” Rather than “redistributing the wealth,” prosperity happened for many people who, following years of high taxation, got to keep more of the fruits of their labor. And, like wildfire, the newly kept dollars made their way across the economy. Oh, and we managed to win the Cold War during that time as well.
To that end, I have discovered two possibilities that could go a long way towards reinvigorating the Reagan economy’s successes.
In what is an interesting rerun of events already taking place here in Belknap County, Fosters.com is reporting that the Strafford County Commissioners are proposing cuts of funding for most of the so-called "outside agencies" it presently supports. The county will cease funding several programs it has provided partial funding to for several years, including … Read more
The Dow Jones Industrial Average at 759. Less than 10% of its current value.
The unemployment rate around 7%. Almost 40% higher than today.
Inflation rate? 13%. Around triple of today’s.
A misery index of 20%. More than double today’s.
In the White House: Jimmy Carter. Hectoring America for its “malaise.”
Then what happened? We elected Ronald Reagan president.
Reagan cut the income tax rate 30% across the board. And stood behind Paul Volcker’s strengthening the dollar.
What happened next? Prosperity happened.
America took off and never looked back. Now, looking back, we remember the recipe for Prosperity. We appreciate the need to assist ordinary citizens in their time of hardship. The best way to do that is by using the bailout money to bring back Prosperity.
The $700 billion appropriated for bailouts more than covers the costs of A renewed 30% across-the-board tax rate cut. AND a payroll tax cut.
We know this works. We did it before. It worked. It will work.
Reagan 2.0: a 30% across-the board tax cut. And a payroll tax cut.
Sign this petition for Congress. Make your voice heard now. No bailouts! Tax rate cuts! Bring Prosperity Back.
The Petition To the Congress of the United States of America:
John McCain’s Weekly Radio Address (click here to download mp3):
Good morning, this is John McCain, speaking to you just days away from the time for choosing.
In a time of economic hardship and uncertainty, for many Americans the choice will turn on whether we raise federal taxes or reduce them. My opponent is committed to a massive new tax burden on our economy, even at the risk of bankrupting small businesses and destroying jobs. I am committed to tax relief for working families and tax incentives for businesses to create jobs.
Senator Obama has been very guarded about his tax plans, and it took a working man to finally pull the truth out of him. As he told Joe the Plumber back in Ohio, he wants to quote "spread the wealth around." To pay for nearly a trillion dollars in new government spending, Senator Obama’s tax increase would impact 50 percent of small business income in this country, and the jobs of 16 million middle class Americans who work for those small businesses.
Senator Obama assures us that he has a very clear target of just the top five percent of income earners. And anytime you hear talk of a targeted tax increase, you might want to double-check the skill of the marksman — the U.S. Congress has been known to fire wildly. Remember the Alternative Minimum Tax? You probably do if you’re one of the more than 30 million Americans currently threatened by it. That "targeted tax" was originally aimed at just 155 specific people. Once enacted, taxes have a way of spreading and rising. And that is why, as president, I am going to put a stop to the out of control spending, so we can keep taxes low.
The McCain-Palin tax cut is the real thing. We’re going to double the child deduction for every family. We will cut the capital gains tax. And we will cut business taxes to help create jobs, and keep American businesses in America.
Obama’s economic plan is a recipe for long-lasting disaster. Keep in mind that wrecking anything, as opposed to building things, requires very little time and effort. Obama’s plan is deceptively attractive, while in reality it is a huge wrecking ball that will capsize the already listing ship of our economy. Here is a partial list of reasons why. Judge for yourself.
Obama is proposing a trillion dollars in new spending. Where is he going to get the money, given the government’s present huge budget deficit? From the filthy rich and blood-sucking corporations, that’s where, he says. A terrific vote-getting scheme. But will it work?
Obama doesn’t tell you that in the present world money is like water. It flows to the lowest ground. And the lowest ground for money is found in places where it can make more money — not locations where it is seriously tapped by government. For example, Ireland where the corporate income tax rate is 11% and not the United States, which has the second highest rate in the world. As it is, one of the biggest reasons that many corporations set up their businesses abroad is the high cost of doing business here at home. Hence, a great many jobs are lost to overseas enterprises.
Obama doesn’t tell you that rich people didn’t get to be rich by being stupid. The minute they hear him talk about "spreading the wealth around", they shift their money to safe havens where Obama can’t get to it. Like those hedge funds run by George Soros and other big Democrat donors.
Obama doesn’t tell you that much of the money invested in this country is from non-Americans, who do so not because they are philanthropists but because they believe in the American genius and our creative hard-working people who know how to produce wealth. Once they see Obama the taxman, they sell their holdings and move their money to safer havens. The result is that American company shares drop in value, companies won’t be able to raise cash to do product development, so they will shut down their research departments and layoff workers. Or, they simply move their entire operation, or parts of it, abroad.
The American economic genius is based on the principle of empowering people at all levels to succeed financially through their own efforts. The government must empower all individuals to succeed and not to take money from the successful and spread it around.
And here’s my story. You see, I really am Joe the Plumber, too…
Hi, my name is Doug the welder. In many ways, I am like Joe the Plumber– Although I am at the point where I DO own my own business, and Joe isn’t quite there yet, the “dream” or goal of independence and self-reliance continues. Having started our small business with my wife during the recession of the late Eighties/early Nineties, we have long held the goal of building an enterprise as nearly recession-proof as possible, and always tried to be as frugal during good times as in bad in order to stay as fiscally healthy as one could reasonably be. With a sound business model and good employees, we seem poised to ride out the current economic storminess. We know that it will require no small amount of work and yes, maybe (no- not maybe, definitely, because there ALWAYS is) even some heartache, along the way. That’s OK, as this is the essence of being a small business operator—and always has been. I suspect that Joe the Plumber is well aware of all of that—he has probably watched his boss encounter it all through the years—and yet, he still retains his dream. Why is that? Could it be that for him, like me, that his “pursuit of happiness” includes controlling his own destiny?
Democratic presidential wannabee Barack Obama tells everybody not to worry… only those making over $250,000 will pay more taxes. His running mate Joe Biden says he doesn’t know many plumbers that make over 250 grand. Of course, as always, the devil’s in the details. Now just so there’s know misunderstanding, I don’t “make” over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. As a matter of fact, there have been many times since 1989 that I didn’t make anything—and there were a few times where I actually lost money. But where we stand now, like any small business employing nine people with perks and benefits that owns the real estate (and pays those taxes too) and multiple machines and pieces of equipment (always subject to breakdown and repair costs), we “handle” far in excess of the figure being bandied about—but we don’t put much of it in our wallets—it’s always “in play.” This is where Joe the Plumber and Doug the welder are vulnerable—on the books we handle the money, but at no time is much of it really ours to keep. Of course, I won’t lie, and I’m sure I can safely bet that Joe, like me, and probably many of you reading this column, certainly would like to earn more than a quarter million dollars that we can keep and spend as we choose, someday. What’s wrong with that?
Of course there’s nothing wrong with that. And I, like Joe the plumber, know that attaining such a princely sum won’t be easy, because we both know that someone like the tooth fairy isn’t going to show up during the night and slip the cash under the pillow. If we are to earn that amount, we are going to have to take great risk, work extra hard, and sacrifice a bit of leisure and play time. In exchange for a willingness to do these things, we reap the fruits of our labors. This is the American way. Up until now, that is…
You see, Barack Obama’s going to change all that. Once in office, in concert with the Democratic-controlled Congress, President Obama and his sidekick Biden will see to it that things will be different from now on. Because in addition to Joe Biden stating his belief that is “patriotic” to pay taxes, we have found out, thanks to the answer given to Joe the Plumber’s question of Barack Obama, just what they have in store for those of us that work and strive to make money… what their promised “change” really means.
This is how John McCain told the story this past Saturday during his weekly radio address:
“Joe explained that he works for a small plumbing and heating company. He’s been thinking about maybe taking over the business when his boss retires. Problem is, that would make Joe one of millions of small business owners who face a sudden increase in taxes under my opponent’s tax plan.”
It is truly amazing that the Democrats in Congress have thus far escaped much of the blame for the present financial crisis. Most people agree that the proverbial "straw that broke the camel’s back" was the collapse of the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac empire– a Democratic operation through and through…
This story of Wahkiakum County by Paul Jacobs in his latest column at Townhall.com in a way sounds like the future of our county, except you can substitute the nursing home and a myriad of social service agencies in place of the clinic discussed in the piece. It further adds to the mix pretty much all the … Read more
Hey, let’s ask these guys… It has been widely reported that Gov Do-Nuthin’ Lynch is looking to state employees for suggestions of ways to help the state save some $100 million. While we all know that this is a means by which he is trying to do his job without actually having to make decisions … Read more
Given Jeanne Shaheen’s sordid past relationship with a financial institution that she granted special favors and pulled strings for while governor, why on Earth would we send her to Washington, DC given the current environment? Would she do for the big banks and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac like she did for Providian— whose subsequent … Read more
I have never been as mixed about anything in politics as I am towards the bailout. Good people I trust say it’s necessary. Good people I trust say it’s bad. I guess I just don’t really know enough to make an informed decision one way or another, although my business is booked with work, my banker … Read more
.. .. . This video is a fantastic primer on the nature of the present financial crisis and the root causes. But of course, you just knew it had to have been caused by the Democrats anyway… As noted by the Blue Collar Muse, For those of you interested in understanding exactly what caused the … Read more
As folks grumble about the cascading financial woes, they would do well to remember who’s in cahoots with the "bad guys" at almost every turn: Democrats. Fannie Mae is, and long has been, for all intents and purposes, a "Democrat" operation. Here’s a new ad from the McCain camp reminding us of but one example: … Read more
“I’ve been workin’ on the railroad, All the live long day. I’ve been workin’ on the railroad, Just to pass the time away. Don’t you hear the whistle blowing? Rise up so early in the morn. Don’t you hear the captain shouting ‘Dinah, blow your horn?’”
Quaint words from a bygone era, no doubt. Unfortunately, not everybody leaves the choo-choos back in the memories of childhood long ago. Oh no, there are those, especially politicians, that can’t keep trains a fond remembrance. They feel the need to play with trains, and therefore, they end up with the ultimate set, all funded with OUR money. That’s right- we really ARE workin’ for the railroad, only, you probably didn’t know it, and Dinah isn’t in your kitchen cooking up some grub, and, sadly, there’s no one strummin’ on that ole banjo…
But seriously, there they go again—the railroad promoters, that is. As sure as the seasons change, they’re coming at us for our support—and money—for their long-held dreams of restoring rail service here in New England, looking to return it to its once-mighty seat at the top of our transportation system. To me, this is all well and good, except it doesn’t work out here in the country. I’ve long maintained that public transportation—especially rail-based— works in urban areas, and works well. Here in the sticks, not so. There’s a reason why rail fell out of favor with the advent of the modern automobile and truck, along with America’s awesome Interstate Highway System: FREEDOM.
The ability to go where we want, whenever we want, and with who we want is something that people have long recognized and appreciated. Until now, that is. With gas prices where they are, there are undoubtedly those thinking about trading their individual ride for so-called “public” transportation. Not me. They’ll have to pry the steering wheel from my cold, dead fingers. Count me as one American who is still mired in the midst of a love affair with my automobile.
The July 14th Laconia Daily Sun carried a story (page 3) that stated,
“Given the high gas prices and the public’s desire for more transportation choices, New Hampshire’s rail enthusiasts are displaying ‘I think I can’ optimism when it comes to expanding passenger train service.”
The piece went on to announce a gathering of “rail advocates” that took place last week
“to discuss how increased passenger rail service could accelerate the state’s economy.”
Ooooh, doesn’t that sound exciting? And you just know it’s a good idea because, guess who’s pushing it? None other than that great and all-knowing leader that makes one immediately think of innovation and success: Michael Dukakis. I know what you’re thinking, “But Doug, Michael DUKAKIS? You mean the same guy that was the Governor of Massachusetts?” Yes, indeed. THAT Michael Dukakis.
This video really nails it. It’s by AngryRenter.com, who ask people to sign their petition here. While it focuses on renters, the point made is applicable to people like me and many others that live in modest little homes within our means. We save so the government can take it? It just doesn’t seem right… … Read more
In his radio address this week, President Bush raised several good points about the economy and what we should be doing about rising enegy costs. While I’m not all that "stimulated" by the so-called rebate checks coming our way, I do know many people that DO need that money, and it will help, no doubt. If the government is going to spend money to buy our way out from a recession, at least by giving it directly to the people, it lets US decide how and what to spend it on. (This is how I’m viewing it, anyway, because then it makes me less uptight when I think about the thing…)
The radio spot hit on several items near and dear to where I’m at: Drilling in Alaska, build refineries, and restart the nuclear power industry. Additionally, he rightfully bags on the farm bill, and, yes, he once again calls on Congress to make his tax cuts permanent…
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, the Commerce Department reported that GDP grew at an annual rate of six-tenths of a percent in the first quarter. This rate of growth is not nearly as high as we would like. And after a record 52 months of uninterrupted job growth, April was the fourth month in a row in which our economy lost jobs, although the unemployment rate dropped to five percent.
My Administration has been clear and candid on the state of the economy. We saw the economic slowdown coming, we were up front about these concerns with the American people, and we’ve been taking decisive action.
In February, I signed an economic growth package to put more than $150 billion back into the hands of millions of American families, workers, and businesses. This week, the main piece of that package began being implemented, as nearly 7.7 million Americans received their tax rebates electronically. Next week, the Treasury Department will begin mailing checks to millions more across the country. And by this summer, it expects to have sent rebates to more than 130 million American households. These rebates will deliver up to $600 per person, $1,200 per couple, and $300 per child.
