America Must Pay Debts and Fix Infrastructure

[Guest Fedup]

Eric Cantor is literally in bed with Goldman Sachs. His wife was their Vice President. Cantor has invested in ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury EFT. The fund aggressively "shorts" long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, meaning that he makes money when the United States Treasury does bad. That is the type of man that I want telling us what to do. NOT!!!

 

Cantor would have been thrown out of any major league sport or organization if they found out he was betting against them.

 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/18/968197/-Eric-Cantor-is-betting-against-America-on-the-stockmarket

 

http://www.investmentnews.com/section/investment-profile?ticker=TBT

 

I wonder how many other elected officials are betting against the voters that brought them into office. Scary thought.

[Guest HUMAN]

Keep on playing the class warfare game. It's a self fulfilling prophecy as to what's going on in the country now. Businesses are evil.

 

The Democrats and obama are through regulations stifling the heck out of this country, and you have no clue as to what you are posting about.

 

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Eric Cantor is literally in bed with Goldman Sachs. His wife was their Vice President. Cantor has invested in ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury EFT. The fund aggressively "shorts" long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, meaning that he makes money when the United States Treasury does bad. That is the type of man that I want telling us what to do. NOT!!!

 

Cantor would have been thrown out of any major league sport or organization if they found out he was betting against them.

 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/18/968197/-Eric-Cantor-is-betting-against-America-on-the-stockmarket

 

http://www.investmentnews.com/section/investment-profile?ticker=TBT

 

I wonder how many other elected officials are betting against the voters that brought them into office. Scary thought.

[Guest White Hair]

As always, I'm wary of the mentality of shorting Treasuries. Not saying that its a bad trade, just personally wouldn't do it. The dollar is still the world’s reserve currency, the US Treasury still looks like the world’s most reliable sovereign borrower, and by the standards of most of the world, the US still looks like a haven of stability. This still does not solve the long term growing debt crisis. The President had a golden opportunity to be FDR and set this country on the right course. The Recovery Act intention was to jump-start the U.S. economy to create and save jobs, but it did not. Using imported materials, outsourced labor, and illegal aliens made matters worse.

[Guest CBB]

There must be a blackout period when Congressional leaders cannot do trades. Jim Cramer cannot trade any stock he mentions for I think 90 days.

[Guest ALWAYSRED]

While President Obama pushes for more of the same failed "stimulus" policies, Ohio Governor John Kasich says Washington could learn from Ohio's success in closing the largest budget shortfall in its history without raising taxes. "The playbook we're following here in Ohio is simple," says Kasich in the Weekly Republican Address. To create jobs and economic growth, "you have to tax less, spend less, and regulate less. If we can do it here in Ohio, Washington can - and should - do it also." Watch the address and read more below:

 

 

 

The Democrats Running Washington Want More of the Same Failed "Stimulus" Spending, Higher Taxes, & More Regulations

 

• Kasich said "if we've learned anything from the federal 'stimulus,' it's that government can't tax, spend, and regulate its way to prosperity." But that's what the Obama Administration is still trying to do.

• Check out our chart illustrating the failure of the "stimulus" spending binge, which left us with 1.3 million fewer jobs and an average unemployment rate of 9.5 percent.

• While the president pushes more "stimulus" spending, even his allies are admitting it didn't work and that the "stimulus" promise of "green jobs," for example, was a bust.

• And while the president is talking about tax hikes (again), even he once said higher taxes mean "smaller paychecks" and "fewer jobs."

• President Obama's campaign tour across the Midwest proved he has no new policies and no new ideas to offer middle-class families and small businesspeople asking, "where are the jobs?"

Republicans Are Working to Remove Barriers to Private-Sector Job Creation & Economic Growth

 

• In an op-ed for USA Today, Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) outline many of the GOP jobs proposals that remain blocked by the Democrat-led Senate.

• Another part of the GOP blueprint for job growth – opening new markets for American-made goods by passing job-creating trade agreements – is collecting dust on the president's desk.

• A video from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) shows Republican women talking about the need for Washington to live within its means and stop spending money it doesn't have.

• House Oversight & Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) issued a subpoena seeking more information on the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) suit against Boeing that has put an estimated 1,000 new jobs at risk in South Carolina.

• Republicans are listening to the American people and working to grow our economy and liberate job creators from the shackles of big government (see the Plan for America's Job Creators), stop Washington from spending money it doesn't have (see the Cut, Cap, & Balance Act, and the upcoming vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution), and protect America's entitlement programs from bankruptcy – without tax hikes (see the House-passed budget). Learn more and track our progress at Jobs.GOP.Gov.

[Luke_Wilbur]

 

 

I think we are missing mark here in this topic. First, read this article by Forbes.

 

The US has lost or is on the verge of losing its ability to develop and manufacture a slew of high-tech products. Amazon’s Kindle 2 couldn’t be made in the US, even if Amazon wanted to:

• The flex circuit connectors are made in China because the US supplier base migrated to Asia.
• The electrophoretic display is made in Taiwan because the expertise developed from producting flat-panel LCDs migrated to Asia with semiconductor manufacturing.
• The highly polished injection-molded case is made in China because the US supplier base eroded as the manufacture of toys, consumer electronics and computers migrated to China.
• The wireless card is made in South Korea because that country became a center for making mobile phone components and handsets.
• The controller board is made in China because US companies long ago transferred manufacture of printed circuit boards to Asia.
• The Lithium polymer battery is made in China because battery development and manufacturing migrated to China along with the development and manufacture of consumer electronics and notebook computers.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/08/17/why-amazon-cant-make-a-kindle-in-the-usa/

Then we need Congress and POTUS to start coming up with a solution to this National Security problem. We need to start thinking about manufacturing like Kennedy thought about the Space Race to the Moon.

[Guest American4Progress]

Eric Cantor is literally in bed with Goldman Sachs. His wife was their Vice President. Cantor has invested in ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury EFT. The fund aggressively "shorts" long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, meaning that he makes money when the United States Treasury does bad. That is the type of man that I want telling us what to do. NOT!!!

 

Cantor would have been thrown out of any major league sport or organization if they found out he was betting against them.

 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/18/968197/-Eric-Cantor-is-betting-against-America-on-the-stockmarket

 

http://www.investmentnews.com/section/investment-profile?ticker=TBT

 

I wonder how many other elected officials are betting against the voters that brought them into office. Scary thought.

 

Eric Cantor rarely misses an opportunity to demand draconian spending cuts. And he wasn’t about to let two recent disasters — the East Coast earthquake and Hurricane Irene — go without finding a way to advance his extreme Tea Party agenda.

 

Immediately after the East Coast earthquake, Cantor announced that there would be no additional funds appropriated for disaster relief unless they were offset with budget cuts elsewhere. This statement drew near-immediate criticism, but that didn’t stop Cantor from doubling down days later as Hurricane Irene was bearing down on the East Coast. And then Cantor reaffirmed his hardline stance just as it was becoming clear that Hurricane Irene had devastated states up and down the East Coast from North Carolina to Vermont.

 

Here’s a rundown of the action – and why Eric Cantor’s extreme stance is both misguided and dangerous.

 

Fellow Republicans Call Out Cantor

 

Cantor came in for harsh criticism from some unusual suspects — fellow Republicans, including the governor of his home state:

 

My concern is that we help people in need. For the FEMA money that’s going to flow, it’s up to them on how they get it. I don’t think it’s the time to get into that [deficit] debate.

 

-Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell ®

 

Our people are suffering now, and they need support now. And they [Congress] can all go down there and get back to work and figure out budget cuts later.

 

-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ®

 

Cantor’s Plan Trades Disaster Funds For Huge Cuts To First Responders

 

When it comes to finding so-called offsets to pay for disaster relief, we don’t have to guess what Cantor and his fellow Republicans have in mind because they’ve already passed a bill laying out exactly what they want to cut. The House passed its annual appropriations bill for the Homeland Security Department (of which FEMA is part) back on June 6, and additional disaster monies came at the expense of massive cuts to first responders. The GOP bill cuts funds to train and equip first responders by 40 percent, which comes on top of a 19 percent cut for the current fiscal year.

 

In fact, the version of the bill that came to the House floor included hundreds of millions of dollars in GOP-sponsored that cuts would’ve caused approximately 2,200 firefighters across the country to lose their jobs. Thanks to an effort led by Democrats, the bill was amended on the floor to restore most of the funding to the firefighter program. For his part, Eric Cantor joined just 86 of his Republican colleagues in voting against restoring the firefighter funding, which nevertheless passed an overwhelming bipartisan basis with 147 Republicans joining all 186 Democrats to vote in support of firefighters.

 

Cantor’s Plan Spends Six Times More on Afghan Police Training Than U.S. First Responders

 

In her critique of the House GOP’s misguided and dangerous cuts to first responders, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) pointed out a shocking fact:

 

The House defense appropriations bill provides $12.8 billion to train and equip troops and police in Afghanistan — yet the House provides only $2 billion for first responders here at home.

 

Cantor’s Plan Puts Jobs, Relief At Risk

 

Because the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund is now running low on cash and may not be replenished in a timely manner thanks to Cantor’s political games, FEMA has been forced to put new relief and recovery projects on hold in order to conserve cash for immediate disaster needs. This halt to new projects will stall vital, job-creating infrastructure reconstruction efforts in states across the country. In Iowa, for example, $200 MILLION in reconstruction projects have been put on hold.

 

Projects that could continue rebuilding areas devastated in previous disasters and put Americans back to work will now languish for weeks, months, or even longer until Congress agrees to give FEMA the additional it needs.

 

Cantor Is A Hypocrite

 

Not only has Cantor not demanded offsets for previous disaster spending, he even went so far as to vote against a 2004 amendment that would’ve offset disaster funding with spending cuts. That amendment was part of bill that addressed disasters including Tropical Storm Gaston, which damaged Cantor’s district. Tanya Somanader has more:

 

Indeed, Cantor was among the first to request “immediate action” and millions in federal assistance to address “the magnitude of the damage” from Gaston. Cantor’s spokesman Brad Dayspring insists Cantor’s change of heart is justified by the increase in deficit. “We are living in different times,” he said.

 

In One Sentence: Cantor’s extreme position on disaster funding is not only misguided and hypocritical, it will kill jobs and makes dangerous cuts to our first responders.

[Guest HUMAN]

Oh!! Believe you me I get it. I am targeting business groups in this country to sell to other countries.

 

But it is Made in America. Using what I know for the advantage of American Businesses.

That's why you don't see me really get into most of the topics in here "My energy is else where".

 

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I think we are missing mark here in this topic. First, read this article by Forbes.

 

Then we need Congress and POTUS to start coming up with a solution to this National Security problem. We need to start thinking about manufacturing like Kennedy thought about the Space Race to the Moon.

[Guest Buddy Roemer for President]

I believe America is a great nation. A nation where all things are possible, regardless of your starting point in life.

 

Most nations have points of strength, decent people, and some opportunity.

 

But America has always been a special land.

 

Begun with a declaration of independence to stand against the tyranny of a foreign king and a culture of elitism and class segregation in England, America choose to build on a written foundation of constitutional law.

 

And build it did. America has prospered into the world’s greatest economic power.

 

The Land of Opportunity.

 

I run for president because America is a great nation and a great people.

 

And America is in trouble, needing bold action by a leader free of any consideration other than what is good for a rising America.

 

America is in trouble.

 

20% of its workforce –25 million Americans – are out of work in this “recovery”, or have quit looking, or are underemployed.

 

We have a million fewer jobs than we did 12 years ago and the jobs we have, pay less.

 

We have given away our manufacturing jobs. We don’t make things any more. We distribute them. Bad trade.

 

“Made in America” is an endangered species. We are now dependent on “consumption” and “government”.

 

We owe more than any nation ever, and much of it to our competition, face endless deficits, averaging $1.1 trillion a year for the next decade, which is as far ahead as they count.

 

We have a spending addiction, undisciplined by any budget constraints. To maintain the habit, we borrow 42 cents of every dollar spent.

 

On the revenue side of the ledger, we have a tax code unfair, unreadable, written by lobbyists, and crammed with the loopholes of the special interests.

 

For good measure, we are addicted to foreign oil, refuse to seal our own borders, and have decided to spend money we don’t have to rebuild other nations, while paralyzed in attempts to help our own.

 

It is unsustainable.

 

Economic growth is the only solution, if we plan a nation better than the one we received, if we plan to work our way free again.

 

Growth is essential to having a land of opportunity.

 

We can do this. I am positive on America. We can grow again.

 

At least half a dozen strong policies must be initiated immediately to turn the ship of state.

 

First, we must stem the outflow of our best jobs, currently leaving America in record numbers to reside in “cheap” labor lands.

 

“cheap” is one thing, but the use of child labor, forced labor, prison labor, factories without work standards for health and safety, and competition from a system without environmental investment is unfair trade practice, and will be halted. The days of talking “free trade” while we get robbed of our best jobs by “unfair trade” are over.

 

Some of these same unfair competitors employ a myriad of hidden trade barriers to prevent and delay American exports to enter their country, and use sophisticated currency manipulation techniques to compound the crime.

 

There are no guarantees for jobs, and we know that technological advances, bad management, and outrageous labor practices can imPACt the size and quality of job demand. But unfair trade practices, if ignored, will cause the loss of entire industries and can ruin a nation. We intend to halt the practice of ignoring or trying to wish away these systematic abuses of “free trade”.

 

My remedies will include tax reform revision specifics and a fair trade adjustment to the most patent of the violators’ products. I will outline in some detail these set of remedies in my next major speech on the subject of fair trade to be given in the next two weeks.

 

A president must defend American jobs from unfair foreign competition. We have waited too long, and, for some, it is too late, but these unfair practices will no longer be tolerated when i am president.

 

In addition, we must win the battle to control federal spending. At 25% of GDP, federal spending is excessive by any standards, unsustainable under any hypothesis, and erodes confidence in the financial management of our nation’s government. For the past 6-months, I’ve detailed a plan of 1% reductions in spending ($140 bn per year) over a 5-year period. We could begin with elimination of all energy subsidies, including oil, gas, ethanol, unproven energy technology, and the department of energy itself. We could modify social security and Medicare by slowly raising the eligibility age by one month a year for 24 years and by block granting Medicaid with a cap. There are hundreds of other sound spending reductions available and necessary (foreign aid, agriculture and housing subsidies, standardizing software, consolidating information technology, unnecessary overseas military bases, etc.), but you get the point: it can be done, but leadership is required and growth is the essential goal.

 

Further, i propose that we deregulate small businesses so that they can grow jobs. Small businesses grow 2 out of every 3 new jobs in America over the past 60 years. They are flexible, hard-working, often family owned, work long hours, and are the beginning point of every large company. They are the key to our economic future. They are our competitive advantage over china.

 

And what do they get from Washington? Nothing, but taxes and regulations, and now, mostly regulations.

 

If you think federal spending out of control, just look at the growth of regulatory directives! There were 81,000 pages of regulatory comment in the federal registry last year alone. There are more than 4,400 new federal regulations in the pipeline this morning.

 

Business spent more in regulatory compliance to federal regulations last year ($1.7 trillion) than they did in taxes ($1.5 trillion). This increasing regulatory pressure is particularly disastrous for small business as they usually don’t have a compliance officer, or an in-house lawyer, or a lobbyist in Washington. They are defenseless against this onslaught. Regulations are the new taxes. And we are “taxing” small business to death. It is the chief reason why small business is not creating new jobs.

 

We are over-regulating this critical element in our economy.

 

To restore balance, i propose a halt in the enforcement of all small business regulations implemented since January of 2008. I will restore only those that imPACt safety, health, and have a positive cost/benefit ratio. Further, i will stop implementation of any new regulations on small businesses for the next 4-years, except those that demonstrate health, safety, and a positive cost/benefit analysis.

 

I’m sending a message to every small business woman and man: dream again, grow again, let’s put America to work again.

 

In this short list of bold actions required to re-start America, I highlight the need to reduce health care costs. Quality is great. Cost is prohibitive. I would eliminate Obamacare, but keep insurance coverage of pre-existing conditions. I will initiate tort reform, eliminate pocket monopolies by allowing medical insurance coverage across state lines, expose pharmaceuticals to price discounting from competition for service, and incentivize providers to reduce service expenses by allowing them to keep 25% of the savings.

 

One key action that ties in with jobs, cash management, currency valuation, foreign policy, and discipline in federal spending is my intention for the u.s.to be energy independent within a decade. I will drill where oil and gas are found, do so environmentally safely using modern technology putting 1,000,000 Americans to work, tariffing foreign oil except Canada and Mexico, save $500 billion annually in trade imbalance, restore value of the dollar and reduce the price of gasoline proportionally, open the yucca mountain facility for nuclear waste storage, utilize all forms of domestic energy with the market controlling selection, and eliminate the department of energy.

 

A complete revision of our unreadable, complex, non-growth oriented tax code is another giant step in our pursuit of solid economic growth. Simple will be the foundation principle, with the elimination of loopholes, exemptions, and deductions to achieve low marginal tax rates for individuals and corporations. With corporate rates at 15% and with a sharp reduction in capital gains rates and on savings, the United States can be a tax haven for capital, fueling the investment necessary in rebuilding the land of opportunity.

 

Finally, banking reform must be reworked to include having capital ratios rise with bank size, eliminating too big to fail as a regulatory policy, and by restoring a version of glass-steal, separating commercial banking from investment banking. The megabanks are risk prone and dangerous to the overall economy by requiring a regulatory double-standard and by the elements of moral hazard. Banking is too important to be left to the bankers. The regulation of the industry must be a fine balance between too much and too little. The dangers of size and speed must be recognized. Currently, neither are appreciated. Trouble looms.

 

These seven areas require bold, clear action, as does the resolution of sealing our borders to illegal immigrants, targeting the proliferation of nuclear weapons capability in a shrinking world, and restoring the local component of educational excellence.

 

But today, i want to talk about why these bold actions will not take place, will not happen.

 

Special interests own this town.

 

And the special interests have never been so well off. They are in control, and in a land run more and more by the government, they finance the choice of national candidates, and the presidential election itself.

 

We are broken and need to take bold action to grow again, but the special interests have never had it so good —- why change?

 

I agree with those who say that our political system, our nation’s capital, is institutionally corrupt.

 

For example, special interests write the tax code. You cannot read it. They can. General electric is the largest corporate giver in the last election cycle, made a profit last year of $5.2 billion and paid zero federal income taxes, while the average profitable small business person pays 36%. Fair?

 

Every year the costs of elections rise, and the same 1% or 2% of America give the money. 98% give nothing. That’s the system and it results in special favors and provisions and opportunities for those at the top who give the money.

 

We are owned from the top down by special interest money, political action committee (PAC) money, by wall street money, and by the big check.

 

Institutionally corrupt and it’s getting worse.

 

Look at the record.

 

Healthcare reform under president Obama was designed to lower the cost of healthcare yet it didn’t include tort reform. The tort lawyers are big givers to both parties.

 

It didn’t eliminate the protection that insurance companies have to prevent competition from out of state. Big givers, those insurance companies.

 

It didn’t require pharmaceutical companies to discount prices on government business. Oh no! Big bucks and the threat of big bucks from these multi-nationals.

 

A 2,300 page bill, unconstitutional at its core with the insurance mandate, and it didn’t even touch three of the most expensive healthcare costs.

 

Special interest money wrote healthcare.

 

Did you know that PACS and lobbyists with Washington dc area addresses gave more money in the last presidential campaign than 32 states combined? Washington dc is a boom town and the rest of America is hurting.

 

Now, four years later, it’s worse.

 

The PACS are now uncountable. They can give twice as much as individuals. Why? There is no disclosure, no names, and no accountability as to purpose or source.

 

Then there is the “bundler”, who collects checks from others, delivers them to the candidate in a bundle with political credit going not to the sucker who give their $2,500 or $5,000, but to the collector who gives the PACkage to the candidate at $100,000 or $200,000 or $1,000,000 or $2,000,000 political value.

 

I recently read a paper written by a Harvard law school student about bundling and the selection of united states ambassadors under Obama and his predecessors. Checkbook diplomacy he called it.

 

Historically, all presidents have appointed about 30% political appointees versus 70% professional Foreign Service selections. President Obama is at 65% political (58 out of 90), and the major portion went to “bundlers”, such as

 

Roos to Japan with a $500,000 bundle

Susman to Great Britain with a $500,000 bundle

Rivkin to France with a $800,000 bundle

Gutman to Belgium for a $775,000 bundle

Beyer to Switzerland for a $745,000 PACkage.

 

On and on it goes.

 

And this is just 5 out of the first 24 bundler-nominees put forth by president Obama. These 24 nominees bundled more than $11 million minimum without counting their contributions to other fund raising opportunities such as the inaugural committee, the president’s leadership PAC, and the democrat national committee. There is no end to the cash these bundlers give and to the power and control it buys.

 

Both parties have done it, but Obama is the master.

 

We are selling important public jobs for special favored private money like a third world country.

 

The Tyranny of the Big Check. Position for sale!

 

It doesn’t end there.

 

Lobbyists have become fundraisers in an institutionally corrupt system. Lobbyists have been a critical source of information and focused industry knowledge since the beginning of our nation. It is a position considered honorable and necessary to the function of a representative democracy.

But it should not be combined with the role of a political fundraiser, where the danger is that the size of the check should determine the action of the representative.

Vote buying is a dangerous and slippery slope in a world where fair play and level playing field are as American as “apple pie”.

 

In short, a registered lobbyist should not be allowed to both lobby and fund raise. His/her choice, one or the other.

 

Jack Abramoff is a name that comes to mind.

 

The American bar association just endorsed this separation of registered lobbyist from the act of fund raising.

 

Special interest money, PAC money, bundled money. They never stop. They never cease. They never sleep.

 

Announce a new committee or a new appointment? A fundraiser by the special interest lobbyist immediately follows!

 

Two weeks ago congress agreed on a pitiful budget-debt ceiling resolution which called for a special committee of six dems and six republicans with awesome power of spending cuts and tax increases. It was a bad idea in my opinion, but it is now the law.

 

We immediately contacted the office of the speaker of the house and the president of the senate asking that all meetings of the special committee be held in a public forum and that members selected pledge not to accept PAC or lobbyists checks during the remainder of their term of office. Let the vote of the people be the ultimate decider of the choices inherent in this unusual situation, not the power of a special interest check.

 

No response from the congressional leadership.

 

Last week the leadership’s selections were made public and 24 hours later one of the members selected, congressman Becerra, had leaked the fact that he had accepted a major fundraiser by a group of lobbyists at $1,500 a ticket high lighting the fact that he was on the committee that would imPACt their special interests, their budget earmarks, and their tax loopholes.

 

It never stops. Incredible.

 

And Becerra’s answer? “I will continue to do what i have to do as a member of congress. So yes, we are going to move forward.”

 

So exactly what is his role as a member of congress? Collect fat special interest and lobbyists and PAC checks to get re-elected?

 

Or to represent his district and help rebuild America?

 

Watch the money!!!

 

We challenge the leadership of the house and the senate. Let the people decide these issues at the voting booth, not the special interest cash and check booth.

 

It is not too late to make a statement. Ask members of the special committee to eschew lobbyists, PACS, and special interest fundraising for the duration of this term. Ideas are welcome. Contributions from the vested interests are not.

 

The system is institutionally corrupt. Both parties are guilty and it is getting worse.

 

Which leads me to something new: “SUPERPACS”.

 

SUPERPACS do not have to disclose the contributions received and dollar amounts are unlimited. Their only requirement is that they have to be independent of any candidate although concepts can be shared.

 

What a joke!!

 

Independent? Romney’s SUPERPACS (or does he have two?) Got a $1 million contribution from a corporation formed special for that purpose and which dissolved after the check was delivered. When word leaked out about the million, Romney reluctantly revealed the source. Why was the million dollars hidden?

 

Independent? The PAC is run by former chief of staff, business partners, former employees, and is funded by individuals who already have contributed the maximum amount.

 

This is not disclosure or independence. This is phony, shadowy, hidden, corrupt in the truest sense of the word, corrupt in every sense of the word.

 

And I don’t want to pick on Romney alone. He is not unique. It is revealed that governor Rick Perry has seven SUPERPACS headed by former associates, staff, and maximum operatives. Bachmann has a SUPERPACS as does Paul and Huntsman.

 

Don’t do it. I challenge them. Don’t do it.

 

Join with me and let’s give ourselves a chance to take bold, clean action to restore America and to energize the plain people of our country who fight the wars, build the roads, start the small businesses, teach the kids, and raise the families of America.

 

Let’s restore honesty, and faith, and transparency to this corrupt political system.

 

These SUPERPACS are phony. They are not independent. They are just bald-faced efforts to hide the facts of the power of the big checks from the American people. They are just special interests buying yet more influence. You don’t believe the SUPERPACS are phony in their pretending to be independent? Do you know that the candidate can attend the fundraising dinner, speak and be acknowledged, have it run by his henchman, and claim independence?

 

It is a joke, but a joke on our country. Don’t do it candidates. Join with me.

 

Still unsure about the below the surface corruption of our system? Look at the so-called banking reform of last year. Read Grethchen Morgenson in the New York Times every Sunday as she describes banking corruption, or ask a community banker in your town.

 

Our financial system is still not out of the woods, because “banking reform” did not eliminate too big to fail. Glass-Stegal is still dead. Goldman Sachs is still the largest political contributor in the financial sector and no one went to jail after they lied to the congress and abused their client privilege. And Obama is on wall street a month later having a huge fundraiser at $35,000 a ticket.

 

See how this corrupt system works? Jobs for sale. Wink and nod for change. Oh the president is a great fundraiser. Just what I’m looking for in a president — how about you?

 

Here is my position: in a time of crises, in a time of peril, in a time of deep uncertainty, a president must be free to lead a resurgent nation. If he must continually compromise with the special interests who own the office, bold action will never come.

 

So i ask my republican colleagues to limit contributions to the individual allowed amount of $2500. Accept no PAC money, no SUPERPACS money, no lobbyists working as fundraisers, no bundlers as ambassadors to be.

 

Let Obama raise a billion dollars from the special interests. Let him choose to be weighted down with the demands of the special interests.

 

We will win with fewer dollars but with greater support from the American people, because we will show them that we are truly free to lead.

 

I want a pledge, since you fellow candidates are pledging to everything else. Join with me and pledge that we (you) will make the reform of this institutionally corrupt system a must do during your tenure as president and that you will apply your leadership skills to achieving this goal.

 

Historically, this debate has always been between “disclosure” and “limits”. Liberals have weighed in on the “limits” side of the discussion, while we conservatives have questioned the constitutionality of “limits” and have argued for the sunlight of “full disclosure”.

 

In this election, the protection of the law has been compromised such that we have neither “limits” nor “disclosure”.

 

We have the worst of both worlds. We have a system that is institutionally corrupted at a time when a premium will be placed on an honest, full discussion on the best steps to take in preserving and rebuilding a great nation.

 

We are in danger of allowing the special interests and their PACS and their big checks to decide the outcome. This realization was the very reason that I decided to get back in the political arena to attempt to break the corrupt political—special interest system.

 

Some commentators have expressed the excuse that due to the recent Supreme Court rulings that money is a form of speech and is thereby protected in the first amendment, and there is nothing to be done.

 

These comments are in error and i believe the Supreme Court gives clear opportunity for the congress to act in a constitutional manner to provide broad limits and disclosure guidelines.

 

In short, congress could act if it so desires to protect our system from abuse by the special interests. The president should lead with recommendations to congress and start the process. These recommendations should include the following points:

 

1. Full disclosure, regardless of size of the contribution.

2. Real time reporting, not quarterly. I recommend a 48 hour cycle beginning when the contribution is received.

3. A prohibition against a “registered” lobbyist participating in a fundraiser.

4. Criminal penalties for violations of the rules. This must have “bite”.

5. Eliminate “super” PACS entirely. Full disclosure and 48 hour reporting at a minimum.

6. Either eliminate PACS altogether or reduce their limit to be no more than the $2,500 individual limit.

 

I challenge my fellow republican candidates to stand with the people, the plain people, against the undue influence of the special interests and adopt these 6 rules of engagement.

 

This new tyranny of hidden, massive, special interest contributions is pulling America down the corrupt path of money over issues, of cash over conscience, of re-election above all other things. It has candidates for office hiding contributions, committing to legislation unseen, and forming alliances with special interests who are prospering while America is hurting.

 

I am the only person running for president who has been both a congressman and a governor, who has fought the crushing power of the PACS and the special interests and the institutional corruption of this political system from his first day running for office in Louisiana.

 

For the better part of 20 years I have been out of government as a main street banker, restructuring small businesses and putting people back to work, while not taking one penny of government bailout money.

 

I know the need for confident planning and the power of leadership in an uncertain world.

 

The challenges facing the next president are indescribable, and the worst challenge is probably not yet known.

 

But this i believe and it is as old as time: the president must be free to lead.

 

I challenge all who stand for this job, who would be taken seriously for this great venture, to send back the special interest money. To take only individual, fully disclosed contributions.

And to commit to lead on this battle against institutional corruption.

[Guest Richard]

As the president explained, we no longer can delay putting Americans back to work rebuilding our nation’s schools, roads, bridges, transit, ports, rail, communications and energy systems. And we need to help state and local governments avoid layoffs that are dragging down the economy—rejecting the myth that the only way to end a crisis Wall Street started is to punish firefighters, teachers and others who perform critical public services.

 

The plan announced by President Obama to create jobs is only the opening bid in a national conversation we’ve needed to have for a long time. In the coming weeks and months, we expect to see more proposals from the president and Congress to put America back to work.

 

President Obama understands this economic crisis was not created overnight, and it will not be solved overnight. The middle class has been under attack for decades. He understands we need to rebuild our economy for the 21st century and rebuild our middle class.

 

But doing this will require a revolution in the way Washington takes on these questions. Republicans are going to have to stop blocking bills that sustain or create millions of jobs and start offering and accepting credible solutions. As the president explained last night, we can delay no longer.

 

America isn’t broke—we’re the richest country in the world. We will only go broke if our leaders fail year after year to create jobs and turn our economy around. We can’t let that happen.

 

Politicians need to recognize that America’s best days are still before us. We cannot accept the disappearance of the American middle class or several more years of crisis-level joblessness. We can and must solve the jobs crisis—and we must start now. Please take action to help us make this happen.

[Guest Guy]

President Obama is one man. He can’t do this alone.

[Guest DCpages Staff]

According to a new CNN Poll Interviews with 1,038 adult Americans conducted by telephone

by ORC International on September 9-11, 2011.

 

Increasing federal spending to build and repair roads, bridges, and schools

 

64% Favor

36% Oppose

 

The margin of sampling error for results based on the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The sample also includes 943 interviews among registered voters (plus or minus 3 percentage points).

 

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/09/13/rel15d.pdf

[Luke_Wilbur]

McDonalds got my breakfast order wrong this morning. The problem was the person who took my order could not speak English very well.

 

Had a similar problem at work. I called up UPS Freight Services @ 800-333-7400 could not get a rate quote. The customer service representative was from the Philippines and had no understanding of U.S. geography. She did not know where the District of Columbia was located. Another customer service representative from the USA is contacting me with a quote.

 

I read online that Goldman Sachs is laying off a good portion of their staff and rehiring cheaper ones in Singapore.

 

A friend contacts me on whether I can get him a job. He is a high level programmer that used to make $125 per hour. Now he is down to $20 per hour. Even that is high now days. He has to compete with programmers abroad who will sell their services for $10 per hour.

 

Another friend tells me how his buddy's SEO company is booming. He outsourced all his business to Australia and is making insane money. The only problem is that he cannot bring his money back to the United States. He will be taxed 35%. So he is looking for other options.

 

Another friend calls me up and tells me that he is pissed off at a Chinese furniture plant that is fulfilling his orders. He is upset at the quality and shipment arrival times. He is considering moving his business back to the States.

 

After work I go home and watch an Asian man order his Hispanic construction crew to be back early tomorrow. He is hoping to complete a home renovation in 90 days.

 

Everywhere I go there is less Americans being able to find work.

 

In the 1970s and 1980s manufacturing companies stated outsourcing their labor force.

 

In the 1990s and 2000s service companies started outsourcing their labor force.

 

I look at this country like I do gaining weight. The difference is so slow that you never knew it was happening. When you finally realize your health is actually deteriorating, you are forced to make major life changes.

 

American leaders need to make life changes in how we do business. We will not be able to sustain an unemployed workforce.

[Guest Tax Justice Network]

Assets held offshore, beyond the reach of effective taxation, are equal to about a third of total global assets. Over half of all world trade passes through tax havens. Developing countries lose revenues far greater than annual aid flows. We estimate that the amount of funds held offshore by individuals is about $11.5 trillion – with a resulting annual loss of tax revenue on the income from these assets of about 250 billion dollars. This is five times what the World Bank estimated in 2002 was needed to address the UN Millenium Development Goal of halving world poverty by 2015. This much money could also pay to transform the world’s energy infrastructure to tackle climate change. In 2007 the World Bank has endorsed estimates by Global Financial Integrity (GFI) that the cross-border flow of the global proceeds from criminal activities, corruption, and tax evasion at US$1-1.6 trillion per year, half from developing and transitional economies. In 2009 GFI's updated research estimated that the annual cross-border flows from developing countries alone amounts to approximately US$850 billion - US$1.1 trillion per year.

 

Offshore finance is not only based in islands and small states: `offshore’ has become an insidious growth within the entire global system of finance. The largest financial centres such as London and New York, and countries like Switzerland and Singapore, offer secrecy and other special advantages to attract foreign capital flows. As corrupt dictators and other élites strip their countries’ financial assets and relocate them to these financial centres, developing countries’ economies are deprived of local investment capital and their governments are denied desperately needed tax revenues. This helps capital flow not from capital-rich countries to poor ones, as traditional economic theories might predict, but, perversely, in the other direction.

 

Countries that lose tax revenues become more dependent on foreign aid. Recent research has shown, for example, that sub-Saharan Africa is a net creditor to the rest of the world in the sense that external assets, measured by the stock of capital flight, exceed external liabilities, as measured by the stock of external debt. The difference is that while the assets are in private hands, the liabilities are the public debts of African governments and their people.

 

http://www.taxjustice.net/cms/front_content.php?idcatart=2&lang=1

[Guest Bankrupting America]

In a December 5 interview with CNBC, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that the Obama administration is “absolutely” prepared to go off the cliff if Republicans don’t budge on raising tax rates for those making more than $250,000 a year. On the same day, the White House told the Pentagon to start planning for across-the-board spending cuts if Congress fails to act. Sounds like a far cry from the “grand bargain” that President Obama predicted in an interview with the Des Moines Register in October. But keep in mind that this is the same administration that (just a few months earlier) confidently promised the American people that the sequestration “will not happen” and issued letters to defense contractors telling them not to issue layoffs. With the House focused on eliminating the word “lunatic” from federal law while Speaker Boehner says talks are going “nowhere,” it’s not surprising that the American people are losing whatever little confidence they had in Washington.

 

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SAYS IT’S “ABSOLUTELY” PREPARED TO GO OFF THE CLIFF

 

Is The White House Prepared To Go Off The Cliff? “Absolutely”:

 

“President Barack Obama’s administration will ‘absolutely’ let the United States fall off the fiscal cliff as scheduled, unless Republicans give in to his Obama’s demand to raise tax rates at upper income levels, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday.” (“Geithner: Obama Administration ‘Absolutely’ Willing To Go Off Fiscal Cliff,” Associated Press, 12/6/12)

 

 

BUT MONTHS EARLIER THEY WERE TELLING DEFENSE CONTRACTORS THE EXACT OPPOSITE

 

President Obama Has Said For Months That Sequestration “Will Not Happen.” Administration Told Businesses Not To Issue Layoffs:

 

“Obama: Defense Sequester ‘Will Not Happen.’” (Lori Montgomery, “Obama: Defense sequester ‘will not happen,’” Washington Post, 10/22/12)

 

The White House Sent Letters To Defense Contractors Pressuring Them Not To Plan For The Fiscal Cliff. “The Obama administration issued new guidance intended for defense contractors … reiterating the administration’s position that the companies should not be issuing layoff notices over sequestration.” (Jeremy Herb, “Obama administration tells contractors again: Don’t issue layoff notices,” The Hill, 9/28/12)

 

The Labor Department Called Preparing For Sequestration “Inappropriate.” ”The Labor Department issued guidance in July saying it would be “inappropriate” for contractors to issue notices of potential layoffs tied to sequestration cuts.” (Jeremy Herb, “Obama administration tells contractors again: Don’t issue layoff notices,” The Hill, 9/28/12)

 

The Office Of Management And Budget Promised Compensation. “Friday guidance from the Office of Management and Budget raised the stakes in the dispute, telling contractors that they would be compensated for legal costs if layoffs occur due to contract cancellations under sequestration — but only if the contractors follow the Labor guidance.” (Jeremy Herb, “Obama administration tells contractors again: Don’t issue layoff notices,” The Hill, 9/28/12)

 

Des Moines Register: “Obama Confident Of ‘Grand Bargain.’” “President Barack Obama told The Des Moines Register this week that he thinks he can reach a ‘grand bargain’ with Republicans in the first six months of winning a second term that will decide the question of what government will do and how to pay for it.” (Kathie Obradovich, “Obama confident of ‘grand bargain,’” Des Moines Register, 10/25/12)

 

 

Now The White House Is Telling The Pentagon To Prepare For Across-The-Board Cuts:

“The Pentagon said on Wednesday the White House budget office has directed it to begin planning how to implement billions of dollars in across-the-board spending reductions if Congress and the president fail to agree to avert the cuts before January 2.” (David Alexander, “After months of delay, Pentagon told to plan for ‘fiscal cliff’,” Reuters, 12/6/12)

 

WHILE WASHINGTON DEBATES “LUNATICS” AND “IDIOTS,” FISCAL CLIFF TALKS GO “NOWHERE”

 

House Votes Overwhelmingly To Remove The Word “Lunatic” From Federal Law (“Idiot” Remains).

 

“The U.S. House voted to remove the term ‘lunatic’ from sections of federal law, while the word ‘idiot’ would remain. The bill, which passed 398-1, would amend a section of the U.S. Code that defines the meanings of certain words used in acts of Congress.” (Timothy R. Homan, “Congress Erases ‘Lunatic’, Keeps ‘Idiot’ in Federal Law,” Bloomberg, 12/5/12)

 

House Speaker John Boehner: “Right Now I Would Say We’re Nowhere. Period. We’re Nowhere.” (Greg Clary, “Boehner ‘Flabbergasted’ At Fiscal Cliff Proposal,” CNN.com, 12/2/12)

 

MEANWHILE, SHOPPERS AND BUSINESSES PREPARE FOR THE WORST

 

New Survey: Shoppers Across The Country Are Already Cutting Back, Holiday Spending “Virtually Flat” Amid Fiscal Cliff Concerns:

 

“Despite more economic optimism compared with a year ago, the CNBC All-America Economic Survey finds holiday spending will be virtually flat as uncertainty and fiscal cliff concerns weigh on consumers.” (Steve Liesman, CNBC’s Squawk Box, 12/6/12)

[Guest Bankrupting America]

Businesses Are Rapidly Moving To Shield Themselves From The Fiscal Cliff Fallout:

 

Businesses Have Held Back On Buying Capital Goods Until The Outcome Of Negotiations In Washington Becomes Clear.

 

“’The impacts of the potential cliff are already being felt,’ Brian T. Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America Corp.’s, said. In the bank’s survey of chief financial officers, ‘the number one issue they see is the fiscal cliff. They tell us it’s affecting their business plan. That uncertainty continues to hold back the recovery. Simply put, our clients tell us they will not be aggressive in times of uncertainty.’” (Hugh Son, “BofA Chief Moynihan Says Fiscal Cliff Already Hurts Economy,” Bloomberg, 11/13/12)

 

Corporate Executives Say They Are Slowing Or Delaying Big Projects To Protect Profits Amid Easing Demand And Rising Uncertainty.

 

“‘The whole world is looking for stability and clarity from the United States,’ said David Seaton, chief executive of Fluor Corp., a large engineering and construction firm. If uncertainty isn’t removed, he said, ‘People will sit on their war chests of cash and return it to shareholders. You’ll have a retarded growth trajectory.’” (Sudeep Reddy and Scott Thurm, “Investment Falls Off a Cliff,” Wall Street Journal, 11/18/12)

 

Business Owners And Investors Are Rapidly Maneuvering To Shield Themselves From The Prospect Of Higher Taxes Next Year, A Strategy That Is Sending Ripples Across Wall Street And Broad Areas Of The Economy.

 

“’In my 30 years in practice, I’ve never seen such a flood of desire and action to transfer a business and cash out,’ said Kenneth K. Bezozo, a partner in New York with the law firm Haynes and Boone. ‘We’re seeing a watershed event.’” (Nathaniel Popper and Nelson D. Schwartz, “Investors Rush to Beat Threat of Higher Taxes,” New York Times, 11/18/12)

[Guest Dawn Martin]

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