Back in August President Obama embarked on a bus tour through the Mid-west, the supposed purpose of which was to allow the President to listen to the American people. Subsequently, in the beginning of September, the President called a joint session of Congress (generally reserved for the State of the Union Address), and announced his new American Jobs Act bill. He repeatedly stated, "pass this bill". This past week Obama was again out on a bus tour, trying to promote his bill which had just failed a Senate vote. The full bill received down votes from two Democratic senators, Ben Nelson (Nebraska) and Jon Tester (Montana) along with all 47 Republican senators.
The President began his tour by essentially insulting the intelligence of Congress by stating "Maybe they couldn't understand the whole thing at once". He also said, "we're going to break it up into bite sized pieces". After the ‘no’ vote, therefore, the Senate is attempting to pass the bill chunks at a time, with the first section failing on Friday. There have been different ideas about what Obama's true motives are in the constant campaigning for his bill. Some people believe that his motive is truly what he says it is, which is to get his bill passed, however others believe that it is a way for him to justify his perpetual campaigning for the 2012 race. I believe that Obama wants it both ways, he sincerely wants this jobs bill passed, but he also looks at it as a great campaigning tool.
Why it is good that this bill did not pass...
The first section of the bill was aimed at providing funds for public sector jobs in struggling states, jobs for educators, and various municipal workers. With deficit talks continuing, Obama plans on receiving the additional funds to pay for this bill from a 0.5% tax increase on the people making a million dollars or more. This tax increase is the main problem with the bill. People argue that the rich do not pay enough in taxes, however in 2007 the wealthiest 1% of Americans began contributing more to taxes than the bottom 95%. In that year the top 1% of income earners provided 40.42% of the national income tax revenue, and now Obama is attempting to raise taxes on those who already contribute so much. One of the biggest goals of the president should be improving employment numbers, and taxing the rich is counterproductive to that goal. Rich Americans are the wealth creators, they are the small business owners that do private sector hiring, and they are the ones that invest in this economy. Therefore, when the rich are taxed, small businesses are taxed, and there are less funds to hire additional workers in the private sector.
According to Harry Reid we should not be concerned with the private sector because as he stated earlier "it is very clear that private sector jobs are doing just fine". I do not believe that is very clear at all. The unemployment rate in September was 9.1% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, yet the unemployment rate for government workers was only 4.7%. The private sector has fared much worse than the public sector since 2007, with the private sector losing 6.3 million jobs, and the public sector only losing 392,000. I believe those statistics make it pretty clear as to which sector is faring worse.
However, what is the real reason President Barack Obama wants this bill to pass?
As mentioned earlier, a big goal of this first section of the American Jobs Act is to provide more jobs for teachers. While this seems like it may be a good goal, does Obama have ulterior motives? Public school teachers belong to teachers' unions. Teachers’ union members pay dues. A portion of these dues go toward the political funds of the union. Can you guess who the teacher's unions are supporting in 2012?...That's right, Barack Obama. Back in July the NEA, the nation's largest teachers’ union voted to support Barack Obama in the 2012 election, long before the Republicans have even come close to deciding on a candidate! This was back when Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, and Rudy Giuliani were all possible contenders. Recently Obama requested of his advisors, when talking about the bill, “scour this report, identify all those areas in which we can act administratively, without additional congressional authorization, and just get it done.” This means that when more teachers receive jobs, with or without passed legislation, those dues will essentially just go into the Obama campaign.
Obama has tried before to boost the economy through a stimulus, and it failed, so what is different about this attempt? The main difference is that this stimulus will indirectly go toward the 2012 Obama Campaign. Therefore while I do believe that Obama sincerely wants this jobs bill passed, I don't believe that his motives are noble. He knows that when more teachers receive jobs, his campaign fund grows larger by the day. This bill will continue to pull the private sector and the economy downward, and the only winner from the passage of this bill will be Obama. That is why I believe that Congress should continue to do everything within their power to block this bill.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Herman Cain: Why He Would Make the Best 45th President of the United States
It's clear that the presidential campaigning season is now upon us. You can now get online and find that every other news article is about the current status of certain candidates and how they can use current events as leverage in their campaigning. On the side of the Democrats there is the strongly suspected nominee, Barack H. Obama, the incumbent. The side of the Republicans is much wider with the following current candidates; Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Michele Bachman, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, and Jon Huntsman. This seems like a wide range, however there are currently three clear frontrunners; Romney, Cain, and Gingrich. In the most recent Rasmussen poll Cain and Romney are tied with 29% of the vote, and Gingrich is a considerable distance behind receiving only 10% of the vote. This is a big change from a few weeks ago, when Romney and Perry were virtually tied and Cain was only receiving single digits in the polls.
Why has Cain vaulted himself forward in the last few weeks?
I believe the answer involves a couple different reasons. First, Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax/jobs plan is revolutionary, and revolutionary is what America needs in a time like this, when, to say that the economy is limping along is an understatement. I took a tax class in college and it was the most confusing class I took during my four years there. I still have no idea what all the different tax laws are, and I have no idea how to report my taxes at the lowest cost. Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan wipes out current tax codes and simplifies the whole system, something that no other candidate has been bold enough to attempt. He has received a fair amount of criticism for his plan but he has unabashedly defended every aspect of his plan. The other night at the Bloomberg debate Cain was told that "Bloomberg Government ran the numbers" and determined that Cain's 9-9-9 plan would provide $200 billion less than the current tax code, Cain's response was "the problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect". He went on to say that it is incorrect because Bloomberg government uses the same base that the current tax code receives, however the "base" of people that will report taxes is increased under the 9-9-9 plan, therefore making it "revenue neutral".
There were two negative responses to Cain's 9-9-9 plan when other candidates were questioned about it. When Michele Bachman was asked if she agreed that the plan is revenue neutral she dodged the question by saying that it is a new tax plan, not a jobs plan, and that it would be a bad idea to give congress the extra sales tax revenue. The other similar response by a few of the candidates was that the 9-9-9 plan could soon turn into a 20-20-20 plan. These responses are only ways of saying, "I don't believe in a bold solution". The fact that the 9-9-9 plan gives congress a new tax on people is not a big deal as long as that new tax does not increase to the 20-20-20 plan. The problem with the 20-20-20 argument is that if that outcome were to occur it would be an outcome of democracy. Currently many Americans believe in cutting taxes in order to stimulate the economy, which is why Cain's plan is the 9-9-9 plan, that would be a drastic cut in income and corporate taxes, which is believed to be what the people want. The only way that the 9-9-9 plan can change is if the elected government officials decide that those numbers should increase or decrease, that is democracy, that is the system that America was founded upon. Under current tax codes the elected government officials can decide to raise or lower the taxes on American people and corporations, so in that sense the 9-9-9 plan changes nothing. It does not make it easier for congress to raise or lower taxes, it only makes it simpler for people to translate tax codes.
The second reason that Cain has vaulted himself forward is because he speaks his mind and he is "no nonsense". Does this remind you of anyone? How about the current governor of New Jersey?
Many people looked to Chris Christie to run for president for that exact reason, he is "no nonsense", and he doesn’t care what people think of him, he says what he wants to say, and what he thinks is right. Even after consistently answering "no", that he would not run for president during various speeches, Christie still had to make a formal announcement recently, saying "it's not my time" for the many people of the United States that begged him to run. With Christie off the ballot people should and are looking to the other candidate that says what he believes to be right, sticks with it, and does not put up with nonsense…Herman Cain. America needs a president that will make things happen, not a president that makes empty promises, and Herman Cain will make things happen like he has at so many of the jobs he's held in his life.
As this period in America continues to be full of uncertainty, the one thing that I am most certain of, is that Herman Cain will make the best 45th president of the United States of America.
Why has Cain vaulted himself forward in the last few weeks?
I believe the answer involves a couple different reasons. First, Herman Cain's 9-9-9 tax/jobs plan is revolutionary, and revolutionary is what America needs in a time like this, when, to say that the economy is limping along is an understatement. I took a tax class in college and it was the most confusing class I took during my four years there. I still have no idea what all the different tax laws are, and I have no idea how to report my taxes at the lowest cost. Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan wipes out current tax codes and simplifies the whole system, something that no other candidate has been bold enough to attempt. He has received a fair amount of criticism for his plan but he has unabashedly defended every aspect of his plan. The other night at the Bloomberg debate Cain was told that "Bloomberg Government ran the numbers" and determined that Cain's 9-9-9 plan would provide $200 billion less than the current tax code, Cain's response was "the problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect". He went on to say that it is incorrect because Bloomberg government uses the same base that the current tax code receives, however the "base" of people that will report taxes is increased under the 9-9-9 plan, therefore making it "revenue neutral".
There were two negative responses to Cain's 9-9-9 plan when other candidates were questioned about it. When Michele Bachman was asked if she agreed that the plan is revenue neutral she dodged the question by saying that it is a new tax plan, not a jobs plan, and that it would be a bad idea to give congress the extra sales tax revenue. The other similar response by a few of the candidates was that the 9-9-9 plan could soon turn into a 20-20-20 plan. These responses are only ways of saying, "I don't believe in a bold solution". The fact that the 9-9-9 plan gives congress a new tax on people is not a big deal as long as that new tax does not increase to the 20-20-20 plan. The problem with the 20-20-20 argument is that if that outcome were to occur it would be an outcome of democracy. Currently many Americans believe in cutting taxes in order to stimulate the economy, which is why Cain's plan is the 9-9-9 plan, that would be a drastic cut in income and corporate taxes, which is believed to be what the people want. The only way that the 9-9-9 plan can change is if the elected government officials decide that those numbers should increase or decrease, that is democracy, that is the system that America was founded upon. Under current tax codes the elected government officials can decide to raise or lower the taxes on American people and corporations, so in that sense the 9-9-9 plan changes nothing. It does not make it easier for congress to raise or lower taxes, it only makes it simpler for people to translate tax codes.
The second reason that Cain has vaulted himself forward is because he speaks his mind and he is "no nonsense". Does this remind you of anyone? How about the current governor of New Jersey?
Many people looked to Chris Christie to run for president for that exact reason, he is "no nonsense", and he doesn’t care what people think of him, he says what he wants to say, and what he thinks is right. Even after consistently answering "no", that he would not run for president during various speeches, Christie still had to make a formal announcement recently, saying "it's not my time" for the many people of the United States that begged him to run. With Christie off the ballot people should and are looking to the other candidate that says what he believes to be right, sticks with it, and does not put up with nonsense…Herman Cain. America needs a president that will make things happen, not a president that makes empty promises, and Herman Cain will make things happen like he has at so many of the jobs he's held in his life.
As this period in America continues to be full of uncertainty, the one thing that I am most certain of, is that Herman Cain will make the best 45th president of the United States of America.
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