RightOnline 2011 - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Rep. Michele Bachmann

Bill Smith, Editor: RightOnline 2011 begins in 6 days and yours truly, the OzarkGuru, is looking forward to being there with other conservative bloggers and activists from across the country. The RightOnline Conference brings together influential new media experts, representatives of conservative organizations, and hundreds of citizen activists to provide important leadership and grassroots training, offering the tools and inspiration to more effectively impact public policy in favor of limited government and free enterprise. The agenda provides a solid program of workshops and training seminars on new media strategies and tools that can be used to mobilize and advance free market policies.
Register for RightOnline 2011
Discounts for Bloggers - Contact Kelly at AFP]
RightOnline is a project of Americans for Prosperity Foundation dedicated to advancing liberty and prosperity for all Americans through greater citizen participation online. The project began as the "brainchild" of then newly hired Erik Telford who was newly hired to coordinate Americans For Prosperity's new media outreach. AFP President Tim Phillips says back then he had learn learn from young Erik about the power of the new media. Erik Telford is now AFP's Director of Membership and Online Strategy. This month, Telford was named by Campaigns & Elections magazine as one of 2011 Rising Stars in politics.

The first ever RightOnline was in July of 2008, with more than 600 activists and bloggers attending in Austin, Texas. It was the first conservative event to ever counter the leftwing Netroots Nation Convention (formerly known as YearlyKos), an annual gathering of what the media called the most concentrated gathering of high-profile progressive bloggers to date.

Herman Cain - RightOnline 2010

Last year RightOnline was held in Las Vegas, Nevada where over 1,100 grassroots activists and bloggers from around the country came together to learn, meet, and exchange ideas on how we can advance conservative policies. This summer we’re bringing the RightOnline Conference to Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 17-18th. This year’s RightOnline Conference will include workshops and panels led by prominent free market leaders and keynote speeches from the nation’s leading conservative voices, including Michelle Malkin, S.E. Cupp, Herman Cain, Mary Katharine Ham, Erick Erickson, John Fund, Guy Benson, Ed Morrissey, Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Andrew Breitbart, Ann McElhinney, Sen. Mike Lee (UT), Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN), Rep. John Kline (MN), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (TN), Rep. Thad McCotter, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (KS) and more!

RightOnline has received extensive media coverage in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, Washington Times, National Journal, C-SPAN, National Public Radio, and many other outlets. Since its first conference, RightOnline has been expanded into a broader initiative that includes state-based and local grassroots training seminars aimed at promoting and increasing citizen participation in the public policy process through the use of online tools.
Register for RightOnline 2011
Discounts for Bloggers - Contact Kelly at AFP]

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Tags: RightOnline, 2011, Minneapolis, Minnesota, AFP, Americans For Prosperity, bloggers, conservatives, speakers, activists, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Your Twitten Heart" by Grammy Weiner

Some End of Week Humor and Shared Disgust:
Latest News:
- LA Times: Delaware police investigate Weiner's private online contacts with a Teen Twitter follower.
- Miami Herald - Naked Politics: Calling it a "sordid affair," DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz calls for Anthony Weiner to resign

Latest Tweets:
- @owendbanks - We Owe The Banks: Weinergate: Anthony Weiner’s Multiple Lewd Jokes in Front of Female Reporters http://is.gd/BMDtgb
- @MajoratNJ - Major Garrett: DNC Chair says Weiner's behavior "indefensible," his status in Congress "untenable." "I call on Representative Anthony Weiner to resign."
- @BaysideBetty: DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz calls on Rep. Anthony Weiner to resign over lewd photo scandal
- @lemuellam - Charles T. Joyner: Poster boy for all corrupt/perverted politicians.Weiner says online contact with teen not explicit http://huff.to/kmWT3E
- @TheRightFacts: "I am a pervert, and I am liar. And I will continue to represent the American people." - Anthony Weiner

By A.F. Branco:

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Tags: A.F. Branco, political cartoon, tweetin, tweetin heart, Anthony Weiner, New York, Representative, News, Tweets To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Job Prospects Not Promising For College Graduates

Many With New College Degree Find the Job Market Humbling

Catherine Rampell, Point of View: The individual stories are familiar. The chemistry major tending bar. The classics major answering phones. The Italian studies major sweeping aisles at Wal-Mart. Now evidence is emerging that the damage wrought by the sour economy is more widespread than just a few careers led astray or postponed. Even for college graduates — the people who were most protected from the slings and arrows of recession — the outlook is rather bleak.

Employment rates for new college graduates have fallen sharply in the last two years, as have starting salaries for those who can find work. What’s more, only half of the jobs landed by these new graduates even require a college degree, reviving debates about whether higher education is “worth it” after all. “I have friends with the same degree as me, from a worse school, but because of who they knew or when they happened to graduate, they’re in much better jobs,” said Kyle Bishop, 23, a 2009 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh who has spent the last two years waiting tables, delivering beer, working at a bookstore and entering data. “It’s more about luck than anything else.”

The median starting salary for students graduating from four-year colleges in 2009 and 2010 was $27,000, down from $30,000 for those who entered the work force in 2006 to 2008, according to a study released on Wednesday by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. That is a decline of 10 percent, even before taking inflation into account.

Of course, these are the lucky ones — the graduates who found a job. Among the members of the class of 2010, just 56 percent had held at least one job by this spring, when the survey was conducted. That compares with 90 percent of graduates from the classes of 2006 and 2007. (Some have gone for further education or opted out of the labor force, while many are still pounding the pavement.) Even these figures understate the damage done to these workers’ careers. Many have taken jobs that do not make use of their skills; about only half of recent college graduates said that their first job required a college degree.

The choice of major is quite important. Certain majors had better luck finding a job that required a college degree, according to an analysis by Andrew M. Sum, an economist at Northeastern University, of 2009 Labor Department data for college graduates under 25. Young graduates who majored in education and teaching or engineering were most likely to find a job requiring a college degree, while area studies majors — those who majored in Latin American studies, for example — and humanities majors were least likely to do so. Among all recent education graduates, 71.1 percent were in jobs that required a college degree; of all area studies majors, the share was 44.7 percent.

An analysis by The New York Times of Labor Department data about college graduates aged 25 to 34 found that the number of these workers employed in food service, restaurants and bars had risen 17 percent in 2009 from 2008, though the sample size was small. There were similar or bigger employment increases at gas stations and fuel dealers, food and alcohol stores, and taxi and limousine services.

This may be a waste of a college degree, but it also displaces the less-educated workers who would normally take these jobs. “The less schooling you had, the more likely you were to get thrown out of the labor market altogether,” said Mr. Sum, noting that unemployment rates for high school graduates and dropouts are always much higher than those for college graduates. “There is complete displacement all the way down.”

Meanwhile, college graduates are having trouble paying off student loan debt, which is at a median of $20,000 for graduates of classes 2006 to 2010. Mr. Bishop, the Pittsburgh graduate, said he is “terrified” of the effects his starter jobs might have on his ultimate career, which he hopes to be in publishing or writing. “It looks bad to have all these short-term jobs on your résumé, but you do have to pay the bills,” he said, adding that right now his student loan debt was over $70,000.

Many graduates will probably take on more student debt. More than 60 percent of those who graduated in the last five years say they will need more formal education to be successful. “I knew there weren’t going to be many job prospects for me until I got my Ph.D.,” said Travis Patterson, 23, a 2010 graduate of California State University, Fullerton. He is working as an administrative assistant for a property management company and studying psychology in graduate school. While it may not have anything to do with his degree, “it helps pay my rent and tuition, and that’s what matters.”

Going back to school does offer the possibility of joining the labor force when the economy is better. Unemployment rates are also generally lower for people with advanced schooling. Those who do not go back to school may be on a lower-paying trajectory for years. They start at a lower salary, and they may begin their careers with employers that pay less on average or have less room for growth. “Their salary history follows them wherever they go,” said Carl Van Horn, a labor economist at Rutgers. “It’s like a parrot on your shoulder, traveling with you everywhere, constantly telling you ‘No, you can’t make that much money.’ ”

And while young people who have weathered a tough job market may shy from risks during their careers, the best way to nullify an unlucky graduation date is to change jobs when you can, says Till von Wachter, an economist at Columbia. “If you don’t move within five years of graduating, for some reason you get stuck where you are. That’s just an empirical finding,” Mr. von Wachter said. “By your late 20s, you’re often married, and have a family and have a house. You stop the active pattern of moving jobs.”

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Tags: College Grads, jobs, unemployment, Point of View To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

BBA-ad to the Bone

by Tony Perkins' Washington Update, Family Research Council: If there are three words that every conservative should dread, it's "short-term deal." In the last continuing resolution (CR), those 13 little letters cost Americans some big-time reforms. Thanks to tricky accounting gimmicks, Republicans got buffaloed out of billions in spending cuts when the future "savings" didn't amount to nearly as much as members thought. After taking a lot of heat for that deal, most of us assumed that Republicans had wised up. Instead, the Senate seems intent on reliving the bad memories of the CR debate during the debt ceiling talks. Yesterday, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who is part of the bipartisan working group, says his party wants a minimum of $2.4 trillion in cuts to offset the $2.4 trillion raise on borrowing. While this dollar-for-dollar idea makes for a great sound bite, it doesn't make for a great financial remedy if it's spread out over the next ten to 20 years.

"...[T]here has to be at least as many dollars in cuts as there are in an increase in the debt ceiling," Sen. Kyl told reporters. But if Democrats won't bite on a deal, Republicans might try for a short-term fix. "If we can't get about two and a half trillion in savings, then I don't think there'd be much appetite on our side to raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion... A debt ceiling increase is only over roughly an 18-month period of time," he said. The savings "could play out [over] more than a decade." Voters have heard that one before--and it should be just as unpopular now as it was then.

First of all, this Congress doesn't have the power to bind future members on spending. All Congress would be doing is kicking the reforms farther down the road while our economy spirals even more out of control. If leaders want to sprinkle the spending cuts over the next decade, then they should have to spread out the borrowing too. Why not pass a 10-year plan to raise the debt ceiling and force our borrowing limit to trickle out as slowly as the savings? I understand that both parties want to ease the pain of these spending cuts, but there's no telling what the economic landscape will look like in 2021. The cost of a dollar borrowed today is worth more than a dollar in cuts 10 years from now. To be real, any reductions have to be done at the same time as the borrowing--otherwise, it's disingenuous. Both parties contributed to this mess, and now is the time--not only to resolve it--but to ensure it doesn't happen again.

One way to do that is by getting serious about a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA). There have been rumblings that some Republicans are pushing for a weak amendment that gives future Congresses the ability to raise taxes to pay for their spending habits. Others are whispering that the GOP might sacrifice the strong amendment language in the House for an early vote that isn't tied directly to the debt ceiling vote. Either would be unacceptable. Utah Sens. Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch have proposed S.J. Res. 10, which would cap future spending at 18% of the GDP, while requiring a supermajority in both chambers to run an annual deficit for a specific purpose, raise the debt ceiling, and increase taxes. So far, it has the support of all 47 Republicans. At least they recognize that America doesn't need short-lived changes--it needs long-term solutions.

Court in the Act? It's not the end of the road for ObamaCare, but it could be close. Yesterday, the health care law made one last stop in Atlanta before it reaches its final destination in the U.S. Supreme Court. Represented by former Solicitor General Paul Clement (and Defense of Marriage Act hero), 26 states lined up against the President's signature law in the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals. It's the biggest suit against ObamaCare yet, and if the lower court ruling is any indication, it may be the most powerful. At the heart of Florida v. HHS is the individual mandate, a requirement that almost all Americans buy health insurance by 2014. The problem, as FRC's Ken Klukowski explains it, is that "[i]f government can command you to buy insurance, it can command you to do anything."

Attorneys argued both sides of the mandate during Wednesday's hearing, which lasted about two and half hours. As expected, the three judges asked tough and probing questions about the implications for individual freedom. At one point, Judge Joel Dubina asked, "If we uphold the individual mandate in this case, are there any limits on congressional power left?" There was a separate challenge to the massive expansion of Medicaid in the statute, which has been another point of contention for our side. And while it would saddle the states with tens of billions of new costs, the judges didn't seem inclined to agree with us that it is unlawful.

The judges also spent a good amount of time discussing severability, which is the topic first highlighted and discussed in FRC's brief. At the very least, the panel was considering whether striking down the mandate meant that part or all of the law would also be void. While we can't predict how the court will rule, the panel did seem incredulous about the constitutionality of the mandate and seemed to be considering how much of the law to throw out with it.

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Tags: BBA, Balanced Budget Amendment, Tony Perkins, Washington Update, Family Research Council, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

As Bad Economic News Continues, Senate Dems Decide It's Time For More Spending & Higher Taxes

BankruptingAmerica.org

Congress is not session today.  Both the House and the Senate will reconvene on Monday.  On Tuesday, the Senate will take up two district judge nominations for New Jersey and is scheduled to vote on cloture on an amendment from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that would repeal an ethanol tax credit.

Yesterday, 46 Democrat Senators voted down the Snowe-Coburn FREEDOM Act amendment to S. 782. The Snowe-Coburn amendment was designed to remove regulatory burdens on small businesses, but it fell short of the 60 votes needed for adoption.

Last night, the long string of gloomy economic stories continued as the AP reported, “Falling real estate prices are eating away at home equity. The percentage of their homes that Americans own is near its lowest point since World War II, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. The average homeowner now has 38 percent equity, down from 61 percent a decade ago. The latest bleak snapshot of the housing market came as mortgage rates hit a new a low for the year, falling below 4.5 percent for a 30-year fixed loan. But even alluring rates have failed to deliver any lift to the depressed housing industry.”

>The poor housing news followed reports earlier this week of high jobless claims again. Bloomberg News wrote, “U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week, a sign that the labor market is struggling to gain traction. Jobless claims increased by 1,000 to 427,000 in the week ended June 4, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. . . . Some employers are cutting staff as demand slows because of elevated energy prices, falling house prices and tight credit. The economy generated the fewest jobs in May in eight months and the unemployment rate rose, a report showed last week. ‘The labor market is obviously struggling,’ Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, said before the report. . . . It was the ninth consecutive week that claims were above 400,000.”

So far Democrats in Washington have done nothing to improve the country’s economic situation. In fact, as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell pointed out Monday, “For two and a half years, Democrats in Washington have paid lip service to the idea of job creation while pursuing an agenda that is radically opposed to it. And the results speak for themselves.”

And today, The Hill reports that some Senate Democrats still haven’t gotten the message, saying they need to focus on jobs while calling for policies that hinder job creation: “Senior Senate Democrats are growing frustrated by what they see as President Obama’s passivity on the economy, and are beginning to discuss a large infrastructure package funded by tax increases. . . . Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, endorsed [Democrat HELP Committee Chairman Tom] Harkin’s argument for more infrastructure spending, and said it is gaining support in the broader caucus. ‘There’s very broad support,’ Rockefeller said. ‘There’s no other way to get at this problem.’ Rockefeller said a spending package was discussed at several meetings Wednesday and that there’s a recognition Democrats need to be tougher in negotiations with Republicans.”

In other words, Democrats are looking to spend even more taxpayer money on dubious stimulus projects while raising taxes, which is one of the worst things you could do to a struggling economy.

Interestingly, The Hill notes, “Jared Bernstein, former chief economist to Vice President Biden, said Democrats should not shy away from spending money to energize the economy. ‘There are some things you can do without spending money, but that’s obviously a very tough constraint and not one that politicians should accept,’ he said.” Recall that Bernstein is one of the original authors of the nearly $1 trillion stimulus bill Democrats passed in February 2009 when unemployment was 8.2%. Bernstein, along with former Obama White House economist Christina Romer, actually wrote that the “unemployment rate with … the recovery plan,” would not exceed eight percent. Today, unemployment is 9.1%, and the stimulus hasn’t lived up to the promises made by its backers, while millions of Americans have lost their jobs.

As Leader McConnell said, “Democrats have ignored every warning. Americans look at all this and ask themselves a simple question: when will these guys get serious?”

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Tags: Washington, D.C., Congress, The Senate, federal spending, higher taxes, bad economy, Bankrupting America To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

75% Say Show Photo ID At The Polls

Rasmussen Reports: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 75% of Likely U.S. Voters believe voters should be required to show photo identification such as a driver’s license before being allowed to vote. Just 18% disagree and oppose such a requirement.
- 85% of Republicans support a photo ID requirement at the polls
- 77% Not affiliated support
- 63% of Democrats support

By a 48% to 29% margin, voters think that letting ineligible people vote is a bigger problem than preventing legitimate voters from casting a ballot.

72% of Republicans and 44% of voters not affiliated with either party believe that illegal voting is more prevalent.

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In Arkansas, the people wanted action but politics interfered:
House Bill 1797, presented by by Arkansas State Rep. Bryan King, R-Green Forest in the 88th General Assembly, would have required Arkansans to present a voter ID card when casting a ballot at the polls. The measure passed the Arkansas House 53-36, but died in the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs controlled by the Democrats. So the will of the people was shelved in committee without a vote.

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Tags: Rasmussen Reports, poll, voter id, U.S. Arkansas, politics To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Running on Empty Tour Attacked by the Obama Campaign

Americans for Prosperity Foundation has kicked off their new "Running on Empty Tour" - a national grassroots tour tomorrow to hit President Obama on his administrative policies that have led to some serious pain at the pump for all Americans. Their opening salvo on the the new Running On Empty Tour website reads:

Since President Obama took office, gas prices have nearly doubled. The administration refuses to develop American energy sources…American energy sources that could help gas prices, electricity prices, and food prices come down.

Americans are running on empty and the administration needs to hear how regulations and restriction to domestic resources are affecting working families who rely on affordable energy to commute to work, go to school activities and shop for family groceries.

Join us on the Running on Empty Tour to learn what executive actions the Administration can take to bring down fuel costs and bring stability to the market and send them your gas bill! . . .

The Campaign to reelect Barack Obama "endorsed" this effort by attacking Americans For Prosperity via the following email sent toe the entire Obama's national campaign:

From: "Julianna Smoot, BarackObama.com"
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2011 05:19:23 -0400
ReplyTo: info@barackobama.com
Subject: Brazen
[2012]
One of the main special-interest political groups, "Americans for Prosperity," announced yesterday that they're launching an expensive national campaign to pin the blame for high gas prices on President Obama.

There's nothing unusual in Washington about this sort of announcement, but it caught my eye because Americans for Prosperity isn't as well meaning as its name makes it sound. In fact, it's a prime example of the kind of special-interest groups that plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars this election cycle to defeat the President in order to promote their agenda. Its backers are the famous Koch brothers, billionaires who, according to one profile, believe in "minimal social services for the needy and much less oversight of industry, especially environmental regulation."

That's right: A couple of billionaire oil men are saying that it's all President Obama's fault that Americans are getting gouged at the pump while oil companies bring in record profits. And now they'll be spending the summer touting carefully orchestrated "grassroots" protests across the country, with two goals in mind: damaging President Obama, and deflecting people's frustration about gas prices so their own profit margins stay safe.

But while the Koch brothers have been plotting a campaign paid for by oil company interests and designed to mislead people instead of empowering them, we've been building ours one person at a time. Since last Wednesday, thousands of first-time donors matched another supporter's pledge to give what they could. People are even connecting by exchanging messages about why they're stepping up to own a piece of this campaign.

Grab a stake in this movement by matching another supporter's $5 donation today.
[Donation Link Removed]

Conservative candidates relied on these brothers' deep pockets during the 2010 elections, and for many of them, it was a good bet. Just last month, most of our major opponents showed up at an Americans for Prosperity event to say just how much they want that help again in 2012 -- and thanks to the Citizens United decision, the Kochs can spend as much as they want on front groups and disinformation campaigns aimed at misleading Americans about the President's record.

They can flood the airwaves with negative ads. They can launch smear campaigns to divert attention away from what matters.

That's exactly the kind of politics our campaign is aiming to change. And that's why we're building this organization not by checks from people like the Kochs, but with a grassroots match drive whose purpose is to recruit the most people into this campaign, not just raise the most dollars.

Another supporter has already pledged to match any donation you make right now. Step up and own a piece of this campaign by giving and connecting with them today:   [Donation Link Removed]

Thanks, Julianna
Julianna Smoot
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America

[Donate] [Donation Link Removed]
[Paid for by Obama for America]
Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible.
This email was sent to: soren@dayton.name

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Tags: Americans For Prosperity, AFP, Running on Empty, Tour, high gas prices, email, failure to drill in the U.S., Obama campaign, email To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

White House Yeilds To Unions Bosses And Holds-Up Job-Creating Trade Agreements

Today in Washington, D.C - June 9, 2011:
The House is on recess. The Senate has resumed consideration of S. 782, the bill reauthorizing the Economic Development Act.  Today they will  will vote on the Snowe-Coburn FREEDOM Act amendment to S. 782. The Snowe-Coburn amendment is designed to remove regulatory burdens on small businesses. 60 votes will be required for its adoption. Yesterday, the Tester-Corker amendment, which would have postponed the implementation of regulations limiting debit card swipe fees, failed by a vote of 54-45, falling short of the 60 votes needed for adoption. Ten Republicans stopped the amendment by voting no, most of them aka RINOs. Sen Mark Pryor of Arkansas (D) also voted no thus failing to join the conservative leaning DINOs who voted for the amendment. Pryor continues to evidence to Arkansans that he is well within the ranks of the liberal establishment.

Speaking on the floor Tuesday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “For two and a half years, Democrats in Washington have paid lip service to the idea of job creation — even as they’ve relentlessly pursued an agenda that is radically opposed to it. . . . Democrats don’t want to admit that the government-driven policies of the past two and a half years are part of the problem. And until they do, nothing will change. Unless Democrats change their priorities and their policies, the threats of a downgrade won’t go away. The debt won’t get any smaller. Businesses won’t create the kind of jobs we need to build prosperity.

“We need to change course. And a good place to start is with trade. The President himself has explicitly acknowledged in front of the cameras that free trade agreements will create tens of thousands of jobs for American families who need them.”

“Yet now,” Leader McConnell said, “the President’s advisors say that the White House plans to hold off on this bipartisan job-creating initiative unless it can spend more money on a government benefits program first.”

In an excellent column today, George Will blasts the Obama administration for putting unions ahead of trade agreements that create jobs.

“President Obama is sacrificing economic growth and job creation in order to placate organized labor. And as the crisis of the welfare state deepens, he is trying to enlarge the entitlement system and exacerbate the entitlement mentality.

“On May 4, the administration announced that, at last, it was ready to proceed with congressional ratification of the agreements. On May 16, however, it announced it would not send them until Congress expands an entitlement program favored by unions. . . . The basic TAA [Trade Adjustment Assistance] still exists. But the administration’s stimulus included TAA in its policy of increasing spending almost everywhere in the hope that stimulus-level spending could be made permanent. Which is what Democrats who do organized labor’s bidding are trying to do: Forty-one Democratic senators are supporting Obama’s demand that the stimulus-level TAA spending, which expired in February, be resumed before the trade agreements will be submitted. . . .

“Most Democrats oppose such [trade] agreements but lack the courage to express their controlling conviction, which is: Organized labor, which represents just 6.9 percent of the private-sector workforce, must be appeased, even if doing so injures other American workers or Americans who would be workers if policies such as TAA did not impede economic dynamism.”

Leader McConnell said, “{T]his time it’s gone too far. When the White House is actively depriving others of jobs because some union boss isn’t getting his way, it’s lost touch. . . . I’m calling on the administration once again to send us the three pending trade agreements that the President himself has said would create tens of thousands of American jobs — and to leave Trade Adjustment Assistance out of it. We need to separate these issues, deal with them independently, and move ahead with these trade deals.”

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Tags: Washington, D.C., US Senate, White House, Union Bosses, jobs, trade agreements, Economic Development Act To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Arkansas Democrats Move Forward With Implementation of Obamacare

Insurance Comm.
Jay Bradford

Curtis Coleman, Contributing Author: Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford engaged in his own brand of Mediscare this week to win approval to spend almost $400,000 to advance the implementation of Obamacare in the State. At the same time Bradford’s department announced statewide forums to educate Arkansans about how Obamacare will “improve their health insurance options.”

On Wednesday of this week, the Review Committee of the Arkansas Legislative Council approved the state Insurance Department’s $381,900 contract with a company that will begin “researching and planning” an Obamacare-mandated health insurance exchange for the State.

According to Bradford, funding for the contract will come from a $1 million federal grant the Arkansas Insurance department received from the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services.

Bradford sent a letter to the Committee requesting approval for the contract. According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Bradford maintained “the contract does not conflict with actions taken by the Legislature during the session to slow down or stop the state from creating its own exchange.” Bradford’s letter reportedly says the contract “is only for planning activities, such as research, data analysis, identifying options, and setting our goals.”

Only in government are “research, data analysis and setting goals” not a part of the process of moving forward with a program or project.

Then came Bradford’s version of Mediscare and his tacit admission that going forward with the planning process is going forward with the implementation of Obamcare. “Not going forward with the planning process that’s funded by [the federal government] would be a dramatic statement that we weren’t going forward,” Bradford told the Committee. “We don’t know how it’s going to end up, but if we walk away from the planning process, we know it will end up with the [Federal] Department of Health and Human Services,” he said.

So Bradford doesn’t know how Obamacare is going to turn out, whether it will be held by the Supreme Court to be constitutional or unconstitutional, but he’s certain that if the State doesn’t spend this federal money, Arkansas will end up with the federal government taking over the Arkansas Insurance Department. How low in the IQ pool does that logic reach?

Every taxpayer who’s paying attention has got to be on the verge of severe nausea at the fallacious position so frequently taken by Arkansas officials and bureaucrats that federal grants don’t cost us anything. “It’s free money!” Every Arkansas taxpayer knows that it makes no difference if his/her money goes through Little Rock or Washington; it still feels the same coming out of his wallet or her purse.

But Bradford’s Insurance Department isn’t resting with just this study. In an email recently distributed to undisclosed recipients, Bruce B. Donaldson, the department’s Planning Project Specialist for the Health Benefits Exchange wrote,

“Attached is a flyer we have produced that has the dates, times & place for the upcoming Community meetings.

“There are a couple of dates missing but we will get them to you as soon as finalized.

“Time is of essence, so please distribute to all interested stakeholders in our communities statewide that you have access to. All Arkansas should have a chance to participate in these very important meetings.”

Click here to see the schedule for these forums: ObmacareCommunityMeetings

This much is clear. Democrats in Arkansas state government, under the direction of Gov. Beebe, are aggressively moving forward with the implementation of Obamacare in Arkansas. They’re reportedly spending money from the Obamacare federal slush fund, money being rapidly distributed to states to implement this dramatic overreach of government before it’s found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Click here to read more about Arkansas’s Obamacare health exchange planning process.

These Democrats are actually counting on a precept articulated by President Ronald Reagan:

“There is nothing closer to eternal life on this earth than a government program.”

When was the last time you saw a government program eliminated? If Obamacare can be implemented before the Supreme Court can strike it down, it will likely be here to stay. And then Arkansans will be paying for it, not the “federal government.”

And this is also clear. We must put conservatives in the majority in the Arkansas House and the Arkansas Senate in 2012, and we must put a conservative in the Governor’s office in 2014. We must not be distracted from nor divided over this singular goal. We cannot leave anything on the table in this election cycle. If we do, it is likely that we will discover we left everything on the table…including the American Dream for our children and theirs.
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Curtis Coleman is the President of The Curtis Coleman Institute for Constitutional Policy and contributing author to the ARRA News Service.

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Tags: Arkansas, Democrats, Insurance Commissioner, Jay Bradford, Obamacare, mediscare, Arkansas House, Arkansas Senate, Bruce Donaldson, healthcare exchanges, Constitution, Health Care Reform, Curtis Coleman, The New South Conservative To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Herman Cain - America is Ready

Herman Cain for President Video set to Krista Branch's "I Am America," a popular song by Nashville recording artist Krista Branch and features exclusive, never-before-seen footage from Cain's candidacy announcement rally on Saturday, May 21, 2011. It is estimated that 15,000 supporters were in attendance.

For more information please visit, HermanCain.com.

For information on Krista Branch, please visit KristaBranch.com or download her music on iTunes.

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Tags: Herman Cain, GOP, President, 2012, Krista Branch, I Am America To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Unconstitutional Conduct: Confiscating Gold - Time To Return To Gold Standard

The below letter to the editor is by Robert "Bob" McDowell, Jr. He is a Professional Engineer and Geologist with over 50 years experience in creating drilling prospects, supervising drilling, well completion, production operation, and pipeline design for oil and gas including repair of problem wells. McDowell is a conservative and active in the Oklahoma Republican Assembly.

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Bob McDowell

By Bob McDowell: Thanks to a column by Gene Curtis in the Tulsa, Oklahoma daily paper, others learned and I recalled that on  on June 5, 1933, the U.S.A. was taken "off the gold standard" which had been established in 1879.  It became illegal for any American citizen to own more than $100 worth of gold. The short story identified that on April 5, 1933, then newly inaugurated President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had announced that owners gold must surrender any gold that exceeded $100 in value to the government in exchange for paper or silver money. The story went on to say that the names of more than 1,000 persons believed to be hoarding gold were turned over to Justice Department agents who were under orders to locate the supposed hoarders and find, and confiscate, their gold.

Even at my young age in 1933, I remember how those who supported free enterprise mentality were aghast at this turn of events. In retrospect it seems that FDR (as he was then referred to by the media) had pulled the wool over a large percentage of the population in order to gain election to office. Unfortunately, as I recall, a majority of Americans did not realized at the time the future ramifications of this act, as well as other acts of the FDR administration. It is well documented that at least one of his cabinet members was an avowed Communist and others, in my recollection, were dedicated to their own personal agendas to radically change the Nation.  (Kind of sounds familiar to today.)

Even then, the propaganda machine of the management of the Democrat Party had become adept at the 'personal attack' methods to discredit any and all who dared to oppose their move of the Nation towards socialism. Their methodology and conduct has increased and become more perfected in the decades since that time.

Back to the claim of "unconstitutional conduct." Under the U.S. Constitution as written and envisioned by the founders, the principal of personal freedom and property rights was intended to be sacred, and even established by GOD! Now by executive order a sitting president, FDR, had moved to force the population to surrender an item of intrinsic value.

Later, during one of the three additional terms to which FDR was elected, the move was to remove silver from the coined money, which is the situation today. The rational used was that the silver was 'needed for the war effort'. At the time there was published a postulation, proven over many times in the past, that 'bad money will always drive out good'. This did become the case as many individuals put aside their "silver certificate" paper money and the silver coins in their obsession. Unfortunately, the 'real money' has never returned, except for the copper penny, and proposals are coming out to end that.

Today, a more ominous agenda could be a plan to devalue our currency. After all, when the money is coined in valuable metal, or paper certificates backed by the metal, it is much more difficult to lower its value. In recent years the mint has come out with 'dollar' coins minted to look like gold.  They were made too close to the size of the quarter and  they have not caught on. 

My preference has long been for the 'cartwheel' silver dollar. When finishing college in 1950, my first job was with an oil company and based in Denver. My orders were to go to Casper WY to the District office. To my surprise, and pleasure, dollar bills were not in circulation. All change of less than five dollars was in the dollar coin. These were heavy in the pocket, so the secret was to keep no more than four. There was no question of their value and they were easy to locate by feel in the pocket. They were older than the recent mint year mint,  but they spent well.

Well I digress, my point is that our economy would be much better off if we would return to a monetary system based on Gold.  For government hacks that may argue that need more than gold as a standard then incorporate silver or maybe even platinum. Precious metals would serve far better than our present standard based on "hotair, ink and paper."

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"The U.S. dollar needs a sound monetary foundation, and the urgency is greater than ever. We will never rein in Washington’s spending and irresponsible, record-setting dollar creation by the Federal Reserve until we find a new standard of value that balances trade flows and gives our currency an intrinsic worth. -  Gold Standard 2012 .   Also, visit The Gold Standard Now

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Tags: gold, gold standard, FDR, President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Unconstitutional Conduct, Bob McDowell, Oklahoma, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

The Economy: Obama Sees "Bump In The Road," CNN Poll Notes 80% Say "The Economy Is In Poor Shape"

by A.F. Branco

Today In Washington, D.C. - June 8, 2011:
House still in recess. Yesterday, the Senate agreed to proceed to S. 782 by unanimous consent and today resumed consideration the bill to reauthorize the Economic Development Revitalization Act.  The Senate did not pass (54-45) the the bipartisan Debit Interchange Fee Study Act as an amendment of the Economic Development Revitalization Act (S. 782).  The amendment would have delayed a Federal Reserve rule capping debit card swipe fees. The provision known as the Durbin Amendment was slipped into the Democrat controlled Dood-Frank's S. 782 without hearings or debate.  Now if the if the overall bill is passed as is people may now find increase fees and places not allowing the use of their debit cards and credit cards.  As of this post, big banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup who have opposed the hidden Durbin amendment are now trading lower on their shares of stock because the Durban provisions will cost them an estimated $10 billion annually in lost revenues on earned fees. Open Market.org identified that
"There has been near-unanimity in opposition to these price controls by Center-Right groups. 33 leaders of conservative and free-market organizations — from the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Americans For Prosperity to the Christian Coalition — signed a letter supporting measures to delay the Durbin Amendment."

There have been many recent indications of how much the U.S. economy is struggling, yet President Obama and the American public seem to be on different pages as to how troubled the economy is.  CNNMoney listed some of the problems highlighted in recent days: “On Friday, a government jobs report indicated that only 54,000 jobs were added last month and the unemployment rate rose to 9.1% -- troubling signs that the recovery is wavering. And it's not just jobs. Manufacturing growth is slowing both in the United States and abroad. Home prices are in a confirmed double-dip. Consumer confidence is declining. To top it off, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped almost 5% in the past month.”

And Politico writes today, “Several leading economic forecasters this week reduced their outlook for second-quarter growth and suggested the rest of this year and the next could be very sluggish as the nation continues to work off the excesses of the credit bubble while lacking a clear driver for faster expansion. . . . The New York Federal Reserve noted this week that inflation was picking up across the board, not just in highly volatile food and energy prices. . . . Each of the reports tends to cite similar factors in addition to inflation: household debt that remains too high, house prices that remain deeply depressed and businesses that remain nervous about economic conditions and the nation’s troubled fiscal position.”

Despite all this, in a speech Friday, President Obama declared, “There are always going to be bumps on the road to recovery. We’re going to pass through some rough terrain that even a Wrangler would have a hard time with. We know that.”

Yet Americans are seeing more than “bumps on the road to recovery,” according to recent polling. Yesterday, The Washington Post reported, “By 2 to 1, Americans say the country is pretty seriously on the wrong track, and nine in 10 continue to rate the economy in negative terms. Nearly six in 10 say the economy has not started to recover, regardless of what official statistics may say, and most of those who say it has improved rate the recovery as weak. . . . Overall, about six in 10 of those surveyed give Obama negative marks on the economy and the deficit. Significantly, nearly half strongly disapprove of his performance in these two crucial areas. Nearly two-thirds of political independents disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy, including — for the first time — a slim majority who do so strongly.”

Today, a new CNN poll finds, “Forty-eight percent say that another Great Depression is likely to occur in the next year - the highest that figure has ever reached. The survey also indicates that just under half live in a household where someone has lost a job or are worried that unemployment may hit them in the near future. The poll was conducted starting Friday, when the Labor Department reported that the nation's jobless rate edged up to 9.1 percent. . . . According to the survey, more than eight in ten Americans say that the economy is in poor shape, a number that has stubbornly remained at that level since March.”

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Tags: Washington, DC, Us Senate, US economy, banks, bank fees, economy, CNN, poll, Barack Obama, Bumps in the road, political cartoon, AF Branco To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

With A Sinking Economy, Comes Falling Polls For Obama

Toon Still Relevant 2 yrs Later
H/T Cristy Li for Pix

Today in Washington, D.C. - June 7, 2011:
Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 782. If no agreement to proceed to the bill is reached today, a cloture vote on the motion to proceed would occur tomorrow. Also, yYesterday, the Senate voted 72-16 to confirm Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. to be solicitor general.

The House is not in session this week. However, as detailed later, many are still hard at work to get the message out about solutions to the pending collapse of our U.S. economy. Next week,the House expects to debate and vote on the appropriations bill for military construction and veterans programs and potentially the appropriations bill for agriculture programs. The House Republican leadership is pushing the House to do its Constitutional responsibility of authorizing and appropriated funds for operation of the government.  Whereas, the democrat leadership of the past relied on continuing resolutions (CRs) without review,, hearings and debate in assigned subcommittees and committees. The US Senate under the leadership of democrats continues this practice of no or very few committee meetings and pushing for CRs.

On the heels of a May jobs report showing “anemic” growth and higher unemployment, Gallup writes today, “[H]iring remains seven to eight points below early 2008. That is, current job creation has not returned to its levels of nearly 3 ½ years ago, when the recession got underway. On an absolute basis, job creation in 2011 is better than it was over the same five months in 2009 and 2010. At the same time, new jobs are being created at an anemic pace compared with what is needed to lower the U.S. unemployment rate, and the rate of improvement this year compared with last is declining. These trends are consistent with Gallup's recent unemployment report showing there has been virtually no improvement in the current jobs situation year over year.”

It’s understandable, then, that The Washington Post reports today, “The public opinion boost President Obama received after the killing of Osama bin Laden has dissipated, and Americans’ disapproval of how he is handling the nation’s economy and the deficit has reached new highs, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The survey portrays a broadly pessimistic mood in the country this spring as higher gasoline prices, sliding home values and a disappointing employment picture have raised fresh concerns about the pace of the economic recovery.”

According to The Post, “By 2 to 1, Americans say the country is pretty seriously on the wrong track, and nine in 10 continue to rate the economy in negative terms. Nearly six in 10 say the economy has not started to recover, regardless of what official statistics may say, and most of those who say it has improved rate the recovery as weak. . . . Overall, about six in 10 of those surveyed give Obama negative marks on the economy and the deficit. Significantly, nearly half strongly disapprove of his performance in these two crucial areas. Nearly two-thirds of political independents disapprove of the president’s handling of the economy, including — for the first time — a slim majority who do so strongly.”

Interestingly, The Post also notes, “In another indicator of rapidly shifting views on economic issues, 45 percent trust congressional Republicans over the president when it comes to dealing with the economy, an 11-point improvement for the GOP since March.” That percentage is greater than the 42% who say they trust the president more.

Yesterday, the ARRA News Service posted about 103 House Republicans supporting the the House Republican Study Committee's "Cut, Cap, and Balance” response to the debt limit and the bigger debt crisis that’s just over the horizon. It’s a simple, three-part plan:

• Cut spending to slash the deficit in half next year (requiring about $380 billion in spending cuts according to CBO)
• Cap spending so it aligns with average revenues (ratcheting quickly down to 18% of GDP from current 24%).
• Send a strong Balanced Budget Amendment to the states for ratification (with high hurdle for tax hikes and 18% of GDP spending cap).

Today, The Washington Times in an editorial said, “the debt ceiling represents the last chance conservatives have” to cut spending and prevent this most predictable crisis. The Republican Study Committee Chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), also said today "The United States of America, the most dynamic country in history, is running headlong into a major debt crisis. Prominent Democrat Erskine Bowles calls it 'the most predictable economic crisis in history.' And with Washington borrowing more than 40 cents out of every dollar spent, we are rapidly approaching a tipping point. While President Obama asked Congress for a blank check debt limit increase (which the House voted down 97-318), conservatives are getting behind a plan that could actually prevent the coming calamity."

Speaking on the floor yesterday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell explained how things got to this point. “[W]hile some in Washington have sought to paper over our economic problems, or offer weak assurances that a recovery is right around the corner, millions of Americans continue to suffer — with no end in sight. And very few people are confident that things will turn around anytime soon. It’s no secret why. For two and a half years, Democrats in Washington have paid lip service to the idea of job creation while pursuing an agenda that is radically opposed to it. And the results speak for themselves. They told us that if we borrowed a trillion dollars and spent it, unemployment wouldn’t rise above 8 percent. Two and a half years later, unemployment is hovering above nine percent, higher than when the Stimulus was signed. They told us that if we spent trillions on a new health care entitlement we’d see health care costs go down. A year later, health care costs are expected to go up. They told us that if we spent money we didn’t have on things like cash for clunkers, turtle tunnels, solar panels and windmills — in other words, on more government — the recovery would take care of itself.”

“These past weeks should have been a wake-up call for Democrats,” Leader McConnell said. “ Democrats have ignored every warning. Americans look at all this and ask themselves a simple question: when will these guys get serious?”

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Tags: Washington, D.C., The House, The Senate, poll numbers, the economy, lost jobs To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

"Dominoez" - The Coming Collapse of America

Bill Smith, Editor: In the "yesteryears" we used the term "the domino effect"to illustrate the spreading of communism. Cartoonist William Warren has now used dominoes in his latest political cartoon (below) to depict the coming collapse of the American economy.

Is there anyone "who cares" at the White House or in the Senate Democrat leadership and is also willing to stop or to help mitigate the coming economic collapse of America? Mr. Obama, we do not need anymore campaign rhetoric! The progressive liberals and even a few anarchist from odd political variations may be looking favorably toward the collapse of our country, but the rest of America is not.

Many House Republican have demonstrated their concern. They came to Washington with a clear understanding that they have no promise of returning for another term. They also understand that time is running out for certain problems to be resolved. They know they might be "out on the street" with their follow Americans if the economy collapses. Also, rumors are spreading of fear of a potential dictatorship operating out of the White House in the future if an economic collapse were to occur.

Yesterday, the ARRA News Service posted about 103 House Republicans supporting the the House Republican Study Committee's "Cut, Cap, and Balance” response to the debt limit and the bigger debt crisis that’s just over the horizon. It’s a simple, three-part plan:

• Cut spending to slash the deficit in half next year (requiring about $380 billion in spending cuts according to CBO)
• Cap spending so it aligns with average revenues (ratcheting quickly down to 18% of GDP from current 24%).
• Send a strong Balanced Budget Amendment to the states for ratification (with high hurdle for tax hikes and 18% of GDP spending cap).

Today, The Washington Times in an editorial said, “the debt ceiling represents the last chance conservatives have” to cut spending and prevent this most predictable crisis. The Republican Study Committee Chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), also said today "The United States of America, the most dynamic country in history, is running headlong into a major debt crisis. Prominent Democrat Erskine Bowles calls it 'the most predictable economic crisis in history.' And with Washington borrowing more than 40 cents out of every dollar spent, we are rapidly approaching a tipping point.  While President Obama asked Congress for a blank check debt limit increase (which the House voted down 97-318), conservatives are getting behind a plan that could actually prevent the coming calamity."

Yesterday, the House grassroots Republicans released their; “Cut, Cap, and Balance” proposal which is supported by numerous conservative organizations. Where are the democrats and other republicans? Forget the tabloid journalism over Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY). The crisis looming over America is far more important and yes "bigger" (pun intended) than the anatomy and behavior issues of the misguided Rep. Weiner. It is shameful that elected members of Congress, the "lame street" news, and the cable channels, including Fox News, are wasting time and effort on WeinerGate. They were and are taking their eyes off the the real problems as detailed above and illustrated below in William Warren's political cartoon.

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By William Warren: "Today my cartoon looks at the debt crisis which is spreading from Europe to the U.S."

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Tags: European Central Bank, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Political Cartoons, Portugal, Spain, U.S. Debt Crisis, William Warren, the economy, collapse of America, Anthony Weiner, US House, US Senate, White House, Cut, Cap, Balance, Bill Smith To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Of Chevy Volts, Circumcision and Obamacare

Some posts just cry out to be shared. The following is one of them. GM is a fellow "old" schooled blogger, husband, father, veteran, and has a way with words. Hope you enjoy his post as much as I did. - Bill Smith

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GM Roper, GM's Place: Three items that would seem to have no linkage at all. But lets examine this for just a moment in this short (I promise) post.

If San Francisco is able to ban circumcision, they are perhaps condemning more women to cervical cancer. The increase in cervical cancer is approximately 5.6 times higher in women who have partners who are uncircumcised than with circumcised partners. Thus, while our Jewish brothers and sisters feel it is an anti-Semitic law (and it is, because as the Constitution states “Congress (and by extension the city of San Francisco) shall make no law…”) it is also more than that.

One of the Constitutional arguments about the ill advised Obamacare Law is that congress does not have the power (under the commerce clause) to compel people to purchase something under the Commerce Clause. Were it so, congress could all then require us all to buy a Chevy Volt, or even a Hummer or perhaps a beanie with a propeller on top. In San Francisco’s case, the proposed city rule banning circumcision (an arguably medical practice not necessarily a cultural genital mutilation issue) one could argue that if the city has that kind of power, the city could also at some other time require male infants (and todlers, adolescent and adult men moving into the city) to have circumcision done in order to save countless women the horror that is cervical cancer.

In the case of Chevy Volts… well, who wants to spend $43,000 plus dollars to save maybe $1800.00 in increase gasoline costs per year? It would take approximately 23 years to make that a financially sound move. How many of us keep our cars for 23 years?

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Tags: Absurdities, Conundrums, Religion, Socialism, The Court, Abject Stupidity, Anti-Semitism, Political Correctness, GM Roper, Chevy Volts, Circumcision, Obamacare To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Video: Is Washington Creating Our Jobs Crisis?

Bankrupting America: As Washington continues to spend far beyond its means, uncertainty about the future of our economy is stifling the ability of businesses to plan for the future. When businesses owners are dealing with uncertainty, they’re less likely to invest and grow. This puts a strain on the job market.

Our new video takes a closer look at our jobs crisis and asks: what can Washington do to put Americans back to work?



Jobs and the Economy:

2011 College Graduates
“The class of 2011 will likely face the highest unemployment rate for college graduates…in history.” – The Economic Policy Institute

This spring, over 1.7 million college students[i] will graduate from four-year universities, bright eyed and ready to launch their careers. Has Washington prepared the job market to provide opportunity for so many young professionals to enter the workforce?

Class of 2011 and the Job Market
The Employment Situation
The Link: Uncertainty

The Employment Situation
In May, unemployment bounced to its highest level in 2011, at 9.1 percent.[ii]

Many Americans would argue the unemployment rate does not represent the job market they have encountered. While the Department of Labor reports 9.1 percent unemployment, Gallup rates underemployment, which takes into account people who have given up looking or taken part time work because they couldn’t find a job, at 19.1 percent.[iii]

Most Americans have felt the tight squeeze of a struggling economy, and college students are no exception. To put this into context: College student’s dads who graduated from college in the 1970’s encountered an average 6.1 percent[iv] unemployment rate… a stark difference from today’s college graduates.

The Link: Uncertainty
High government spending leaves businesses uncertain of future tax and interest rates, which leaves them more hesitant to invest in long-term projects that create jobs. Uncertainty over the future of the economy is keeping American businesses from recovery.

Washington needs to cut spending in order to foster an economy that is creating jobs for the Class of 2011.
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[i] National Center for Education Statistics. May 31, 2011.
[ii] Bureau of Labor Statistics. June 3, 2011.
[iii] Gallup: No Improvement in Gallup’s Underemployment Rate in May. June 3, 2011.
[iv] Bureau of Labor Statistics: Data. June 3, 2011.

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Tags: Bankrupting America, Washington, D.C., job, job crisis, Jobs, Economy, 2011 College Graduates, job market, employment To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

House "Cut, Cap and Balance" Plan on Cavuto

Republican Study Committee:


As reported in prior post: The House Republican Study Committee shared that 103 House Republicans sent a letter [pdf copy of letter with signatures identified] to Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor calling for a "Cut, Cap, and Balance” response to the debt limit and the bigger debt crisis that’s just over the horizon. It’s a simple, three-part plan:

• Cut spending to slash the deficit in half next year (requiring about $380 billion in spending cuts according to CBO)
• Cap spending so it aligns with average revenues (ratcheting quickly down to 18% of GDP from current 24%).
• Send a strong Balanced Budget Amendment to the states for ratification (with high hurdle for tax hikes and 18% of GDP spending cap).

With each passing day our nation’s fiscal health gets worse, leaving our children and grandchildren falling further into debt. Democrats seem to have given up, proposing even more borrowing in response to our massive debt addiction. With the problem growing larger every day, we must move quickly and unite behind a plan to cut spending and get our budget into balance.

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Tags: Cut Spending, Cap Spending, Balance the Budget, RSC, US House, Jim Jordan, Neil Cavuto, FoxNews, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Jobs Report Reminder That Democrats' Policies Are Only Making Things Worse

Balanced Budget Amendment

Today in Washington, D.C. - June 6, 2011:
After a series of pro forma sessions preventing recess appointments by President Obama, the Senate reconvenes at 2 PM today. At 4:30 PM, the Senate will take up the nomination of Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. to be solicitor general. Following around an hour of debate, the Senate will vote on cloture on the nomination.

Last week the US House passed (231-188) an appropriations bill, HR 2017, for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in fiscal 2012 that cuts about $1 billion from the department's budget in 2011, largely by cutting grants for first and local first responders administered by FEMA. Democrats largely opposed the bill because of cuts n grant programs which the House Republicans noted as being inefficient and expensive in a time when the federal government needs to cut spending. Democrats like using grants to shore up their votes. The appropriations bill (note moneys still must be authorized) provides DHS in fiscal 2012 with $40.6 billion. This is 2.6% less than their funding in inf fiscal 2011 and 7 percent less that the big spenders at the White House requested. The Senate has to pass their version of an

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is chair of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. She expressed her concerns over the House cuts but she has yet to bring forth an appropriation bill from her subcommittee. The House Republicans are following the Constitution while the Senate Democrats ignore the Constitution and opt to operate by continuing resolutions without subcommittee hearings.

Today, the House Republican Study Committee shared that 103 House Republicans sent a letter [pdf copy of letter with signatures identified] to Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor calling for a "Cut, Cap, and Balance” response to the debt limit and the bigger debt crisis that’s just over the horizon. It’s a simple, three-part plan:

• Cut spending to slash the deficit in half next year (requiring about $380 billion in spending cuts according to CBO)
• Cap spending so it aligns with average revenues (ratcheting quickly down to 18% of GDP from current 24%).
• Send a strong Balanced Budget Amendment to the states for ratification (with high hurdle for tax hikes and 18% of GDP spending cap).

With each passing day our nation’s fiscal health gets worse, leaving our children and grandchildren falling further into debt. Democrats seem to have given up, proposing even more borrowing in response to our massive debt addiction. With the problem growing larger every day, we must move quickly and unite behind a plan to cut spending and get our budget into balance.

ABC News reported on Friday, “Unemployment ticked up in May to 9.1 percent as private employers added 54,000 jobs, far fewer than economists were expecting, capping a week of gloomy economic news. The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the May unemployment figures [Friday] morning, and few were pleased given the string of negative economic reports. . . . More people entered the work force in May. But most of the new entrants couldn’t find work. That pushed the unemployment rate up from 9.0 percent in April. The number of unemployed rose to 13.9 million. And the government revised the previous months’ job totals to show 39,000 fewer jobs were created in March and April than first thought.”

Despite the disappointing numbers on the economy, Obama administration economic advisor Austan Goolsbee tried to minimize the bad jobs report, as the AP put it. But The Wall Street Journal editors remained unimpressed, writing today, “As chief White House economist Austan Goolsbee put it, ‘there are always bumps on the road to recovery, but the overall trajectory of the economy has improved dramatically over the past two years.’ Nice try, but there’s no way to spin news that the economy in May created only 54,000 new jobs, which is about one-third the number necessary to keep up with the growth in the labor force. The jobless rate rose for the second straight month to 9.1%, which is especially depressing nearly two years after the end of a very deep recession.”

Indeed, and it’s also worth noting that over two years after Democrats in Congress, at the insistence of the Obama administration, passed a nearly $1 trillion stimulus bill, today’s unemployment rate, 9.1%, is still higher than it was in February 2009, 8.2%, when the stimulus was passed. Millions of jobs have been lost since then despite promises from President Obama that “It's a plan that will save or create up to 4 million jobs over the next two years” and from Vice President Biden that in “18 months” the stimulus would “create 3.5 million jobs” and “literally drop-kicks us out of this recession.”

And it’s not just the failed stimulus; many other policies of the Obama administration are making it difficult to create American jobs as Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander pointed out in the Weekly Republican Address. “Last month the National Labor Relations Board moved to stop America’s largest exporter, the Boeing Company, from building airplanes at a non-union plant in South Carolina, suggesting that a unionized American company can’t expand its operations into one of the 22 states with right-to-work laws, which protect a worker’s right to join or not to join a union. . . . According to the chief of the Boeing company: ‘An unintended consequence of the Boeing complaint is that forward thinking CEOs also would be reluctant to place new plants in unionized states -- lest they be forever restricted from placing future plants across the country.’ Boeing is America’s largest exporter, but we want them to export airplanes, not jobs.”

As the WSJ editors put it, “The real ‘bumps on the road’ to recovery are these policies and the larger climate of hostility toward job creators that still prevails in Washington. A National Labor Relations Board that wants to stop businesses from moving plants; . . . hundreds of major new regulations from ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank and the EPA’s war on carbon energy; federal deficits that Mr. Obama says require higher taxes; . . . and so much more. The economy doesn’t need more of this.”

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Tags: Washington, DC, US Senate, US House, jobs, debt, spending, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!