News Blog for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. Upholding the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited "smaller" government, free markets, lower taxes, due process of law, liberty & individual freedom. Content approval rests with the ARRA News Service Editor. Opinions are those of the authors. While varied positions are reported, beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated for or by this "Blog" - no paid ads - no payments for articles.Fair Use Doctrine is posted & used. Blogger/Editor/Founder: Bill Smith, Ph.D. [aka: OzarkGuru & 2010 AFP National Blogger of the Year] Contact: editor@arranewsservice.com (Pub. Since July, 2006)Home PageFollow @arra
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato
(429-347 BC)
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Infographic: A Closer Look At Medicare
Bankrupting America: Government overspending has either been at the root, or contributed to, most our nation’s economic problems. And there are, of course, some expenditures that are more to blame than others. These are the primary drivers of our debt – big ticket discretionary items like defense spending and mandatory spending including entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. The way we spend on these programs is simply unsustainable.
Next week, we’ll give you a comprehensive breakdown of all you need to know about this and more in the form of our popular Budget Briefing Book. But today, we give you a sneak peek at one of the Book’s infographics – a closer look at Medicare. Click the image to enlarge.
NAME / Source:TEXT Tags:Infographic, medicare, Bankrupting AmericaTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Stephen Kruiser Takes on Idiocy and Icons of the Left - LOL
In the below video, Stephen Kruiser does his zanny stuff taking on libtards on his new PajamaMedia vodeo via Kruiser Control. While he does it in a humorous way, he hits the truth out the ball park 1000 percent more than the nut jobs promoting the liberal agenda. Stephen Kruiser has been doing professional stand-up comic and has been a conservative political activist for over two decades. After viewing the video, ask yourself how all thoses COWs on Wall Street would react if Kruiser put on a performance in Zuccotti Park (New York City) Wall Street Protesters Spread Like A Disease & Grandma Nancy Returns From the Mothership
Kruiser Control: Who are the only people crazier than the Occupy Wall Street protesters? Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) of course. See the insanity from your favorite Democrats on topics like abortion and job creation. Also hear what Kruiser thinks about Hillary Clinton joining the Obama ticket.
Now hang on for Kruiser's opinions:
Tags:Stephen Kruiser, humorist, conservative opinion, pjtv, kruiser control, video, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Hillary Clinton Barack Obama, Tingle time, Chris Matthews, occupy wall street, John Lewis, flashback Friday, circle of dumb, Martin Bashir, Nancy PelosiTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tags:Republican, presidential candidate, Herman Cain, Democrats, slander,Race Card, Tea Parties, Tea Party Terrorists, A.F. Branco, political cartoonist To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: The private company that owns Zuccotti Park backed down from its demand that the Wall Street protestors clear out so the park could be cleaned. And how did the protestors respond? Just as Iran or the jihadists in the Palestinian territories do -- at the first sign of weakness they attack!
Emboldened by their victory in occupying the park, the protestors decided to take their mops and brooms and "go clean up Wall Street." Chanting "The Whole World Is Watching," the mob attempted to breach the police barricades that had surrounded the park. And that wasn't the only lawlessness.
A Fox News affiliate in Boston reports that the Coast Guard has warned its members to avoid the Occupy Boston protestors while in uniform. Why? According to the report, one female Coast Guard member was spit on twice, verbally harassed and had a water bottle thrown at her.
No one in the great American middle class would be so disrespectful to a uniformed member of the Armed Forces. But these are the kinds of folks attracted to the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Unfortunately, there is more. Click here to watch the Featured Video on our homepage showing the anti-Semitism on display at the Occupy Wall Street protests.
What Do They Believe? Thanks to New York Magazine we know a bit more about the protestors. Reporters for the magazine recently interviewed 100 Occupy Wall Street protestors, and here's what they learned:
• 37 said that capitalism was inherently immoral and cannot be saved.
• Only six could correctly identify what the Volker Rule is -- one of the key demands of the big government regulatory crowd and a central component of the Dodd-Frank bill. In other words, these people don't know much about why they are there and what they are protesting for.
• When asked what they thought of Obama, one said he was doing great; 22 said he was doing the best he can; 40 said they believed in him, but he has let them down; and 27 said they never believed in him.
• The reporters also asked the demonstrators to rank how liberal they were compared to Barack Obama, Paul Krugman, Ralph Nader and Noam Chomsky.
Three said they were "liberal but mainstream -- like Barack Obama." Twelve said they were "strongly liberal -- like Paul Krugman." Forty-one were "fed up with the Democrats and felt the country needed a major overhaul -- like Ralph Nader." And 34, like Noam Chomsky, are "convinced the U.S. government is no better than, say, Al Qaeda."
Other demonstrators recently interviewed told reporters that they wanted cuts in the defense budget ranging from 80% to 100%. No, that isn't a typo. This is not mainstream America, my friends. These people are the grass roots of the Obama/Pelosi/Barney Frank Democrat Party!
------------- Gary Bauer is is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families where his articles are also shared. Tags:Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, cows, commies on Wal Street, Zuccotti Park, New York, protestors, liberals, left-wingTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
New Obama Admin Regulation Jeopardizes 200 Jobs At An Ohio Paper Mill, ‘Will Put 230,000 Jobs At Risk’ Nationwide LOCAL CONSEQUENCES: 200 Jobs At Ohio Paper Mill
“The city may lose more manufacturing jobs as SMART Papers announced Thursday it’s selling the business or closing up shop. Employees there were given notice the company will begin winding down operations now and will cease operations by the first quarter of next year. At stake are about 200 jobs, as well as tax and utilities revenue for the city.” (“SMART Papers For Sale; 200 Jobs At Risk,” Dayton Daily News, 10/14/11)
“Smart Papers, the Hamilton-based paper maker, said Thursday it has begun winding down operations... new federal pollution rules contributed to the decision...” “The company, which is the last North American manufacturer of premium coated printing papers used for everything from packaging to corporate reports, employs about 200. … uncertainty surrounding new federal pollution rules contributed to the decision, said Tim Needham, Smart Papers’ chairman.” (“Hamilton's Smart Papers Closing,” The Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/13/11)
“… as written today, Needham said the rules would require his company to essentially replace its existing boilers. Smart Papers uses electricity from its own generating plant to run the steam boilers, which in turn run the three paper-making machines at the plant. Beyond the cost of new boilers, Needham said, current boiler technology doesn’t exist to comply with the EPA standards. ‘When I talk to prospective purchasers, they say, “Can you guarantee us that we won’t end up spending twice what it costs to buy the business to comply with the rules?” No, I can’t, he said.”(Ibid)
NATIONAL CONSEQUENCES: ‘230,000 Jobs At Risk,’ Including 20,000 ‘Paper Industry Jobs’
A new study has found that more than 20,000 primary pulp and paper industry jobs and as many as 36 mills around the United States would be at risk of elimination if the boiler MACT and other are regulators are implemented. (“Boiler MACT Threatens Industry Jobs,” Pallet Enterprise, 10/1/11)
“Finch Paper has six boilers, five of which burn natural gas or oil, and another that burns wood waste. All could require investments under the EPA rule, said company spokesman John Brodt. … ‘Given the state of the economy today and the tremendous competitive pressures we face in a global paper industry, this rule would pose serious challenges to our long-term ability to be competitive and provide more than 700 jobs,’ he said.” “Lawmakers, Companies Fret New Boiler Rules,” The Post-Star [Glens Falls, NY], 8/17/10)
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS: “During this critical time in our nation's economic recovery, manufacturers simply cannot afford another costly and burdensome regulation that will put 230,000 jobs at risk, according to the Council of Industrial Boiler Owners. The Boiler MACT rule will cost manufacturers more than $14 billion in valuable capital that could be spent on investments to create jobs. Manufacturers thank the House members who stood up today for jobs and voted in support of this important legislation to rein in the EPA. We will continue to work to stop the EPA's aggressive agenda. Today's vote was another step to protect jobs and competitiveness, and we strongly urge the Senate to act on the EPA Regulatory Relief Act as soon as possible.” (National Association Of Manufacturers, Press Release, 10/13/11) Tags:Obama administration, Jobs, overregulations, government regulations, killing jobs, OhioTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
GOP Seeks To Block Obama's Job Killing Regulations - US. House Sides With Life
The House Chooses Life
Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct. 14, 2011
The Senate is in recess until Monday. When the Senate returns, it will take up H.R. 2112, the vehicle for three combined Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations bills: Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development.
Yesterday, the Senate voted 48-44 to confirm Allison Nathan to be District Judge for the District of Southern New York and 83-8 to confirm Susan Hickey to be District Judge for the District of Western Arkansas. By unanimous consent, the Senate confirmed Katherine Forrest to be District Judge for the District of Southern New York and Sung Kim to be Ambassador to the Republic of [South] Korea.
Today, a majority of the the House came down on the side of life. The House With bipartisan support from 15 democrats, the House passed (251-172) HR 358, the "Protect Life Act" which prohibits federal funds from being used to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion services. Pro-life advocate and candidiate for Indiana Governor, Rep, Mike Pence (R-IN) said, "Obamacare should be repealed, but in the meantime, let's take this moment to say yes to life."
Yesterday, the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee passed (20-12) a fiscal year 2012 authorization bill (HR 3116) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the committee, called the bill "an effective vehicle for reducing wasteful spending at DHS by hundreds of millions of dollars while requiring more efficient operations." The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed a companion authorization bill (S 1546) on Sept. 21. Both the full House and Senate must take up their respective bills and then reconcile them in a conference committee.
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed (275 to 142) a bill to delay EPA limits on pollutants from industrial boilers.
More and more often news stores are showing the impact of costly regulations imposed on the economy by the Obama administration. Yesterday, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, “Smart Papers, the Hamilton-based paper maker, said Thursday it has begun winding down operations while it seeks a potential buyer for all or part of its nearly 120-year-old paper business. The company, which is the last North American manufacturer of premium coated printing papers used for everything from packaging to corporate reports, employs about 200. Competition from Asia, rising costs of raw materials and uncertainty surrounding new federal pollution rules contributed to the decision, said Tim Needham, Smart Papers’ chairman.”
The Enquirer notes, “[Needham] said the rapid expansion of low-priced Asian coated paper manufacturing, increased costs of raw materials, and new federal pollution rules were also factors. Those new rules, Needham suggested, could make a sale more difficult. The Environmental Protection Agency rules, known as the boiler MACT – maximum achievable control technology – aim to reduce hazardous air pollutants caused by industrial boilers. The EPA issued the rule in March under a court-ordered deadline, and has said it plans to reconsider those rules by April 12. . . . But as written today, Needham said the rules would require his company to essentially replace its existing boilers. . . . Beyond the cost of new boilers, Needham said, current boiler technology doesn’t exist to comply with the EPA standards.”
It’s these kinds of job-killing regulations that Republicans are proposing legislation to block. Senate Republicans, led by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), have introduced the Jobs Through Growth Act which tries to remove the government-imposed obstacles to job creation generated by the Obama administration. The Senate Republican jobs plan “includes a moratorium on new regulations, and also a new process for Congressional approval of regulations through the REINS Act (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny). The plan repeals burdensome regulations like greenhouse gas emissions and farm dust requirements.”
And yesterday House Republicans passed a bill to block the costly EPA regulations that will shutter businesses like Ohio-based Smart Papers. According to Bloomberg News, “The measure was approved 275-142 yesterday as Republicans push to curtail Environmental Protection Agency regulations they say are harming the economy. . . . The House vote sends ‘a strong message of the importance of providing EPA with additional time to issue achievable standards,’ Thomas Ryan, a spokesman for Memphis, Tennessee- based International Paper Co., the world’s largest paper and pulp producer, said in an e-mail before the vote.”
As Sen. Paul said, “The president’s jobs plan was voted down this week by members of both parties. We simply cannot look to the failed policies of the last two years for an example of how to grow our economy and create jobs. More government spending and excessive regulation are the problem not the solution. We have spent too long increasing the tax and regulatory burdens on job creators, instead of allowing them to operate more freely and create more jobs.” Tags:Obama administration, regulations, killing jobs, US Senate, US House, life, stopping abortion with federal moneyTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Dr. Bill Smith, ARRA News Service Editor will be attending and reporting on Americans For Prosperity (AFP) Foundation's 5th annual Defending the American Dream Summit at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center this November 4th and 5th.
You are also invited to join thousands of your fellow activists at this Summit and to hear numerous speakers and attend workshops. Confirmed speakers to date include businessman and GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, radio host Mark Levin, New York Times best-selling author Jonah Goldberg, best selling author Dinesh D'Souza, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, U.S. Reps Andy Harris and Mike Pompeo, conservative commentator and author Andrew Breitbart, the American Spectator'sJohn Fund, Americans for Tax Reform's Grover Norquist, AFP Foundation President Tim Phillips, and many more!
Click here to register now or to learn more about the Defending the American Dream Summit. Early Registration includes access to all session, film night, and the Friday night Tribute to Ronald Reagan Dinner.
Student Registration includes special student sessions on activism, film night, the the Friday night Tribute to Ronald Reagan Dinner. A valid student ID will be required to claim student registration.
Family Registration includes special student sessions on activism, film night, and the Friday night Tribute to Ronald Reagan Dinner for each registrant. Registrants in the family package must be immediate family members. Number of registrants in the family package must consist of a minimum of 3 people and a maximum of 5. Tags:AFP, DAD, Americans For Prosperity, 2011, Defending the American Dream, Summit, Washington, D.C.To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Oct 13, 2011 Polling:CNN Reporting: GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, the former pizza chain executive, has surged into the top candidate tier in the blink of an eye. . . . NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, Cain is the republican front runner with 27% of the vote, four points better than Romney. MSNBC: Cain’s numbers are sky-high among Republican primary voters. Fifty-two percent view him favorably, versus just 6 percent who see him unfavorably. Among Tea Party supporters, his favorable/unfavorable score is 69 percent to 5 percent. And among Republicans who identify themselves as “very conservative,” it’s 72 percent to 2 percent.
Tags:2012 GOP Presidential debate, Republicans, GOP, candidate, 2012 primaries, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, tea party, A.F. Branco, political cartoonTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Holding your nose won't help. Just reading the following article is going to set off your olfactory system. While Kay Daly's words detail the stink raised by these COWS, her words themselves are right on and do not smell at all.
Joe Biden calls these COWS part of the "perfect storm." Liberal democrats and their Union thugs are embracing the COWS. It is time for these COWS, liberal democrats, and union hacks to be removed from both Zucotti Park, Congress and the White House. Whew, THEY STINK!
By Kay Daly, GOPUSA: The odors have been wafting upwind from Zucotti Park and after three weeks of fielding complaints, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has had enough -- it is time to clean the COWS yard.
COWS = Communists on Wall Street.
When you think about it, COWS is a pretty perfect acronym for the barnyard they have turned Zucotti Park into. Cows have that vacant look and a herd mentality. They stand around all day, chewing on grass. They always seem to get in the way of someone who is doing the work on the farm. And they never look up from the trough to see where the food comes from but boy do they expect it to be there. They are COWS.
Can you imagine not cleaning the COWS pen for 3 weeks? The poor owner of the plot of land currently occupied by this rowdy herd of drum beating, guitar-strumming, throwback hippie COWS, Brookfield Properties has been flooded with complaints and it goes way beyond malodorous COWS:
The company told police that it had received “hundreds of phone calls and emails” from locals complaining about "lewdness, groping, drinking and drug use, the lack of safe access to and usage of the Park, ongoing noise at all hours, unsanitary conditions and offensive odors,” NBC New York reports.
So it sounds as though the COWS have turned Zucotti Park into one part Woodstock, one part drug fueled, underground rave party, one part "JerseyShore", with a couple of political slogans thrown in for good measure. But they are all passionate about the issues....and stuff.
The cattle drive will begin Friday morning so that the power washing, trash removal, delousing, replanting, etc. can begin. Wouldn't be surprised if they broke out the HAZMAT suits. I'm predicting a full on stampede when the city officials try to move them for the cleaning to begin. COWS will be COWS, after all. Tags:protesters, COWS, New York City, Zucotti Park, Communists on Wall Street, democrats, union hacks, GOPUSA, Kay DalyTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct. 13, 2011
The Senate began consideration of 3 district judge nominees and will vote on them later today. Also, this afternoon, Senators will go to the House Chamber for a Joint Meeting of Congress with the President of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak. Then later today, the Senate could begin consideration of appropriations bills.
Today, the House is scheduled to vote on HR 358, the "Protect Life Act" which would prohibit federal funds from being used to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion services.
The House Judiciary Committee passed by voice vote ; H.R. 2471. The bill would let consumers give one-time online consent to release their rental data. Often referred to as the NetFlix bill because of complaints by NetFlix that technology has changed and peoples needs and desires have changed. A 1988 law bared disclosure of movie-rental information without a customer’s written consent and people are using FaceBook and other social networks to access videos. H.R. 2471 must still pass Congress on its own or as part of another bill.
Yesterday, the US Senate voted 83-15 to pass H.R. 3080, the South Korea Free Trade Agreement; 77-22 to pass H.R. 3079, the Panama Free Trade Agreement; and 66-33 to pass H.R. 3078, the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. The US House voted 262-167 to pass the Colombia agreement, 300-129 to pass the Panama agreement, and 278-151 to pass the South Korea agreement. After holding on to the agreements since he came to office and with high unemployment President Obama now identified these trade agreements as important in providing a $13 Billion boost in U.S. exports. While the agreements received bipartisan support, liberal "extreme" Democrats and unions opposed the agreements fearing loss of union jobs. The word "extreme" was used in the prior sentence to align with Sen. Schumer and the DNC policy to call everything supported by the Republicans as "extreme."
Reuters reports, “The Congress on Wednesday approved long-delayed trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama that are expected to lift exports by about $13 billion a year and give U.S. employment a boost."
Of course it’s worth recalling that these free trade agreements were initially negotiated by President George W. Bush, but when Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, they shelved the deals. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) even went out of her way to block a vote on the Colombia agreement. When President Obama took office, Republicans, including Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, emphasized the free trade agreements as something they were eager to work with the president on. Yet, at the behest of unions opposed to the deals, the Obama administration insisted on renegotiating them, delaying approval for years. Then, when the president finally had trade agreements he was comfortable with signing, he delayed submitting them to Congress, demanding, again because of the calls from Big Labor, that the trade agreements wait for the reauthorization of Trade Adjustment Assistance. And during that time, President Obama was touring the country, calling for Congress to pass trade agreements he still wouldn’t send to the Hill.
As a consequence of these delays, other countries signed free trade agreements with South Korea and Colombia, and U.S. products lost market share. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) explained to reporters yesterday, “[I]t's unfortunate that it took nearly 1,000 days for him to get these trade agreements up here, but now finally we're going to have an opportunity to give American businesses and American farmers and ranchers a chance to grow their businesses and to create more American jobs. Just as an example, Canada entered into a free trade agreement with Colombia on August the 15th, and since that trade agreement was implemented, they've already increased their wheat exports to Colombia by 18.3 percent.”
The New York Times described yesterday’s events: “Congress passed three long-awaited free trade agreements on Wednesday, ending a political standoff that has stretched across two presidencies. The move offered a rare moment of bipartisan accord at a time when Republicans and Democrats are bitterly divided over the role that government ought to play in reviving the sputtering economy.”
Yet, Democrats continue to be focused on sending partisan messages than on working together to create jobs. Roll Call reports, “After Republicans and two Democrats filibustered the [president’s stimulus] bill Tuesday, Democrats and the White House indicated they would break it up to bring to the floor separately. The idea is to force Republicans to block individual items — a payroll tax cut, infrastructure spending, etc. — that have broad support. Either Democrats will try to get the GOP to crack on a smaller piece, or they can go to the public and paint the Republicans as the do-nothing party.”
Also according to Roll Call, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) bragged, “‘We are going to be labeling “tea party economics,” “tea party double-dip recession,” “tea party gridlock.” And we think that that is going to have a real effect,’ Schumer, the majority’s Conference vice chairman and chief messaging strategist, told a breakfast roundtable hosted by Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank.” Schumer, of course, has a long track record of putting an emphasis on partisan talking points.
As Leader McConnell said yesterday, “The Senior Senator from New York made it pretty clear yesterday that he’s more interested in drawing a contrast with Republicans than he is in actually passing bipartisan legislation that we know will spur job growth. But I don’t believe the 14 million Americans looking for work right now care more about contrasts than jobs . . . .As I see it, the President has a choice. He can spend the next 13 months trying to get Republicans to vote against legislation that won’t create sustainable private sector jobs and which is designed to fail in Congress, or he can work with us on legislation that will actually encourage small businesses to create jobs and is actually designed to pass.”
On another note, overseas press continues to take note of Speaker Boehners opposition to the Senate "China currency" bill. Business Day reported that House Speaker John Boehner opposed the Senate approved bill that "would allow the US to put countervailing duties on products from countries [primarily China] found to be subsidising their exports by undervaluing their currencies." Boehner said the bill poses "a 'very severe risk' of a trade war and should not be taken up by the US Congress." Tags:Washington, D.C., US Senate, US House, trade agreements, NetFlix bill, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) Writes A Memo Encouraging His Colleagues To Repeat One Of His Favorites: ‘I Always Use The Word Extreme’ – TODAY –
New Strategy: ‘Democrats Will Brand GOP As Extreme’
– FLASHBACK –
Schumer: ‘I Always Use The Word Extreme’
“Moments before a conference call with reporters was scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning, Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, apparently unaware that many of the reporters were already on the line, began to instruct his fellow senators on how to talk to reporters...”(“On A Senate Call, A Glimpse Of Marching Orders,” The New York Times, 3/29/11)
“Mr. Schumer told them [Sens. Boxer, Cardin Carper & Blumenthal] to portray John A. Boehner of Ohio, the speaker of the House, as painted into a box by the Tea Party, and to decry the spending cuts that he wants as extreme.”Ibid
“‘I always use the word extreme,’ Mr. Schumer said. ‘That is what the caucus instructed me to use this week.’” Ibid
“A minute or two into the talking-points tutorial, though, someone apparently figured out that reporters were listening, and silence fell.” Ibid
“Then the conference call began in earnest, with the Democrats right on message. ‘We are urging Mr. Boehner to abandon the extreme right wing,’ said Ms. Boxer … Mr. Carper continued with the theme, referring to some House Republicans’ ‘right-wing extremist friends.’ Mr. Cardin decried Mr. Boehner’s giving into ‘extremes of his party.’ Mr. Blumenthal closed by speaking of the ‘relatively small extreme group of ideologues…’” (“On A Senate Call, A Glimpse Of Marching Orders,” The New York Times, 3/29/11)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY):< “…extreme…”(Sen. Schumer, Congressional Record, S.6319, 10/6/11) Tags:Senator, Charles Schumer, Chuck Schumer, New York, NY, democrat strategy, using words, extremeTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Gary Bauer, "if you want a bit of encouragement today, check out this picture on the Drudge Report:
Comments by Matt Drudge.
Enthusiasm Gap?
Photos show crowds for candidate Obama, October 27, 2008 vs. candidate Obama, October 11, 2011
THE CAMERA EYE: OBAMA PITTSBURGH, PA 2008 VS. 2011
October 27, 2008
October 11, 2011
Tags:Gary Bauer, Matt Drudge, Drudge Report, Barack Obama, enthusiasm gap, event, Pittsburgh, PA, photos, October, 2008, 2011To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
President Obama's $447 Billion Job's Plan was defeated tonight in the Senate (50-49) falling 10 votes short. Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson (NE) and Jon Tester (MT) joined all the Republicans to defeat the bill. Sen. Mark Prior (D-AR))voted for the bill and again failed to support the position of most Arkansans opposed to the programs of President Obama. . . .
But the plan is not dead. Senate leader Harry Reid used a Senate procedure . . . to keep open the option for another vote. He changed his vote to against the plan making the final vote 51-48 which for some stupid reason allows Reid a second bite at the apple.
After voting to move President Barack Obama’s blighted $447 billion jobs bill closer to passage, the Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA) reissued its call for Sen. Mark Pryor to make public his position on President Barack Obama’s Stimulus 2.0 which raises taxes on America’s job creators.
RPA Communications Director Katherine Vasilos said,
“After voting to enable another failed economic policy of the Obama Administration, today we’re asking Senator Pryor to tell us his position on the President’s plan to raise taxes on American job creators - putting Arkansas’ natural gas jobs at risk.
"Sen. Pryor voted for President Obama’s 2009 failed stimulus bill which is estimated to cost taxpayers $1.17 trillion and did little to stimulate the economy or prevent the nation’s unemployment from rising above 9 percent or Arkansas from reaching a 24-year-high unemployment rate of 8.3 percent.
“Senators Mark Pryor and Harry Reid need to consider the numerous jobs bills already passed by the U.S. House which focus on long-term private sector job growth. As Arkansans face the highest unemployment rate in nearly a generation, it’s irresponsible to threaten our natural gas industry and its workers with job-killing tax hikes. It’s time for Senator Pryor and the Democratic Party of Arkansas to stand with Arkansas’ natural gas workers and oppose the Presidents’ flawed jobs plan.”
Additional Points of Interest: Senator Pryor Fails To Take Position On Stimulus II
“‘Until more details are available, it’s hard to support or denounce the proposal,’ said Lisa Ackerman, a spokeswoman for Pryor.” (Peter Urban, “State May Get $1 Billion Extra In Obama Plan,” Arkansas News Bureau , 9/13/11)
Obama Calls For Tax Hikes On Oil And Gas Industry
“Still, in calling for sizable tax revenue, Obama gave the congressional joint committee a choice: It could generate $1.5 trillion in new revenues through an overhaul of the tax code, or it could adopt his recommendations, most of them ideas recycled from his previous budget proposals, which were largely ignored by Congress. They include tax increases on high-income families, oil and gas companies and U.S.-based corporations that earn profits overseas.” (Jim Kuhnhenn, “Tax the rich, Obama says’ class warfare, says foes,” AP, 9/19/11)
$1.17 Trillion: Total Cost of First Failed Stimulus With InterestCBO, 8/24/11, CBO, 1/27/09)
Arkansas Unemployment at 8.3 Percent, Highest in 24 YearsBureau of Labor Statistics Tags:Arkansas, U.S. Senator, Mark Pryor, Obama Stimulus 2.0, Obama supporterTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday released "Postal Crisis 101: The Postal Bailout," a new video explaining the dire consequences if Congress fails to confront the fiscal crisis facing the United States Postal Service. Since its peak in 2006, mail volume has declined by 46 billion pieces. The Postal Service has projected a $10 billion loss in Fiscal Year 2011. [More info after the video]
Just as trains replaced the pony express, the Internet has become the modern Postal Service’s greatest competition. That’s not going to change.
A better USPS, however, is possible. Explore the site. Get the facts. Learn about the Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act. Advise Congress on how to fix Postal budget shortfalls with the Postal Reform App. Americans deserve an efficient USPS that delivers for decades. But misguided action - or none at all - could saddle taxpayers with a multi-billion dollar bailout for the Postal Service. The clock is ticking!
The Issa-McCain-Ross Postal Reform Act of 2011 is the only plan that removes road blocks which prevent the Postal Service from reducing expenses in line with declining revenue, implementing cost-cutting structural reforms, and ensuring the PostalService meets its obligations without exposing taxpayers to a multi-billiontaxpayer funded bailout. Visit SavingThePostalService.com to learn more. Tags:Postal Service, losses, taxpayers, bailout, need for new plan, Save the Postal Service, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Eric's Story: One employee at this family-owned small business spends half of his working hours dealing with EPA regulations. Nationally, Americans spent more than 8.8 billion hours filling out government paperwork -- an increase of 19% in the last decade -- according to the Office of Management and Budget. {More after the video]
Manufacturing job creators like CWM pay 54 percent of all EPA regulatory costs. New EPA rules to regulate greenhouse gases from stationary sources will make it more difficult for CWM to focus on manufacturing and find solutions in the marketplace.
· The EPA's own estimates show these new regulations would cost businesses $132 million in the first year and place 10,000 new facilities nationwide under EPA regulatory control.
· On April 7, 2011, the House passed H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act. This legislation would prohibit the EPA from unilaterally regulating greenhouse gases, something Congress has never authorized it to do.
The cost of new regulations has grown substantially in recent years. That's why House Republicans developed AmericanJobCreators.com, a platform for job creators to communicate directly with members of Congress about government regulations that are denying economic freedom. To date, more than 1,400 American job creators have told us their story.
Remember, jobs don't come from government. They come from people who see opportunities, take risks, innovate, and earn success. Visit AmericanJobCreators.com to tell us how government regulations cost your business. Tags:jobs, find a job, government regulation, EPA regulation, Federal regulation, manufacturing jobs, made in America, Chicago jobs, Illinois jobs,
Chicago white metal, American jobs, private sectorTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
McConnell: Democrats Have Designed The Job Stimulus Bill To Fail
Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct 12, 2011:
The Senate began consideration of the three long-stalled trade agreements: H.R. 3080, the South Korea Free Trade Agreement; H.R. 3079, the Panama Free Trade Agreement; and H.R. 3078, the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Later this evening, after approval from the House, the Senate will vote on the trade agreements.
Today the US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee tired of of the Attorney General's dancing around the issue of his knowledge of or involvement in "Fast and Furious." The House via the District Federal Court subpoenaed the records and documents of Attorney General Eric Holder and other Justice Department officials for Justice Department related to an operation now known as Fast and Furious. In reality, the operation prevented government law enforcement agencies from stopping of the sale and transport of arms to Mexican Cartels which then resulted in the death and harm to both Mexicans and Americans.
Yesterday, the US House passed the several Veterans related bills: The Veterans Employment Promotion Act, Veterans Sexual Assault Prevention and Health Care Enhancement Act and the Veterans Dog Therapy Training Act.
Previously not reported, the US House passed Broadband Stimulus Oversight legislation to improve the “accountability and transparency” of the broadband portion of the stimulus package. The bill requires the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to terminate awards and return funds if the Treasury finds associated waste, fraud or insufficient performance. About $7 billion has been allocated in grants and loans for broadband build-out, adoption and education.
Last night, Senate Democrats held open a cloture vote for over 2 hours, but were barely able to get a majority to vote to invoke cloture on moving to their version of the president’s stimulus bill, modified to include a new surtax on jobs creators. The bill needed 60 votes and fell far short, by a vote of 50-49, with bipartisan opposition.
Prior to that vote, the Senate voted 63-35 to pass S. 1619, the China currency bill, and 98-0 to confirm a district judge nominee.
Democrats have spent a lot of time over the last day accusing Republicans of playing politics with the economy, but news reports today remind that it’s been Democrats and the White House all along putting political considerations first.
Politico writes today, “Winning in Congress was never really part of the plan. President Barack Obama didn’t do much to bring along lawmakers on his jobs bill — and it showed in the Senate vote Tuesday. The $447 billion measure stalled after struggling to win even a simple majority to move forward, on its surface an embarrassing setback at the hands of the Democratic-controlled Senate. In a shift for the White House, the relentless focus on the American Jobs Act wasn’t about racking up a legislative win. It was always about laying the foundation for the only real argument Obama has in 2012: I have a plan to create jobs now and Republicans don’t. Along the way, a president who hates to lose — on the basketball court, in the voting booth or on Capitol Hill — realized it was his surest strategy for winning. ‘The president has learned that a loss can be a win,’ said a senior Democratic strategist who supports Obama. . . . This is the new Obama ‘long game,’ one that many Democrats say has been long overdue. Instead of courting an often-unwilling Congress, as he did during the first 32 months of his presidency, Obama is more focused on bending public opinion toward his priorities and setting up a contrast with Republicans.”
According to Politico, “In a major rhetorical escalation, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina on Tuesday went a step further than White House officials by accusing Senate Republicans of trying to keep unemployment high to benefit the GOP’s political fortunes. He described the GOP as engaged in a ‘political kamikaze mission.’ ‘Their strategy is to suffocate the economy for the sake of what they think will be a political victory,’” Messina wrote in email to supporters. ‘They think that the more folks see Washington taking no action to create jobs, the better their chances in the next election. So they’re doing everything in their power to make sure nothing gets done.’”
In fact, Democrats actually designed their bill to fail from the first.Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell explained things prior to the vote yesterday, “Of course, the truth of the matter is, most Democrats know just as well as I do that passing another stimulus and tax hike is a lousy idea — which is why the President is having such a hard time convincing many Democrats to vote for it. So here’s what they’ve decided to do instead. Democrats have designed this bill to fail—they’ve designed their own bill to fail — in the hopes that anyone who votes against it will look bad for opposing a bill they misleadingly refer to as a ‘jobs bill.’”
“That’s not just my interpretation,” Leader McConnell said. “The Senior Senator for New York has been out there telling reporters that what Democrats are going for today is ‘contrast.’ It doesn’t seem to matter that this bill won’t pass, or that even if it did pass, American businesses would be stuck with a permanent tax hike. Forget about all that. What matters most to the Democrats who control the Senate, according to the stories I’ve been reading, is that they have an issue to run on next year. This whole exercise, by their own admission, is a charade that’s meant to give Democrats a political edge in an election that is 13 months away.”
Indeed, in a fact-checking piece yesterday, the AP reported, “‘He [President Obama] knows it's not going to pass. He's betting that voters won't pick up on it, or even if they do they will blame Congress and he can run against the ‘do-nothing Congress,’” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior fellow at the University of Southern California's School of Policy, Planning and Development. John Sides, political science professor at George Washington University, said Obama's approach on the jobs bill is ‘more about campaigning than governing.’” On Monday, Politico noted Democrats “know it's going nowhere,” referring to “the public theater.”
As Leader McConnell said today, “The fact of the matter is, if President Obama were willing to work with us on more bipartisan legislation like [the three free trade agreements], nobody would even be talking about a dysfunctional Congress. There wouldn’t be any reason to. But, as we all know, that doesn’t fit in with the President’s reelection strategy. The White House has made it clear that the President is praying for gridlock, so he has somebody – besides himself -- to point the finger at next November. And it’s a big mistake. The American people will not tolerate their own President putting politics ahead of working with Congress on the kind of bipartisan legislation we know both parties could agree on right now. . . . As I see it, the President has a choice. He can spend the next 13 months trying to get Republicans to vote against legislation that won’t create sustainable private sector jobs and which is designed to fail in Congress, or he can work with us on legislation that will actually encourage small businesses to create jobs and is actually designed to pass.” Tags:Washington, D.C., US House, US Senate, Obama's Stimulus Bill, subpoenas, Eric Holder, Fast and Furious, veterans, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tags:Occupy Wall Street, Protestors, Protesters, Tea Party, William Warren, political cartoonTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tags:Occupy DC, Occupy Wall Street, Tea Parties, tea party, tea party express, Wall Street Protesters, Wall Street protests, Makers, Takers, Flea Party, A.F. Branco, political cartoonTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (ID-CT): “If a vote were called on the American Jobs Act as it is now… I would vote against… the bottom line here is that I don't believe that the potential in this act for creating jobs justifies adding another half trillion dollars to our almost $15 trillion national debt.” (Sen. Lieberman, Floor Remarks, 10/11/11)
Manchin “…opposes underlying jobs plan.” (Manu Raju, @mkraju, Twitter, 10/11/11) Tags:US Senate, Democrats, opposed to stimulus plan, Obama's Job planTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is jumping to the defense of the Occupy Wall Street movement after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor blasted the "growing mobs" across the country. The DCCC has launched an online petition defending the protestors as representative of the American middle class. Really?
Here's who the DCCC thinks represents the middle class:
The Occupy Boston contingent has welcomed supporters of a Muslim extremist who is accused of supporting jihadi groups. Since midnight, Boston police report having arrested nearly 130 people.
Over the holiday weekend, 100 members of the Occupy Washington crowd tried to storm the National Air and Space Museum. Why? Because there was a drone aircraft similar to those used to kill Al Qaeda terrorists on display. To most Americans, drones are an effective weapon in our war against Islamofascism. But the left-wing extremists who Democrats are embracing were trying to prevent the "glorification of extra-judicial executions and the military industrial complex at a public institution."
Today the Washington, D.C. group barged into a Senate office building and refused police orders to leave, thus provoking multiple arrests.
The Occupy Chicago group spent the day yesterday trying to outmaneuver the Chicago Police Department in order to raid the hotel where the American Mortgage Bankers Association was meeting.
The Occupy Atlanta group refused to let Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), a hero of the civil rights movement, address its members.
What does the Occupy Wall Street movement want? Brian Phillips, the group's spokesman, recently told NPR, "My political goal is the overthrow of the government." You can hear it for yourself here, about three minutes into the story. That may explain why the Communist Party USA is also on board with the Occupy Wall Street movement. To the GOP candidates debating tonight: You will be asked what you think of this riff-raff. Don't be mealy-mouthed! Take them on! They do not speak for middle America.
The DCCC's action is just the latest example of the liberal establishment embracing this movement of anarchists and socialists. But here's a note to the DCCC: People who beat on bongos, urinate in parks and worse may be your loyal activists, but they are not the American Middle Class! Tags:Democrat, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, DCCC, radical protestors, Occupy Wall Street, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Reid Plans To Bring Obama's "Job Stimulus" To A Vote
Update - 10:10 PM:President Obama's $447 Billion Job's Plan was defeated tonight in the Senate (50-49) falling 10 votes short. Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson (NE) and Jon Tester (MT) joined all the Republicans to defeat the bill. Sen. Mark Prior (D-AR))voted for the bill and again failed to support the position of most Arkansans opposed to the programs of President Obama. However, Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) vote not to support Obama's plan and issued the following statement: "The Majority Leader’s bill is more of the same policy that failed with President Obama’s first ‘Stimulus.’ We cannot tax, borrow, and spend our way to prosperity. Real economic recovery will not come by growing government. It will only come by fostering an economic environment where the private sector can create jobs, which this bill does not. Instead it creates jobs that will go away when the money goes away, just as we saw with the President’s last ‘Stimulus’ bill. That approach failed then and will again.U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) issued the following statement after voting against cloture on Senator Harry Reid’s Jobs Bill: “The Majority Leader’s bill is more of the same policy that failed with President Obama’s first ‘Stimulus.’ We cannot tax, borrow, and spend our way to prosperity. Real economic recovery will not come by growing government. It will only come by fostering an economic environment where the private sector can create jobs, which this bill does not. Instead it creates jobs that will go away when the money goes away, just as we saw with the President’s last ‘Stimulus’ bill. That approach failed then and will again. "
But the plan is not dead. Senate leader Harry Reid used a Senate procedure (amazing since he overruled another procedure last week available to the minority party) to keep open the option for another vote. He changed his vote to against the plan making the final vote 51-48 which for some stupid reason allows Reid a second bite at the apple.
The Senate passed (63-35) S.1619, the China currency bill. Bill now goes to the US House.
---------------- Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct. 11, 2011
At 5:30 PM, the Senate will hold a series of 3 roll call votes. The first vote will be on a district judge. The second vote will be on final passage of S. 1619, the China currency bill which Democrats previously overturned Senate precedents in order to block amendments to the bill by Republicans.
The third vote will be on cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 1660, a modified version of President Obama’s latest stimulus bill. The previous version included numerous tax hikes Democrats didn’t like, so they’ve replaced all of them with one big surtax on job creators.
If cloture is not invoked on the motion to proceed to the stimulus, the Senate is likely to finally turn to debate on the 3 free trade agreements that have languished for years: H.R. 3080, the South Korea Free Trade Agreement; H.R. 3079, the Panama Free Trade Agreement, and H.R. 3078, the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.
After ignoring or avoiding the stimulus bill President Obama has been campaigning around the country for the last few weeks, Senate Democrats are finally holding a vote this afternoon on it. Of course, the vote is expected to fail, and despite Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) predictions on MSNBC this morning that the “overwhelming majority of Democrats” will vote for it, there are serious questions as to whether a majority of Democrat senators will support the bill.
As the AP reports today, “Democratic unanimity is not assured. Moderates like Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. — both are up for re-election next year in states where Obama figures to lose — may abandon their party, even as oil-state Democrats have been assuaged by a decision to get rid of an Obama proposal to have oil companies give up tax breaks. ‘We’re likely to lose two, three, four Democrats,’ Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second ranking Democrat in the Senate, told Chicago's WTTW-TV Monday.”
And The Hill writes, “Democratic leaders in the Senate are scrambling to avoid defections on President Obama’s jobs package, which appears headed for defeat on Tuesday. A lack of Democratic unity on the president’s bill would be embarrassing for the White House, which has been scolding House Republicans for refusing to vote on the measure.”
Indeed, The Hill points out, “Despite the changes, the legislation still does not enjoy the support of all 53 senators who caucus with the Democrats. A handful of Democrats are undecided or leaning no on the bill. Democrats who will vote no or are leaning no include Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Jon Tester (Mont.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.), who all hail from red states and are up for reelection next year. . . . [Sen. Joe] Lieberman [ID-CT] opposes the bill because the 5.6 percent surtax on millionaires is being used for new spending instead of reducing the deficit, and will vote against the measure on final passage, his office said. . . . The office of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Monday that he is undecided. ‘He wants to see the whole thing — including amendments — before he decides whether he’ll vote for it,’ an aide said. . . . Tester is officially against the bill. He supports an overhaul of the tax code rather than the changes in the bill and is concerned that the payroll tax cuts would weaken Social Security. . . . Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) remained officially undecided on the bill as of Monday, his office said. Webb has a problem with the millionaire’s surtax because it is a tax increase on ordinary earned income. He would prefer closing loopholes and increasing taxes on capital gains. Nelson has spoken disparagingly of Obama’s proposal, but his office said Monday that Nelson has not decided yet how he will vote on it and is still studying the bill. Manchin has been critical of the legislation, though he, too, has not said how he will vote. His office did not respond to questions Monday.”
Meanwhile, jobs groups have declared their opposition to the new surtax Democrat Senate leaders added to the stimulus bill. In a letter to senators last week, a group that includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, and the Associated General Contractors, wrote, “the burden of the proposed tax increases would fall disproportionately on the income of America’s small and mid-sized businesses who pay taxes at individual rates. . . . the Obama Administration’s own data demonstrates that 4 out of 5 of the taxpayers who will face this surtax are business owners – and thus, increasing the tax burden on these business owners will reduce the amount of capital that they would otherwise have available to invest in their company or hire additional workers.”
“In sum,” the jobs groups write, “the Senate legislation would pay for the President’s Jobs Bill by raising tax rates on hundreds of thousands of business owners, a job killing tax hike to pay for a bill purported to strive for job creation.”
As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell explained last week, “The president himself has said that raising taxes is the last thing you want to do in a weak economy — even the White House predicts the unemployment rate will be high when this tax would kick in. So the real goal here for the Democrats, as far as I can tell, is entirely political — by arguing for a permanent tax hike to pay for a temporary stimulus, they essentially admitting they’re not interested in creating jobs–because proposing a partisan tax hike 13 months before an election won’t create a single job.” Tags:INSERT TAGSTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Ralph Benko, Contributing Author: Last Wednesday, Occupy Wall Street, known at Twitter as #OWS, surged, thanks to a boost from MoveOn.org, to 15,000 souls. That same day, former White House Green Jobs Czar Van Jones rallied hundreds at the Capitol. Smaller demonstrations have been reported in 50 cities.
Also on Wednesday the Heritage Foundation commenced an effort to tackle the underlying cause of the uneasiness manifesting in the streets of America, both Wall and Main, and the world. If the populist left and the populist right align, as they well may, we may be on the cusp of a Constitutional Realignment, or, stated plainly: really throwing the bums out.
One of the protesters’ most clearly defined complaints is wealth inequality. Wealth inequality is described at length by then Federal Reserve Bank President (now Board Vice Chairman) Janet Yellen and, more recently by former President Bill Clinton.
Keynes prophesied in The Economic Consequences of the Peace something very much like #OWS (and the whole world of protests) and addressed the underlying cause of the resentment:
Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the capitalist system was to debauch the currency. … By this method they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and, while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some. The sight of this arbitrary rearrangement of riches strikes not only at security, but at confidence in the equity of the existing distribution of wealth. Those to whom the system brings windfalls, beyond their deserts and even beyond their expectations or desires, become ‘profiteers,’ who are the object of the hatred …. [Emphasis added.]
Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.
Keynes anticipated the dynamic we witness. Although Keynes was (on and off) opposed to the gold standard of his day, Lord Robert Skidelsky, his definitive biographer, astutely noted in the Financial Times that “Keynes’s famous dismissal of the gold standard as a “barbarous relic” does not quite capture his opinion of the metal, which he thought would be useful as a constitutional monarch but disastrous as a despot.” Bravo to Heritage for being that one in a million able to diagnose.
More lead-footed “Keynesian” dogmatists than Skidelsky are horrified that the right is rallying to monetary reform and, especially, to the gold standard. The Washington Post’s Steve Pearlstein, The New York Times’ Paul Krugman, ThinkProgress’ Matt Yglesias and Marie Diamond, The Washington Monthly‘s Steve Benen and Michael O’Hare and The Roosevelt Institute’s Mike Konczal, Prof. Barry Eichengreen and Thomas Frank all have noted (with alarm), that, in the words of Krugman, “Gold bugs have taken over the GOP.”
Reagan, from Heaven, must be cheering on his fellow gold bugs’ takeover!
And #OWS is by no means an isolated event. On Sept. 28, the New York Times devoted more than half of its front page, above the fold, to an article datelined Madrid, titled “As Scorn for Vote Grows, Protests Surge Around the Globe: Many Are Driven by Contempt of Political Class.” Contempt of the political class? Sounds like … the Tea Party Patriots…. Welcome to the party, #OWSers!
Center-right and libertarian monetary policy conferences are beginning to come at a blizzard pace. Over the course of just this autumn at least six especially notable ones: The Utah Monetary Summit (with international attendees) coordinated by the potent Larry Hilton and supported by the American Principles Project (with which this writer is professionally associated); Cato; Atlas Foundation, James Grant, and the granddaddy of monetary conferences, The Committee for Monetary Research and Education.
And Heritage. Heritage Foundation is, perhaps universally, acknowledged as, well, “the gold standard” of policy institutes. And the very same day as #OWS crested — and Van Jones stormed Capitol Hill — Heritage broke its long silence on monetary policy. It sponsored a “Conference on a Stable Dollar: Why We Need It and How to Achieve It.” While the event was studiedly nonpolitical the two congressional candidates in the audience, Daria Novak and Anna Little, both firmly declared they were adding the gold standard to their platforms.
Heritage’s gravitas, and the fact that so many intellectual and policy heavyweights presented — to list just those with doctorates, the president of Heritage, Dr. Edwin J. Feulner, Dr. Brian Domitrovic, Dr. Lawrence Lindsey, Dr. Judy Shelton, Dr. Steve Hanke, Dr. Lawrence White and Dr. Jerry Jordan; to name the political and policy heavyweights, the Honorable J. William Middendorf, Steve Forbes, and Lewis E. Lehrman — gave this conference an extraordinary impact. The “economic consequences of the conference” are resounding still and may resound for decades.
Heritage proceeded with impeccable neutrality. Gold was not even referenced in the conference literature. Yet … “Stuart Varney, a Fox News host and moderator of the panel, asked the audience to raise their hands if they thought that gold should be part of some sort of monetary reform. Nearly the entire audience of wonks, academics, college students, and hedge fund managers raised their hands,” observed FrumForum reporter Noah Kristula-Green.
Ralph Benko Senior Advisor,
American Principles Project’s
Gold Standard
Former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, who presented the closing luncheon address, is a greatly respected voice. He famously has predicted that America will return to the gold standard within five years. Forbes says the issue of “whether” we should do so is resolved. The issue, now, is “how.” Forbes’ call to action imparted a certain urgency to the proceedings.
Astute suggestions on how to move forward were provided by Dr. Shelton and several others. The most comprehensive prescription was that contained in the keynote by Lewis E. Lehrman, chairman of the Lehrman Insitute (with which this writer is professionally associated), and Reagan Gold Commissioner, fresh from a private discussion on the gold standard with a well-respected U.S. Senator. Lehrman’s keynote drew on his unique status as the only living protégé of French savant Jacques Rueff and upon over four decades of erudite engagement with monetary policy. Seth Lipsky in The New York Sunbroke the scoop:
The first step … would be for America to announce the “unilateral resumption of the gold monetary standard” at “a date certain” … “defined by law as a certain weight unit of gold….” … Step two in the Lehrman Plan would be the minting by the Treasury and authorized private mints of what Mr. Lehrman calls “legal tender gold coin in appropriate denominations, free of any and all taxation.”
No contortions are needed to cross Keynes’s bridge between the profiteer-hating #OWS and the sober reformers gathered in monetary conclave by Heritage Foundation. The official website of Occupy Wall Street contains an entire forum dedicated to the gold standard. While by no means unanimous (please read it, and comment on it, here), a theme emerges that elegantly is summarized by one of the activist/commentators there: “Gold and silver. Been honest money since the dawn of time. The only money that’s ever worked….” Onward to gold!
------------ Ralph Benko is senior advisor, economics, to American Principles in Action’s Gold Standard 2012 Initiative, a lead participant in the Iowa Tea Party’s upcoming Bus Tour. He co-led the gold standard breakout session at the Tea Party Patriots’ American Summit and is the editor of the Lehrman Institute’s The Gold Standard Now This article which first appeared in Forbes was submitted to the ARRA News Service editor for reprint by contributing author Ralph Benko. Tags:Ralph Benko, occupy Wall Street OWS, political class, Banking, Gold, Economy, Economy,United States, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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