hello america! i woke up today only to find the following in my inbox &, it is something i just have to respond to.
"I have a question that only a good conservative republican can answer. Hopefully you can in a sentence or 2. I also believe in smaller government and less taxation, however, I don't understand how only tax cuts can end this recession. My confusion stems from trying to understand how tax cuts DIRECTLY helps people who are unemployed and how tax cuts help small businesses that operate in the RED like mine. Please do not tell me that small business will create jobs, because as I mentioned I and many others operate in the red and would not have any more money. Thanks."
first, the question is implied-never directly asked; secondly, i can't do justice to this peice in a sentence or two. but i will do my best to unravel your confusion.
i agree with smaller government & less taxes however, the present regime is going in the opposite direction. obama is 'growing' government at our expense &, if you care to remember, he said he was going to get rid of the programs & agencies that don't work---guess they work fine because in addition to those 30 agencies created by the "BILL", he created another 1 today for the auto industry. sure glad america wants to pay for them.
tax cuts by themselves won't stem the tide. they do need to be coupled with responsible federal spending. the "BILL" has exceedingly little responsible spending in it. yes, we have to take care of those unemployed & those needing medical or mental care---no argument there &, i applaud congress for putting it in there. however, obamas infrastruture projects won't be the 'be all' he rants & raves about. 96% of those jobs will be going to structured, unionized companies per obamas executive order.
the "BILL" contains crap in it concerning small businesses---&, this was one of obamas corner stones during his campaign. but, now that he has your vote, the hell with you. how he got this wrong i don't know but, when you can lay off at 300 or more people at once, you are not small business.
in a nutshell:::to fix this economy we need to keep government out of it. if the gov oversight agencies had of been doing their jobs with diligence, instead of accepting the donations from the big corporations, we would not be in this mess. there is plenty of blame to go around for both parties.
the banks, auto &, housing markets are beyond gov help. if they are left to figure out this mess for themselves (yes, even at the expense of jobs), they will right the ship. the only the gov should be doing is enforce its oversight obligations correctly.
this "BILL" does nothing to stem the flow of lost jobs &, until congress does something about it, jobs will continue to be lost. they have the 'power' to put a freeze on layoffs, etc. scary, isn't it. they even have the power to keep you from withdrawing money from your bank.
several things have to happen at once in order to turn this mess around:::companies will have to produce better & cheaper products in order to compete with foreign goods. this is especially true for the auto industry. they produce a cheap product (& charge you more) &, the nissans & toyotas beat them at their own game. our steel industry has gone to the crapper---german steel is rated better. why's that? &, it's cheaper. need another example---take the name brand sneakers & clothes made overseas & imported here. average name brand of sneakers is easily between $45-$90. it costs more to do the work here & sell it here---there's tax on every step of the process which needs to be lowerd or suspended.
lending institutions are going to have to 'forgive' certain housing loans or, suspend the force-outs indeffinitely.
there are no easy answers but, this "BILL" does not address the concerns of our economy. yes, there are some good things in it but, there is a lot in it that should not be in a stimulus package &, time permitting in the future, we can go into them.
as for the small businesses, perhaps you should write or call obama & remind him of his promises to you. other then that, you just have to hang in there & hope you can make it until better days. & no, i don't put stock in you guys bailing us out of this mess. however, i do recognize the need for you.
america, bailouts don't work but on the other hand, they open the doors for those getting them to come back for more. as it is, the lending markets are going to need at least another two trillion dollars to get rid of all that 'toxic waste'. the auto industry is already at the door with their hands out. the housing market goes hand in hand with lending markets. go figure.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
hello america! you're probably tired of me bashing obama &, for the record, i am too. however, i have to speak my mind based on the facts &, if that leads to obama bashing , so be it. i don't make this stuff up. to see him on tv praising this bill as something that will turn this economic mess around pisses me off &, i'm going to say something about it---it's just that simple.
in a nutshell-the bill is crap. it won't do what obama says it will do. for that matter, he didn't even write it &, it doesn't contain what he really wanted in it. you know it, i know it &, he knows it but, he can't tell you that, so, he has to continue to support it. &, by him being all over tv promoting the 'goodness' of this bill, he's going to sway some of america to his side.
get mad at me all you want, but i speak the truth when i say the following: obamas lack of experience in the washington senate & his lack of leadership experience has hurt him & put his re-election in doubt. oh, he'll still be popular for a while but, that will fade very quickly when america takes a good, hard look at his bill. obama should have drafted a bill for nancy pelosi & her crew detailing exactly what he wanted & didn't want. but, he should have done the following before he even got to the bill.
obama should have invited just 4 people to his office & they are: the majority & minority leader of house & the majority & minority leader of the senate. he should have presented each of them with his own bill. obama should have stood up & took ownership of the bill & that would have solved multiple issues at the door. 1-it would have proved his intent on bipartisan support
2-it would have kept 'pork' out of the bill
3-it would have proved his leadership
instead, he allowed pelosi & company to write & present this bill & now, he's stuck with it. obama knows this bill is crap but, what how can he tell that to america without ruffling the feathers of his fellow democrats & risking losing the faith of the nation? he's stuck & he has himself to blame for it. if he had the experience he would have known that both parties have their own objectives &, he wouldn't have trusted either to carry out his own.
so, in a sense, obama has dug his own political grave &, it all starts with this bill which was supposed to contain no 'earmarks' or 'pork'-his words, not mine-& yet, it's loaded with them &, he has to be held accountable for them. he took the bull by the horn & he's ending up gored.
america, no matter what tv station or radio station you see or hear obama on, he has no defense or acceptable explanation for the following which comes to you from gop.gov::::
Questionable or Non-Stimulative Spending:
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
$2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, providing funds to organizations such as ACORN, which has been accused of practicing unlawful voter registration in recent elections
$10 million for the inspection of canals in urban areas
$100 million for grants to small shipyards
$198 million to authorize payments to certain Filipino veterans from WWII
$300 million for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program
$2 billion to support the manufacturing of advanced vehicle batteries
$1 billion for Community Development Block Grants
$1.3 billion for Amtrak, including $450 million for a new rail security grant program not included in either the House-passed or the Senate-passed bills
$300 million for federal procurement of plug-in and fuel efficient vehicles
$8 billion for a High Speed Passenger Rail Program, after the House did not include any funding for the program and the Senate included $2 billion, which will fund at least one project from Las Vegas to Los Angeles
$15 million for historic preservation at historically black colleges and universities
$170 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to research the causes, effects, and ways to mitigate climate change
$200 million for Americorps and other paid "volunteerism" programs
$400 million for NASA to accelerate climate research missions
$5.5 billion for federal buildings (GSA), including $4.5 billion to convert federal buildings into "high-performance green buildings" and $450 million for a new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security.
$210 million for a new grant program to modify and upgrade local fire stations
$142 million for the Coast Guard to alter or remove 4 obstructive bridges
$25 million for the Smithsonian Institution for maintenance backlogs
$1 billion for expenses in conjunction with the 2010 decennial census
$650 million for Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons
$1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund, which can be used for sexually transmitted disease (STD) education and prevention programs at the CDC
$500 million to replace a 30-year old computer system at the Social Security Administration
$500 million for a health professions training program-funding which an earlier committee report said were allocated because "a key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary care providers."
america, this is your money being spent without them even asking you if this is what you wanted to spend it on. yes, there are some good things in this bill but, none of them are in the above.
in a nutshell-the bill is crap. it won't do what obama says it will do. for that matter, he didn't even write it &, it doesn't contain what he really wanted in it. you know it, i know it &, he knows it but, he can't tell you that, so, he has to continue to support it. &, by him being all over tv promoting the 'goodness' of this bill, he's going to sway some of america to his side.
get mad at me all you want, but i speak the truth when i say the following: obamas lack of experience in the washington senate & his lack of leadership experience has hurt him & put his re-election in doubt. oh, he'll still be popular for a while but, that will fade very quickly when america takes a good, hard look at his bill. obama should have drafted a bill for nancy pelosi & her crew detailing exactly what he wanted & didn't want. but, he should have done the following before he even got to the bill.
obama should have invited just 4 people to his office & they are: the majority & minority leader of house & the majority & minority leader of the senate. he should have presented each of them with his own bill. obama should have stood up & took ownership of the bill & that would have solved multiple issues at the door. 1-it would have proved his intent on bipartisan support
2-it would have kept 'pork' out of the bill
3-it would have proved his leadership
instead, he allowed pelosi & company to write & present this bill & now, he's stuck with it. obama knows this bill is crap but, what how can he tell that to america without ruffling the feathers of his fellow democrats & risking losing the faith of the nation? he's stuck & he has himself to blame for it. if he had the experience he would have known that both parties have their own objectives &, he wouldn't have trusted either to carry out his own.
so, in a sense, obama has dug his own political grave &, it all starts with this bill which was supposed to contain no 'earmarks' or 'pork'-his words, not mine-& yet, it's loaded with them &, he has to be held accountable for them. he took the bull by the horn & he's ending up gored.
america, no matter what tv station or radio station you see or hear obama on, he has no defense or acceptable explanation for the following which comes to you from gop.gov::::
Questionable or Non-Stimulative Spending:
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
$2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, providing funds to organizations such as ACORN, which has been accused of practicing unlawful voter registration in recent elections
$10 million for the inspection of canals in urban areas
$100 million for grants to small shipyards
$198 million to authorize payments to certain Filipino veterans from WWII
$300 million for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program
$2 billion to support the manufacturing of advanced vehicle batteries
$1 billion for Community Development Block Grants
$1.3 billion for Amtrak, including $450 million for a new rail security grant program not included in either the House-passed or the Senate-passed bills
$300 million for federal procurement of plug-in and fuel efficient vehicles
$8 billion for a High Speed Passenger Rail Program, after the House did not include any funding for the program and the Senate included $2 billion, which will fund at least one project from Las Vegas to Los Angeles
$15 million for historic preservation at historically black colleges and universities
$170 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to research the causes, effects, and ways to mitigate climate change
$200 million for Americorps and other paid "volunteerism" programs
$400 million for NASA to accelerate climate research missions
$5.5 billion for federal buildings (GSA), including $4.5 billion to convert federal buildings into "high-performance green buildings" and $450 million for a new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security.
$210 million for a new grant program to modify and upgrade local fire stations
$142 million for the Coast Guard to alter or remove 4 obstructive bridges
$25 million for the Smithsonian Institution for maintenance backlogs
$1 billion for expenses in conjunction with the 2010 decennial census
$650 million for Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons
$1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund, which can be used for sexually transmitted disease (STD) education and prevention programs at the CDC
$500 million to replace a 30-year old computer system at the Social Security Administration
$500 million for a health professions training program-funding which an earlier committee report said were allocated because "a key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary care providers."
america, this is your money being spent without them even asking you if this is what you wanted to spend it on. yes, there are some good things in this bill but, none of them are in the above.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
AMERICA-CHANGE MY NAME IF YOU CAN
hello america! hope you brought your lunch with you because this is going to be a lengthy writing.
while obama is busy giving a thumbs up to the passage of the stimulus bill as a feather in his cap, anybody with the iq of a brick can see that this bill is a dagger in the backs of this nation.
when you take all the factors into consideration such as: the housing market; the banking & loan market; the auto market; the unemployment market; &, you couple them with this bill &, some of the executive orders obama has signed, you'll know that the democrats in both the house & senate not only wasted their time, they also wasted our money. the sad part of this is, they got what they wanted & you didn't get what you needed.
the main theme for this bill has always been the economy, jobs, the middle class &, small businesses . & all obamas been talking about is...new infrastructure jobs, then it was creating jobs, then he added preserving jobs.
well america, if you ever wanted to try & prove to me that i don't deserve the name knowitall-now is your chance...
THE ECONOMY:::
there is nothing in this bill that is going to make you go out there & spend your money to help the economy recover. NOTHING! yes, people will go out there & buy a new car or a new house to take advantage of the tax angle but, that's going to be the people that can afford it in the first place. most working americans now know there is no longer job security in the civilian work place & will spend money begrudgingly because tomorrow they could be in the unemployment line or the welfare line. &, this bill does nothing to keep that from happening. there is nothing in this bill to protect their savings or any other type of investment. NOTHING!
most of america is worried about making ends meet & the $13 a week 'raise' they'll get in their paychecks doesn't start until june 09 & is reduced to $8 a week next year. so, i ask, anybody, what is in this bill for them to help reverse the flow of this economy? that $13 a week won't even buy them a ticket to see a show by the national endowment for the arts. THERE'S NOTHING!
THE JOBS:::
please tell me how many new jobs will this bill create? just take a guess? obama is the only one going around telling you it will create 2-4 million new jobs. even the 8 democrats that wrote it can't tell you. most of the democrats that the media has polled don't know &/or they duck the question. all the 'experts' on the various news show don't even know. they just know it won't be a lot.
in truth, the bill was not written to create a lot of new jobs---yes, there will be a lot of new work going on but, if it's federal building or federally funded-the jobs go to the unions first as per obamas executive order of friday/02/06/09 although there will be some waivers &, the 'buy america' clause is still there although there will be waivers. in short, you can expect to see the same old companies doing the same old work that were out there last year. it's amazing how they're the only ones to get those government contracts-year after year (from the city/county on up). there is very little in this bill for the creation of new jobs &, what little there is is not enough to dent the economy or the unemployment figures. VERY LITTLE!
&, by giving our money to the states to preserve jobs is crap. if the states were more frugal in their spending, they wouldn't be running into all these deficits. i see this as a form of the 'pay-for-play' scheme. when pa gov rendell hosted the govs convention in philly with obama, he had said pa didn't 'need' any federal funding yet, he left that convention knowing pa was getting federal funds but didn't know how much. maybe i'm reaching but, didn't rendell raise millions for obama? the job preservation obama told you about is not there. there is nothing in this bill to keep a company like walmart's or sears from letting you go. what's in it to keep dominoes from laying off people? NOTHING!
SMALL BUSINESSES:::
let's see, surely there must be something in this bill for you. i mean, after all, obama was going around the country saying how he wanted to help you guys so badly...now wait, i'm looking. don't worry-i'm still looking. don't give up-there just has to be something. maybe because the package in the bill to preserve & expand small businesses is so big i can't see it. oh, here it is:::something about NOL (net operating loss) & there's a bonus depreciation thing & they all depend on eligibility. SORRY! perhaps you should call obama, i'm sure he just forgot. SORRY!
MIDDLE CLASS:::
come on middle class america---please tell me you found all the goodies in this bill for you that obama told you you were due. please make me change my name from knowitall to knowalittle.
i can only imagine that in the democratic congressional rush to get this bill to obama, they must have dropped hundreds of pages with your goodies in them. this bill is not what you needed, wanted or, expected. but obama didn't forget you---he's about to saddle you a with massive debt that will never be fully repaid. we can't just print the money & we can't just borrow it from ourselves---obama will have to go outside of our borders to get the money &, it won't be to those countries that are going to recieve your money for abortions. (OH, HE NEVER MENTIONED THAT TO YOU?) well, where did you think the money was coming from in the first place? makes you feel good & secure to know that china will own your children & grandchildren & great grandchildren for eons to come, doesn't it? &, the democrats are truely upset that there isn't more spending in the bill. regardless of what obama told you in securing your vote, he is growing government at your expense & that's the bottom line & you're going to get less bang for your buck (that is if you still get a buck).
come monday when obama signs the bill into law, he will have created about 20 plus new government agencies.
don't get me wrong about this bill---there are some good things in it but, there are some things that should not be in a bill that's supposed to stimulate the economy, create & preserve jobs, relieve the burdon on the middle class &, help small businesses.
middle class america, you always were a soft touch so you shouldn't be too upset that obama & his bill will allow illegal aliens to recieve health care, jobs &, income tax checks at your expense.
the majority of america voted for obama & this bill is his way of thanking them.
here america. before you try to convince yourself that i'm crazy, look for yourself. this comes from gop.com & matches up with the bill perfectly.
SPENDING PROVISIONS
Questionable or Non-Stimulative Spending:
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
$2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, providing funds to organizations such as ACORN, which has been accused of practicing unlawful voter registration in recent elections
$10 million for the inspection of canals in urban areas
$100 million for grants to small shipyards
$198 million to authorize payments to certain Filipino veterans from WWII
$300 million for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program
$2 billion to support the manufacturing of advanced vehicle batteries
$1 billion for Community Development Block Grants
$1.3 billion for Amtrak, including $450 million for a new rail security grant program not included in either the House-passed or the Senate-passed bills
$300 million for federal procurement of plug-in and fuel efficient vehicles
$8 billion for a High Speed Passenger Rail Program, after the House did not include any funding for the program and the Senate included $2 billion, which will fund at least one project from Las Vegas to Los Angeles
$15 million for historic preservation at historically black colleges and universities
$170 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to research the causes, effects, and ways to mitigate climate change
$200 million for Americorps and other paid "volunteerism" programs
$400 million for NASA to accelerate climate research missions
$5.5 billion for federal buildings (GSA), including $4.5 billion to convert federal buildings into "high-performance green buildings" and $450 million for a new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security.
$210 million for a new grant program to modify and upgrade local fire stations
$142 million for the Coast Guard to alter or remove 4 obstructive bridges
$25 million for the Smithsonian Institution for maintenance backlogs
$1 billion for expenses in conjunction with the 2010 decennial census
$650 million for Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons
$1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund, which can be used for sexually transmitted disease (STD) education and prevention programs at the CDC
$500 million to replace a 30-year old computer system at the Social Security Administration
$500 million for a health professions training program-funding which an earlier committee report said were allocated because "a key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary care providers."
america, i'm sure you're very happy with the way obama is about to spend your money. the above 24 examples are proof that you needed this as a people to prevent a "catastrophy"---obamas words not mine &, if you can't see why the democrats rail-roaded this bill through, you're in luck...i'm here to tell you why.
the above spending is for midterm elections, pet projects &, pay-back favors. &, i'm extremely happy to say, they are not for the republicans (with the exception of 3 of them) & 7 democrats in the house. the republicans took a party stand & i think they did the right thing.
whether you read the bill in simple language from gop.gov or read it from another site like rules.house.com, you're going to ask the same questions i did & if you come up with the same answers i got i'll promote you knowitalljuniors.
unless you're unemployed, need welfare or, one of the democrats owes you a favor, this bill is not for you. AM I WRONG IN MY THINKING AMERICA-AM I WRONG?
while obama is busy giving a thumbs up to the passage of the stimulus bill as a feather in his cap, anybody with the iq of a brick can see that this bill is a dagger in the backs of this nation.
when you take all the factors into consideration such as: the housing market; the banking & loan market; the auto market; the unemployment market; &, you couple them with this bill &, some of the executive orders obama has signed, you'll know that the democrats in both the house & senate not only wasted their time, they also wasted our money. the sad part of this is, they got what they wanted & you didn't get what you needed.
the main theme for this bill has always been the economy, jobs, the middle class &, small businesses . & all obamas been talking about is...new infrastructure jobs, then it was creating jobs, then he added preserving jobs.
well america, if you ever wanted to try & prove to me that i don't deserve the name knowitall-now is your chance...
THE ECONOMY:::
there is nothing in this bill that is going to make you go out there & spend your money to help the economy recover. NOTHING! yes, people will go out there & buy a new car or a new house to take advantage of the tax angle but, that's going to be the people that can afford it in the first place. most working americans now know there is no longer job security in the civilian work place & will spend money begrudgingly because tomorrow they could be in the unemployment line or the welfare line. &, this bill does nothing to keep that from happening. there is nothing in this bill to protect their savings or any other type of investment. NOTHING!
most of america is worried about making ends meet & the $13 a week 'raise' they'll get in their paychecks doesn't start until june 09 & is reduced to $8 a week next year. so, i ask, anybody, what is in this bill for them to help reverse the flow of this economy? that $13 a week won't even buy them a ticket to see a show by the national endowment for the arts. THERE'S NOTHING!
THE JOBS:::
please tell me how many new jobs will this bill create? just take a guess? obama is the only one going around telling you it will create 2-4 million new jobs. even the 8 democrats that wrote it can't tell you. most of the democrats that the media has polled don't know &/or they duck the question. all the 'experts' on the various news show don't even know. they just know it won't be a lot.
in truth, the bill was not written to create a lot of new jobs---yes, there will be a lot of new work going on but, if it's federal building or federally funded-the jobs go to the unions first as per obamas executive order of friday/02/06/09 although there will be some waivers &, the 'buy america' clause is still there although there will be waivers. in short, you can expect to see the same old companies doing the same old work that were out there last year. it's amazing how they're the only ones to get those government contracts-year after year (from the city/county on up). there is very little in this bill for the creation of new jobs &, what little there is is not enough to dent the economy or the unemployment figures. VERY LITTLE!
&, by giving our money to the states to preserve jobs is crap. if the states were more frugal in their spending, they wouldn't be running into all these deficits. i see this as a form of the 'pay-for-play' scheme. when pa gov rendell hosted the govs convention in philly with obama, he had said pa didn't 'need' any federal funding yet, he left that convention knowing pa was getting federal funds but didn't know how much. maybe i'm reaching but, didn't rendell raise millions for obama? the job preservation obama told you about is not there. there is nothing in this bill to keep a company like walmart's or sears from letting you go. what's in it to keep dominoes from laying off people? NOTHING!
SMALL BUSINESSES:::
let's see, surely there must be something in this bill for you. i mean, after all, obama was going around the country saying how he wanted to help you guys so badly...now wait, i'm looking. don't worry-i'm still looking. don't give up-there just has to be something. maybe because the package in the bill to preserve & expand small businesses is so big i can't see it. oh, here it is:::something about NOL (net operating loss) & there's a bonus depreciation thing & they all depend on eligibility. SORRY! perhaps you should call obama, i'm sure he just forgot. SORRY!
MIDDLE CLASS:::
come on middle class america---please tell me you found all the goodies in this bill for you that obama told you you were due. please make me change my name from knowitall to knowalittle.
i can only imagine that in the democratic congressional rush to get this bill to obama, they must have dropped hundreds of pages with your goodies in them. this bill is not what you needed, wanted or, expected. but obama didn't forget you---he's about to saddle you a with massive debt that will never be fully repaid. we can't just print the money & we can't just borrow it from ourselves---obama will have to go outside of our borders to get the money &, it won't be to those countries that are going to recieve your money for abortions. (OH, HE NEVER MENTIONED THAT TO YOU?) well, where did you think the money was coming from in the first place? makes you feel good & secure to know that china will own your children & grandchildren & great grandchildren for eons to come, doesn't it? &, the democrats are truely upset that there isn't more spending in the bill. regardless of what obama told you in securing your vote, he is growing government at your expense & that's the bottom line & you're going to get less bang for your buck (that is if you still get a buck).
come monday when obama signs the bill into law, he will have created about 20 plus new government agencies.
don't get me wrong about this bill---there are some good things in it but, there are some things that should not be in a bill that's supposed to stimulate the economy, create & preserve jobs, relieve the burdon on the middle class &, help small businesses.
middle class america, you always were a soft touch so you shouldn't be too upset that obama & his bill will allow illegal aliens to recieve health care, jobs &, income tax checks at your expense.
the majority of america voted for obama & this bill is his way of thanking them.
here america. before you try to convince yourself that i'm crazy, look for yourself. this comes from gop.com & matches up with the bill perfectly.
SPENDING PROVISIONS
Questionable or Non-Stimulative Spending:
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
$2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, providing funds to organizations such as ACORN, which has been accused of practicing unlawful voter registration in recent elections
$10 million for the inspection of canals in urban areas
$100 million for grants to small shipyards
$198 million to authorize payments to certain Filipino veterans from WWII
$300 million for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program
$2 billion to support the manufacturing of advanced vehicle batteries
$1 billion for Community Development Block Grants
$1.3 billion for Amtrak, including $450 million for a new rail security grant program not included in either the House-passed or the Senate-passed bills
$300 million for federal procurement of plug-in and fuel efficient vehicles
$8 billion for a High Speed Passenger Rail Program, after the House did not include any funding for the program and the Senate included $2 billion, which will fund at least one project from Las Vegas to Los Angeles
$15 million for historic preservation at historically black colleges and universities
$170 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to research the causes, effects, and ways to mitigate climate change
$200 million for Americorps and other paid "volunteerism" programs
$400 million for NASA to accelerate climate research missions
$5.5 billion for federal buildings (GSA), including $4.5 billion to convert federal buildings into "high-performance green buildings" and $450 million for a new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security.
$210 million for a new grant program to modify and upgrade local fire stations
$142 million for the Coast Guard to alter or remove 4 obstructive bridges
$25 million for the Smithsonian Institution for maintenance backlogs
$1 billion for expenses in conjunction with the 2010 decennial census
$650 million for Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons
$1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund, which can be used for sexually transmitted disease (STD) education and prevention programs at the CDC
$500 million to replace a 30-year old computer system at the Social Security Administration
$500 million for a health professions training program-funding which an earlier committee report said were allocated because "a key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary care providers."
america, i'm sure you're very happy with the way obama is about to spend your money. the above 24 examples are proof that you needed this as a people to prevent a "catastrophy"---obamas words not mine &, if you can't see why the democrats rail-roaded this bill through, you're in luck...i'm here to tell you why.
the above spending is for midterm elections, pet projects &, pay-back favors. &, i'm extremely happy to say, they are not for the republicans (with the exception of 3 of them) & 7 democrats in the house. the republicans took a party stand & i think they did the right thing.
whether you read the bill in simple language from gop.gov or read it from another site like rules.house.com, you're going to ask the same questions i did & if you come up with the same answers i got i'll promote you knowitalljuniors.
unless you're unemployed, need welfare or, one of the democrats owes you a favor, this bill is not for you. AM I WRONG IN MY THINKING AMERICA-AM I WRONG?
Friday, February 13, 2009
THE HOUSE PASSED BILL IN SIMPLE FORM
hello america! there are many sites to go to to read the (non) economic stimulus bill that passed the through the house today but, the best one i've found is "gop.com". the rest of them have you reading a lot of crap (1,000 plus pages) that doesn't make sense. so, i'm going to do you a favor & copy the mere 8 pages here for you. at the end of reading it, feel free to leave me a message about the 2-4 million jobs it will preserve &/or create. also tell me how it helps you. thanks-knowitall
H.R. 1 Conference Report
Conference Report—The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Sponsor
Rep. Obey, David R. (Appropriations Committee)
Date
February 14, 2009111th Congress, 1st Session
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The conference report to H.R. 1 totals $792 billion in new spending and tax provisions. The final cost is $30 billion less than the House-passed bill and $49 billion less than the Senate substitute. In order to reach this level, the conference report reduces a number of tax provisions-including the Presidents "Making Work Pay Tax Credit" and an important tax benefit for companies with current losses-and includes an amount of discretionary spending between the Senate and House levels. The conference report also restores billions in spending from the House bill, which the Senate had initially removed or reduced. The highlights of the conference report are as follows:
SPENDING PROVISIONS
Questionable or Non-Stimulative Spending:
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
$2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, providing funds to organizations such as ACORN, which has been accused of practicing unlawful voter registration in recent elections
$10 million for the inspection of canals in urban areas
$100 million for grants to small shipyards
$198 million to authorize payments to certain Filipino veterans from WWII
$300 million for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program
$2 billion to support the manufacturing of advanced vehicle batteries
$1 billion for Community Development Block Grants
$1.3 billion for Amtrak, including $450 million for a new rail security grant program not included in either the House-passed or the Senate-passed bills
$300 million for federal procurement of plug-in and fuel efficient vehicles
$8 billion for a High Speed Passenger Rail Program, after the House did not include any funding for the program and the Senate included $2 billion, which will fund at least one project from Las Vegas to Los Angeles
$15 million for historic preservation at historically black colleges and universities
$170 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to research the causes, effects, and ways to mitigate climate change
$200 million for Americorps and other paid "volunteerism" programs
$400 million for NASA to accelerate climate research missions
$5.5 billion for federal buildings (GSA), including $4.5 billion to convert federal buildings into "high-performance green buildings" and $450 million for a new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security.
$210 million for a new grant program to modify and upgrade local fire stations
$142 million for the Coast Guard to alter or remove 4 obstructive bridges
$25 million for the Smithsonian Institution for maintenance backlogs
$1 billion for expenses in conjunction with the 2010 decennial census
$650 million for Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons
$1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund, which can be used for sexually transmitted disease (STD) education and prevention programs at the CDC
$500 million to replace a 30-year old computer system at the Social Security Administration
$500 million for a health professions training program-funding which an earlier committee report said were allocated because "a key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary care providers."
Unemployment Insurance Extension: Extends the current extension of unemployment insurance (UI), which is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2009, through December 31, 2009. The extension is estimated to cost $27 billion.
Roads and Bridges: Despite calls by Democrats for increased infrastructure spending to create jobs, a relatively small share of the total $792 billion package is devoted to transportation infrastructure-$47 billion or 5.9% and only $27.5 billion ($2.5 billion less than the House-passed level) or 3.4% for highway construction. Some proponents of the conference report are claiming as much as $150 billion will flow to "infrastructure" but this assumes that building federal buildings, public housing, etc., qualify as infrastructure.
State Stabilization Fund: Provides $53.6 billion for "State Fiscal Stabilization Fund," which will be distributed to States based on total population and school-aged population. The majority of the funds will be used to support public elementary, secondary, and higher education. The House bill approved $79 billion for the fund, which the Senate reduced to $39 billion. Of this funding, $6 billion may be used for school modernization and repair.
TAX PROVISIONS
Making Work Pay Tax Credit: Reduces the amount of the refundable "Making Work Pay Tax Credit" from $500 to $400 for an individual and from $1,000 to $800 for joint filers. In addition, the conference report would restore the $75,000 individual earnings eligibility cap for the refundable portion of the tax credit that was in the House version of the bill. The Senate had lowered this eligibility cap to $70,000 for an individual filer (twice as much for a married couple filing jointly). These changes would reduce the cost of the "Making Work Pay Tax Credit" by $29 billion-from $145 billion in the House bill to $116 billion. The tax credit itself would phase out at $95,000 for single filers ($190,000 for joint filers).
Child Tax Credit: Temporarily expands eligibility for the child tax credit by lowering the $8,500 earnings floor to $3,000. Under current law, the child tax credit is refundable up to 15% of a taxpayer's earnings above $8,500. The House bill eliminated the $8,500 earnings floor, which cost $18.2 billion, while the Senate bill simply lowered the earnings threshold to $8,100, costing $7.2 billion. The conference report would set the floor at $3,000, costing $14.8 billion.
First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit: Expands the current tax credit for first-time homebuyers, raising the maximum tax credit, extending it through November, 2009, and removing a provision that requires the credit to be repaid over time. The original provision, which was added to the Senate bill by amendment, would have given any homebuyer purchasing a primary residence in 2009 a $15,000 tax credit. The conference report reduction would decrease the deficit impact of the provision from $35 billion to $6.6 billion.
College Tax Credit: Creates the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which gives tax credits to students and parents for the cost of post-secondary tuition and expenses. The conference report provides $2,500 in tax credits per student and in 2009 and 2010. 40% of this tax credit would be refundable. This provision would cost $13.9 billion.
NOL Carryback: Reduces the amount of the net operating loss (NOL) carryback provisions by limiting eligible businesses and only providing credit for 2008 losses. The conference report limits the five year NOL carryback to losses that occurred in 2008 for businesses with less than $15 million in annual receipts. Both the House and Senate bills extended this carryback period from two years to five years for all businesses, providing a tax cut of $17 billion. The reduced provision in the conference report saves American businesses only $947 million.
Bonus Depreciation: Extends bonus depreciation that allows businesses to make a tax deduction of 50% of the cost of depreciable capital expenditures within the first year of the property's purchase. Normally, depreciable property deductions are taken over time based on a depreciation formula. The 50% first-year deduction would be extended by this legislation through 2009-retroactively effective for any property put into service after December 31, 2008. This provision would save taxpayers $5 billion.
School Construction Bonds: Creates a new category of tax-credit bonds, known as qualified school construction bonds. Tax-credit bonds are bonds on which the federal government pays interest in the form of tax credits against the federal income tax liability of the bondholder. The qualified school construction bonds would be issued by State and local governments for the construction, repair, rehabilitation, acquisition, or debt reduction of public schools. This provision would cost $9.9 billion.
Vehicle Sales Tax: Allows taxpayers to deduct state sales tax on new car purchases in 2009. The Senate added an amendment to the legislation that would make all interest payments on car loans and state car sales tax deductible. The provision would have had a deficit impact of $11.5 billion, which the conference report reduces to less than $1.7 billion.
AMT: Provides a one year Alternative Minimum Tax "patch," which prevents middle-income taxpayers from being subject to a tax increase in 2009. This provision, included in the Senate bill, would save taxpayers approximately $70 billion.
Unemployment Benefits: Excludes up to $2,400 of 2009 unemployment from tax. Any unemployment insurance benefit above $2,400 would be subject to regular taxation. This provision would save taxpayers $4.7 billion.
HEALTH PROVISIONS
COBRA Subsidy: Provides a 65% federal subsidy to laid off individuals electing COBRA continuation coverage from their former employers. The subsidy will extend for up to nine months, as opposed to 12 months in the House bill. The report also limits eligibility to individuals with adjusted gross incomes of under $145,000 and families with incomes of under $290,000. These changes reduce the cost of the provision from $40.7 billion in the House bill to $25.1 billion. In addition, the conference report does not include language in the House bill that would permit former employees over age 55, or those with at least 10 years of service with the employer, to remain on COBRA until becoming eligible for Medicare.
Qualifying Individual Program: Extends for 12 months, through December 2010, the Qualifying Individual program, which provides assistance through Medicaid for low-income seniors to pay their Medicare premiums, at a cost of $562 million. The House bill included no such provision.
Medicaid Assistance to States: Includes a compromise between the House and Senate formulae for the $87 billion increase in the federal Medicaid match, whereby approximately 65% of the increase is provided on an across-the-board basis, with the remaining 35% allocated to states experiencing high unemployment. By contrast, the House bill spent the same overall amount, but targeted 50% of the additional Medicaid spending to high-unemployment states, with the remaining half providing an across-the-board increase.
Medicaid for the Unemployed: Removes language in the House bill that would have created a new entitlement for individuals receiving unemployment assistance to receive Medicare benefits fully funded by the federal government at a 100% match rate.
Comparative Effectiveness Research: Provides $1.1 billion to conduct "comparative effectiveness research" to evaluate the effectiveness of different healthcare interventions, and removes bipartisan Senate language stating such funding must be used only for clinical research, as opposed to research taking cost into account as well. Despite non-binding report language stating that the funding is not intended to be used to mandate coverage policies, some Members may be concerned that the money for comparative effectiveness research could eventually be used to sanction government rationing of health care goods and services, consistent with an earlier committee report that said that "more expensive [treatments] will no longer be prescribed" as a result of such research.
Health IT-Financial Incentives: Maintains House language providing maximum incentive payments to hospitals of up to $6.37 million in the first year and $15.9 million over four years, and includes provisions not in the House legislation expanding incentive payments to include critical access hospitals. Expands eligibility for Medicaid health IT incentive payments to include nurse practitioners, mid-wives, dentists, and physician assistants in rural health clinics.
Accelerates the penalties for non-usage of electronic health record technology; physician incentive payments will stop in 2014, as opposed to 2015 in the House bill, and penalties will begin in 2015 for non-users, as opposed to 2016 in the House bill. Includes a 10% bonus payment for all physicians practicing in underserved areas-a provision not included in either bill. Increases implementation funding for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by including $340 million in additional mandatory spending.
Health IT-Privacy Provisions: Removes most of the technical changes to the privacy provisions added to the bill in the Senate. The bill maintains the onerous notification requirements, increased penalties, and lawsuit authority for state attorneys general present in the House bill; some Members may be concerned that these provisions, by increasing business' costs and raising the possibility of additional class-action lawsuits, may impede rather than promote the adoption of health information technology.
Other Provisions; Earmarks: Imposes moratoria on hospice regulations from taking effect, and makes certain "technical corrections" regarding long-term care hospitals, specifically as it relates to implementation of a rule for referrals from non co-located facilities. According to CMS, at least one of these "corrections" will affect only three hospitals-two located in North Dakota, and one located in Connecticut. Some Members may believe this provision constitutes an authorizing earmark, and therefore believe its inclusion is inconsistent with President Obama's pledge that economic recovery legislation should not include any "pork-barrel" spending.
OTHER PROVISIONS
Essential Abstinence Education Funding Eliminated: Extends for 18 months-through December 31, 2010-the Transitional Medical Assistance (TMA) program that provides Medicaid benefits for low-income families transitioning from welfare to work. Traditionally, the TMA provisions have been coupled with an extension of Title V Abstinence Education funding during the passage of health care bills. However, the Title V funds were excluded from the bill language and will expire on July 1, 2009 absent further action. Given the Obama Administration's desire for bipartisan agreement on economic stimulus provisions, some Members may be concerned by the removal of the Title V abstinence education funding and the potential end of this program. Some Members may be concerned that while abstinence education receives only $176 million annually (through both Title V and the Community Based Abstinence Education program), contraceptives and family planning already receive $1.6 billion of federal funding.
E-Verify: Removes language to require anyone receiving a contract paid for with funding from the bill to use the government's E-Verify program in order to ensure taxpayer money is not used to hire illegal workers.
Welfare Reform Rollback: Includes $5 billion to create a new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare program emergency fund. The emergency fund would be used to provide money to States that increase TANF caseloads or provide increased short-term cash benefits. The bill waives requirements that obligate states to consider rising caseloads when determining TANF work requirements. Thus, the legislation would encourage States to increase caseloads without increasing the number of individuals required to obtain work, which was a key component of the 1996 welfare reform that has dramatically decreased the number of Americans dependent on welfare.
Davis-Bacon: Applies Davis-Bacon requirements to all government contracts flowing from the bill, thus requiring that employees will be paid no less than the prevailing wage for similar jobs in the locality/vicinity.
Buy American: Encourages the purchase of American goods (steel, iron, etc.) for stimulus funded government contracts, but includes language adopted by the Senate intended to waive any requirement in the Stimulus Act which would preclude adherence to current World Trade Organization treaties. The Senate language was adopted after pressure from the European Union over earlier "Buy American" provisions that were seen by the EU as a violation of current WTO treaties.
Debt Limit Increase: Increase the statutory limit on public debt from $11.3 trillion to $12.1 trillion.
POSSIBLE MEMBER CONCERNS WITH CONFERENCE REPORTCost Per Family: According to the Census Bureau, there are 116.8 million households in the U.S. A total cost of $1.1 trillion for the bill ($792 billion for the legislation plus at least $300 billion in debt service to pay for it) amounts to a per-family cost of at least $9,418 in new spending/debt.
State Bailout: Provides $87 billion for Medicaid spending for states and $53.6 billion for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. According to the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the total budget deficit for the States collectively for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2009 is $43 billion. Given that the federal government’s Fiscal Year 2009 deficit is already projected at $1.2 trillion—or 27.5 times greater than the total State shortfall—it is hard to understand why the Democrats would choose to further exacerbate the federal deficit, especially since most States are subject to balanced budget requirements whereas the federal government is not.
Healthcare Rationing: Provides $1.1 billion to conduct “comparative effectiveness research” to evaluate the effectiveness of different preventative healthcare interventions. Some Members may be concerned that the money for comparative effectiveness research could eventually be used to sanction government rationing of health care goods and services, consistent with the draft House Appropriations Committee report that said that “more expensive [treatments] will no longer be prescribed” as a result of such research.
Record Deficit Spending: According to CBO, under current law, the federal deficit will rise to a record $1.2 trillion, or 8.3% of GDP, in 2009. Even without this massive spending bill, the deficit will be by far the highest on record in both nominal terms and as a percentage of GDP during peacetime, easily exceeding the previous record of 6% in 1983 and the highest New Deal level of 5.9% in 1934. The estimated cost of debt services for the $820 billion House passed bill was $347 billion. When that rough number is applied to the conference report, the total ten year cost of the bill increases to a staggering $1.13 trillion.
Massive Spending: According to the Federal Reserve, $789.5 billion is almost as much as all the money currently in circulation in the U.S. ($829 billion). If the “stimulus” legislation were a nation’s GDP, it would be the 16th largest economy in the world.
Lowers GDP: The Congressional Budget Office, in analyzing the long-term economic impact of H.R. 1, noted that both the House and Senate versions of the bill are likely “to reduce GDP by between zero and 0.2 percent” in the years after 2014. The same CBO analysis indicates that the effect of this GDP reduction will be reflected in lower wages for workers. Some Members may therefore be concerned that at best the “stimulus” will yield no net long-term benefit for the American economy, and at worst—by displacing private capital for government-financed deficit spending—may result in reduced long-term growth and stagnant wages for American workers.
Long-Term Fiscal Impact: A Congressional Budget Office analysis of the spending provisions in the House-passed version of H.R. 1 found that extending the spending levels in several politically popular programs—such as Head Start, Medicaid, food stamps, and the Earned Income Tax Credit—would cost an additional $1.7 trillion over ten years. When added to the $820 billion cost (the original House-passed level) of the underlying “stimulus” legislation, and the estimated $744 billion cost of servicing the debt on the stimulus, CBO estimated the bill would cost $3.2 trillion if the major House spending provisions are extended. Some Members may therefore be concerned that the funding “cliffs” included in the legislation mask the true long-term costs of the new spending and expanded entitlements created in the bill.
Refundable Tax Credits: Contains billions in refundable tax credits to provide direct payments to individuals that that pay little or no income taxes. Unlike tax cuts, these refunds do little to spur growth, create more jobs, or stimulate the economy and are more similar to new spending through tax policy than actual tax cuts.
Largest Spending Bill Ever: According to the Congressional Research Service, the largest appropriations bill considered by Congress in nominal terms was the continuing resolution and Defense appropriations measure (P.L. 110-329) passed last fall, which appropriated $636 billion. Some Members may be concerned about the long-term implications of passing an even larger spending measure, particularly given the $700 billion (plus $108 billion in tax relief) obligated by Congress as part of the Troubled Asset Recovery Program (P.L. 110-343) last October.
BACKGROUND
On January 28, 2009, the House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by a vote of 244-188, without a single Republican supporting the bill and 11 Democrats opposing. As passed by the House, the Democrat spending bill cost $821 billion. The bill contained $361 billion in new discretionary spending, $278 billion in increased mandatory spending, and $182 billion in tax provisions.
The Senate increased the size and scope of spending in the massive "stimulus" bill, driving the cost of the bill to more than $920 billion-or $100 billion more than the House bill. Approximately $70 billion of that increase provided for a one year AMT patch. In addition, the Senate added $47 billion with amendments that further drove up the cost of the bill, including an amendment that provided a federal income tax credit of up to $15,000 for homebuyers who purchase new principal residences in 2009 and a $6 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health.
The Senate then came to an agreement with three Republican senators, allowing the legislation to proceed for a vote on the floor and overcome the Senate's super-majority procedural hurdles. The agreement reduced the cost of the Senate bill from $920 billion to $841 billion-or $20 billion more than the House bill. To reach this funding level, the Senate cut the base bill through a combined reduction of spending and tax provisions, while retaining all of the floor amendments, resulting in a cost of $841 billion. However, the estimated cost of debt services for the $820 billion House-passed bill was an additional $347 billion over ten years. When the debt service cost is added on to the Senate package, the total ten year cost of the Senate bill approaches a staggering $1.2 trillion.
After the Senate passed the measure-considered as an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Sens. Nelson (D-NE) and Collins (R-ME)-by a vote of 61-37, the bill was sent to a conference committee between the House and the Senate to reconcile the differences with the two bills, resulting in the conference report the House will soon consider.
H.R. 1 Conference Report
Conference Report—The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Sponsor
Rep. Obey, David R. (Appropriations Committee)
Date
February 14, 2009111th Congress, 1st Session
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The conference report to H.R. 1 totals $792 billion in new spending and tax provisions. The final cost is $30 billion less than the House-passed bill and $49 billion less than the Senate substitute. In order to reach this level, the conference report reduces a number of tax provisions-including the Presidents "Making Work Pay Tax Credit" and an important tax benefit for companies with current losses-and includes an amount of discretionary spending between the Senate and House levels. The conference report also restores billions in spending from the House bill, which the Senate had initially removed or reduced. The highlights of the conference report are as follows:
SPENDING PROVISIONS
Questionable or Non-Stimulative Spending:
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts
$2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, providing funds to organizations such as ACORN, which has been accused of practicing unlawful voter registration in recent elections
$10 million for the inspection of canals in urban areas
$100 million for grants to small shipyards
$198 million to authorize payments to certain Filipino veterans from WWII
$300 million for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program
$2 billion to support the manufacturing of advanced vehicle batteries
$1 billion for Community Development Block Grants
$1.3 billion for Amtrak, including $450 million for a new rail security grant program not included in either the House-passed or the Senate-passed bills
$300 million for federal procurement of plug-in and fuel efficient vehicles
$8 billion for a High Speed Passenger Rail Program, after the House did not include any funding for the program and the Senate included $2 billion, which will fund at least one project from Las Vegas to Los Angeles
$15 million for historic preservation at historically black colleges and universities
$170 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to research the causes, effects, and ways to mitigate climate change
$200 million for Americorps and other paid "volunteerism" programs
$400 million for NASA to accelerate climate research missions
$5.5 billion for federal buildings (GSA), including $4.5 billion to convert federal buildings into "high-performance green buildings" and $450 million for a new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security.
$210 million for a new grant program to modify and upgrade local fire stations
$142 million for the Coast Guard to alter or remove 4 obstructive bridges
$25 million for the Smithsonian Institution for maintenance backlogs
$1 billion for expenses in conjunction with the 2010 decennial census
$650 million for Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons
$1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund, which can be used for sexually transmitted disease (STD) education and prevention programs at the CDC
$500 million to replace a 30-year old computer system at the Social Security Administration
$500 million for a health professions training program-funding which an earlier committee report said were allocated because "a key component of attaining universal health care reform will be ensuring the supply of primary care providers."
Unemployment Insurance Extension: Extends the current extension of unemployment insurance (UI), which is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2009, through December 31, 2009. The extension is estimated to cost $27 billion.
Roads and Bridges: Despite calls by Democrats for increased infrastructure spending to create jobs, a relatively small share of the total $792 billion package is devoted to transportation infrastructure-$47 billion or 5.9% and only $27.5 billion ($2.5 billion less than the House-passed level) or 3.4% for highway construction. Some proponents of the conference report are claiming as much as $150 billion will flow to "infrastructure" but this assumes that building federal buildings, public housing, etc., qualify as infrastructure.
State Stabilization Fund: Provides $53.6 billion for "State Fiscal Stabilization Fund," which will be distributed to States based on total population and school-aged population. The majority of the funds will be used to support public elementary, secondary, and higher education. The House bill approved $79 billion for the fund, which the Senate reduced to $39 billion. Of this funding, $6 billion may be used for school modernization and repair.
TAX PROVISIONS
Making Work Pay Tax Credit: Reduces the amount of the refundable "Making Work Pay Tax Credit" from $500 to $400 for an individual and from $1,000 to $800 for joint filers. In addition, the conference report would restore the $75,000 individual earnings eligibility cap for the refundable portion of the tax credit that was in the House version of the bill. The Senate had lowered this eligibility cap to $70,000 for an individual filer (twice as much for a married couple filing jointly). These changes would reduce the cost of the "Making Work Pay Tax Credit" by $29 billion-from $145 billion in the House bill to $116 billion. The tax credit itself would phase out at $95,000 for single filers ($190,000 for joint filers).
Child Tax Credit: Temporarily expands eligibility for the child tax credit by lowering the $8,500 earnings floor to $3,000. Under current law, the child tax credit is refundable up to 15% of a taxpayer's earnings above $8,500. The House bill eliminated the $8,500 earnings floor, which cost $18.2 billion, while the Senate bill simply lowered the earnings threshold to $8,100, costing $7.2 billion. The conference report would set the floor at $3,000, costing $14.8 billion.
First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit: Expands the current tax credit for first-time homebuyers, raising the maximum tax credit, extending it through November, 2009, and removing a provision that requires the credit to be repaid over time. The original provision, which was added to the Senate bill by amendment, would have given any homebuyer purchasing a primary residence in 2009 a $15,000 tax credit. The conference report reduction would decrease the deficit impact of the provision from $35 billion to $6.6 billion.
College Tax Credit: Creates the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which gives tax credits to students and parents for the cost of post-secondary tuition and expenses. The conference report provides $2,500 in tax credits per student and in 2009 and 2010. 40% of this tax credit would be refundable. This provision would cost $13.9 billion.
NOL Carryback: Reduces the amount of the net operating loss (NOL) carryback provisions by limiting eligible businesses and only providing credit for 2008 losses. The conference report limits the five year NOL carryback to losses that occurred in 2008 for businesses with less than $15 million in annual receipts. Both the House and Senate bills extended this carryback period from two years to five years for all businesses, providing a tax cut of $17 billion. The reduced provision in the conference report saves American businesses only $947 million.
Bonus Depreciation: Extends bonus depreciation that allows businesses to make a tax deduction of 50% of the cost of depreciable capital expenditures within the first year of the property's purchase. Normally, depreciable property deductions are taken over time based on a depreciation formula. The 50% first-year deduction would be extended by this legislation through 2009-retroactively effective for any property put into service after December 31, 2008. This provision would save taxpayers $5 billion.
School Construction Bonds: Creates a new category of tax-credit bonds, known as qualified school construction bonds. Tax-credit bonds are bonds on which the federal government pays interest in the form of tax credits against the federal income tax liability of the bondholder. The qualified school construction bonds would be issued by State and local governments for the construction, repair, rehabilitation, acquisition, or debt reduction of public schools. This provision would cost $9.9 billion.
Vehicle Sales Tax: Allows taxpayers to deduct state sales tax on new car purchases in 2009. The Senate added an amendment to the legislation that would make all interest payments on car loans and state car sales tax deductible. The provision would have had a deficit impact of $11.5 billion, which the conference report reduces to less than $1.7 billion.
AMT: Provides a one year Alternative Minimum Tax "patch," which prevents middle-income taxpayers from being subject to a tax increase in 2009. This provision, included in the Senate bill, would save taxpayers approximately $70 billion.
Unemployment Benefits: Excludes up to $2,400 of 2009 unemployment from tax. Any unemployment insurance benefit above $2,400 would be subject to regular taxation. This provision would save taxpayers $4.7 billion.
HEALTH PROVISIONS
COBRA Subsidy: Provides a 65% federal subsidy to laid off individuals electing COBRA continuation coverage from their former employers. The subsidy will extend for up to nine months, as opposed to 12 months in the House bill. The report also limits eligibility to individuals with adjusted gross incomes of under $145,000 and families with incomes of under $290,000. These changes reduce the cost of the provision from $40.7 billion in the House bill to $25.1 billion. In addition, the conference report does not include language in the House bill that would permit former employees over age 55, or those with at least 10 years of service with the employer, to remain on COBRA until becoming eligible for Medicare.
Qualifying Individual Program: Extends for 12 months, through December 2010, the Qualifying Individual program, which provides assistance through Medicaid for low-income seniors to pay their Medicare premiums, at a cost of $562 million. The House bill included no such provision.
Medicaid Assistance to States: Includes a compromise between the House and Senate formulae for the $87 billion increase in the federal Medicaid match, whereby approximately 65% of the increase is provided on an across-the-board basis, with the remaining 35% allocated to states experiencing high unemployment. By contrast, the House bill spent the same overall amount, but targeted 50% of the additional Medicaid spending to high-unemployment states, with the remaining half providing an across-the-board increase.
Medicaid for the Unemployed: Removes language in the House bill that would have created a new entitlement for individuals receiving unemployment assistance to receive Medicare benefits fully funded by the federal government at a 100% match rate.
Comparative Effectiveness Research: Provides $1.1 billion to conduct "comparative effectiveness research" to evaluate the effectiveness of different healthcare interventions, and removes bipartisan Senate language stating such funding must be used only for clinical research, as opposed to research taking cost into account as well. Despite non-binding report language stating that the funding is not intended to be used to mandate coverage policies, some Members may be concerned that the money for comparative effectiveness research could eventually be used to sanction government rationing of health care goods and services, consistent with an earlier committee report that said that "more expensive [treatments] will no longer be prescribed" as a result of such research.
Health IT-Financial Incentives: Maintains House language providing maximum incentive payments to hospitals of up to $6.37 million in the first year and $15.9 million over four years, and includes provisions not in the House legislation expanding incentive payments to include critical access hospitals. Expands eligibility for Medicaid health IT incentive payments to include nurse practitioners, mid-wives, dentists, and physician assistants in rural health clinics.
Accelerates the penalties for non-usage of electronic health record technology; physician incentive payments will stop in 2014, as opposed to 2015 in the House bill, and penalties will begin in 2015 for non-users, as opposed to 2016 in the House bill. Includes a 10% bonus payment for all physicians practicing in underserved areas-a provision not included in either bill. Increases implementation funding for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by including $340 million in additional mandatory spending.
Health IT-Privacy Provisions: Removes most of the technical changes to the privacy provisions added to the bill in the Senate. The bill maintains the onerous notification requirements, increased penalties, and lawsuit authority for state attorneys general present in the House bill; some Members may be concerned that these provisions, by increasing business' costs and raising the possibility of additional class-action lawsuits, may impede rather than promote the adoption of health information technology.
Other Provisions; Earmarks: Imposes moratoria on hospice regulations from taking effect, and makes certain "technical corrections" regarding long-term care hospitals, specifically as it relates to implementation of a rule for referrals from non co-located facilities. According to CMS, at least one of these "corrections" will affect only three hospitals-two located in North Dakota, and one located in Connecticut. Some Members may believe this provision constitutes an authorizing earmark, and therefore believe its inclusion is inconsistent with President Obama's pledge that economic recovery legislation should not include any "pork-barrel" spending.
OTHER PROVISIONS
Essential Abstinence Education Funding Eliminated: Extends for 18 months-through December 31, 2010-the Transitional Medical Assistance (TMA) program that provides Medicaid benefits for low-income families transitioning from welfare to work. Traditionally, the TMA provisions have been coupled with an extension of Title V Abstinence Education funding during the passage of health care bills. However, the Title V funds were excluded from the bill language and will expire on July 1, 2009 absent further action. Given the Obama Administration's desire for bipartisan agreement on economic stimulus provisions, some Members may be concerned by the removal of the Title V abstinence education funding and the potential end of this program. Some Members may be concerned that while abstinence education receives only $176 million annually (through both Title V and the Community Based Abstinence Education program), contraceptives and family planning already receive $1.6 billion of federal funding.
E-Verify: Removes language to require anyone receiving a contract paid for with funding from the bill to use the government's E-Verify program in order to ensure taxpayer money is not used to hire illegal workers.
Welfare Reform Rollback: Includes $5 billion to create a new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare program emergency fund. The emergency fund would be used to provide money to States that increase TANF caseloads or provide increased short-term cash benefits. The bill waives requirements that obligate states to consider rising caseloads when determining TANF work requirements. Thus, the legislation would encourage States to increase caseloads without increasing the number of individuals required to obtain work, which was a key component of the 1996 welfare reform that has dramatically decreased the number of Americans dependent on welfare.
Davis-Bacon: Applies Davis-Bacon requirements to all government contracts flowing from the bill, thus requiring that employees will be paid no less than the prevailing wage for similar jobs in the locality/vicinity.
Buy American: Encourages the purchase of American goods (steel, iron, etc.) for stimulus funded government contracts, but includes language adopted by the Senate intended to waive any requirement in the Stimulus Act which would preclude adherence to current World Trade Organization treaties. The Senate language was adopted after pressure from the European Union over earlier "Buy American" provisions that were seen by the EU as a violation of current WTO treaties.
Debt Limit Increase: Increase the statutory limit on public debt from $11.3 trillion to $12.1 trillion.
POSSIBLE MEMBER CONCERNS WITH CONFERENCE REPORTCost Per Family: According to the Census Bureau, there are 116.8 million households in the U.S. A total cost of $1.1 trillion for the bill ($792 billion for the legislation plus at least $300 billion in debt service to pay for it) amounts to a per-family cost of at least $9,418 in new spending/debt.
State Bailout: Provides $87 billion for Medicaid spending for states and $53.6 billion for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. According to the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the total budget deficit for the States collectively for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2009 is $43 billion. Given that the federal government’s Fiscal Year 2009 deficit is already projected at $1.2 trillion—or 27.5 times greater than the total State shortfall—it is hard to understand why the Democrats would choose to further exacerbate the federal deficit, especially since most States are subject to balanced budget requirements whereas the federal government is not.
Healthcare Rationing: Provides $1.1 billion to conduct “comparative effectiveness research” to evaluate the effectiveness of different preventative healthcare interventions. Some Members may be concerned that the money for comparative effectiveness research could eventually be used to sanction government rationing of health care goods and services, consistent with the draft House Appropriations Committee report that said that “more expensive [treatments] will no longer be prescribed” as a result of such research.
Record Deficit Spending: According to CBO, under current law, the federal deficit will rise to a record $1.2 trillion, or 8.3% of GDP, in 2009. Even without this massive spending bill, the deficit will be by far the highest on record in both nominal terms and as a percentage of GDP during peacetime, easily exceeding the previous record of 6% in 1983 and the highest New Deal level of 5.9% in 1934. The estimated cost of debt services for the $820 billion House passed bill was $347 billion. When that rough number is applied to the conference report, the total ten year cost of the bill increases to a staggering $1.13 trillion.
Massive Spending: According to the Federal Reserve, $789.5 billion is almost as much as all the money currently in circulation in the U.S. ($829 billion). If the “stimulus” legislation were a nation’s GDP, it would be the 16th largest economy in the world.
Lowers GDP: The Congressional Budget Office, in analyzing the long-term economic impact of H.R. 1, noted that both the House and Senate versions of the bill are likely “to reduce GDP by between zero and 0.2 percent” in the years after 2014. The same CBO analysis indicates that the effect of this GDP reduction will be reflected in lower wages for workers. Some Members may therefore be concerned that at best the “stimulus” will yield no net long-term benefit for the American economy, and at worst—by displacing private capital for government-financed deficit spending—may result in reduced long-term growth and stagnant wages for American workers.
Long-Term Fiscal Impact: A Congressional Budget Office analysis of the spending provisions in the House-passed version of H.R. 1 found that extending the spending levels in several politically popular programs—such as Head Start, Medicaid, food stamps, and the Earned Income Tax Credit—would cost an additional $1.7 trillion over ten years. When added to the $820 billion cost (the original House-passed level) of the underlying “stimulus” legislation, and the estimated $744 billion cost of servicing the debt on the stimulus, CBO estimated the bill would cost $3.2 trillion if the major House spending provisions are extended. Some Members may therefore be concerned that the funding “cliffs” included in the legislation mask the true long-term costs of the new spending and expanded entitlements created in the bill.
Refundable Tax Credits: Contains billions in refundable tax credits to provide direct payments to individuals that that pay little or no income taxes. Unlike tax cuts, these refunds do little to spur growth, create more jobs, or stimulate the economy and are more similar to new spending through tax policy than actual tax cuts.
Largest Spending Bill Ever: According to the Congressional Research Service, the largest appropriations bill considered by Congress in nominal terms was the continuing resolution and Defense appropriations measure (P.L. 110-329) passed last fall, which appropriated $636 billion. Some Members may be concerned about the long-term implications of passing an even larger spending measure, particularly given the $700 billion (plus $108 billion in tax relief) obligated by Congress as part of the Troubled Asset Recovery Program (P.L. 110-343) last October.
BACKGROUND
On January 28, 2009, the House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by a vote of 244-188, without a single Republican supporting the bill and 11 Democrats opposing. As passed by the House, the Democrat spending bill cost $821 billion. The bill contained $361 billion in new discretionary spending, $278 billion in increased mandatory spending, and $182 billion in tax provisions.
The Senate increased the size and scope of spending in the massive "stimulus" bill, driving the cost of the bill to more than $920 billion-or $100 billion more than the House bill. Approximately $70 billion of that increase provided for a one year AMT patch. In addition, the Senate added $47 billion with amendments that further drove up the cost of the bill, including an amendment that provided a federal income tax credit of up to $15,000 for homebuyers who purchase new principal residences in 2009 and a $6 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health.
The Senate then came to an agreement with three Republican senators, allowing the legislation to proceed for a vote on the floor and overcome the Senate's super-majority procedural hurdles. The agreement reduced the cost of the Senate bill from $920 billion to $841 billion-or $20 billion more than the House bill. To reach this funding level, the Senate cut the base bill through a combined reduction of spending and tax provisions, while retaining all of the floor amendments, resulting in a cost of $841 billion. However, the estimated cost of debt services for the $820 billion House-passed bill was an additional $347 billion over ten years. When the debt service cost is added on to the Senate package, the total ten year cost of the Senate bill approaches a staggering $1.2 trillion.
After the Senate passed the measure-considered as an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Sens. Nelson (D-NE) and Collins (R-ME)-by a vote of 61-37, the bill was sent to a conference committee between the House and the Senate to reconcile the differences with the two bills, resulting in the conference report the House will soon consider.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
IN THESE DIRE TIMES
hello america! this writing is a knock on those that supported obamas run to the whitehouse. but,
let's not get it twisted, i am not knocking your right for voting for him. i support that right & will never degrade it. so, with that being said, let's get to it.
the first thing obama did after getting sworn in was to raise your taxes in such a way as to blind you to his doing it. &, he did it with just the stroke of a pen---he didn't even need congress to help him. obama used his executive powers to lift the ban on the usage of federal money to foreign non-governmental organizations for abortions & abortion education. not surprisingly, abortion advocates are already lining up at the door for the money---your money. bet when you became an obamaholic, you never thought your dollars would be funding abortions on residents of third world countries. oh, & in case you didn't know, federal money is your taxes.
now, don't get me wrong, it's a good thing when we, as a nation, can help those less priviledged regardless of where they are but, with all the crap & turmoil going on right here, you'd think obama would think of us first. after all, he was running around the country telling us how bad our economy was & is &, that he was the only one that could fix it.
a lot of you didn't even listen to that joe-the-plumber & obama incident about spreading the wealth but you will &, the above is just the beginning of it. &, if you think only the wealthy are going to be paying the way, i'm still here to tell you that you're crazy. IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
want more proof of obamas bad intentions for your money---i've got plenty.
when obama signed the state children's health insurance program (schip) into law, he did so by raising the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes .62 to $1. to help pay for it. (bet you obamaholic smoking supporters are happy about that). it is to my understanding that in order for families to sign up for this, they just have to present a social security card, no picture id required. america, there are a lot of good phony social security cards out there---i know, because i managed a temporary employment agency in allentown, pa. so, when you hear congresspeople talking about illegal aliens getting health care, you better believe it. but, doesn't this make you want to run out there & buy a few extra cartons of cigarettes? IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
but, keep the faith. with the final closing of gitmo will come the housing problems & costs for the
detainees. the only countries that really want them are countries like iran, syria &, yemen. so,
coming soon to you will be the detainees & a bill for their confinement from the federal government. you're finally getting it---federal dollars means your taxes. after all, obama is really looking out for you & the good of this country. IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
still not ready to say uncle? good---i loath quitters.
obama likes you so much & wants to take care of you so badly that he's going around the country telling you how great this "AMERICAN RECOVERY & REINVESTMENT ACT" is &, that it needs passage now &, negatizing (like that word?) the republicans role in their resistance to it &, without it, america is facing a catastrophy we may never recover from &, this bill will have absolutely no 'ear marks/pork projects' in it. if i were waking up for the first time tomorrow & reading this, i would be jumping for joy. but, alas, i've been doing my homework, & sadly, you're not going to like the results...&, please remember, the stated purpose of this bill is to stimulate the economy---even says so on the bill.
here's the facts: the bill cuts the tax credits for the middle class; the bill cuts the tax credit for first time home buyers; the bill cuts the tax credit for new car buyers; the bill provides funding for a rail system in harry rieds back yard; the bill provides funding for rats/mice in nancy pelosis back yard; the bill provides funding for NASA (they can take the unemployed into space & get them jobs up there); the bill provides funding for 30 plus federal government new agencies (that should make you real happy); the bill provides funding for infrastructure repair & building---for which obama says should go to unionized labor. this bill provides funding for everything but something to make you go out there & spend your money. IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
before i go on, the word 'funding' in the above paragraph means federal dollars & by now you should know obama is talking about your money.
30 new agencies & at what cost to you? has obama even mentioned the cost to you? i remember obama debating with mccain & saying that he would eliminate government programs & agencies that don't work, do you? yet here he is, expanding the growth of government with 30 new agencies amidst a time when government is struggling to remain afloat.
oh, how stupid of me, you think obama & his crew are going to pay for all of the above out of their own pocket. man, why didn't you tell me?
obamas bill as is would net you a savings of about $600. a year (about $12. a week)---&, don't forget michelle "$750 a dress" obama bashing bush for his $600 rebate to you saying "it would only buy a pair of earings". please enjoy that $12. & spend it in a way that will turn this economy around---for that matter, invest it in obamas global green planet stock.
&, don't forget, nancy pelosi is waiting in the wings to undo all of bushs tax programs.
so, yeah, obama lied to you about raising your taxes & growing government but, the sad thing is, this is just the beginning. IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
let's not get it twisted, i am not knocking your right for voting for him. i support that right & will never degrade it. so, with that being said, let's get to it.
the first thing obama did after getting sworn in was to raise your taxes in such a way as to blind you to his doing it. &, he did it with just the stroke of a pen---he didn't even need congress to help him. obama used his executive powers to lift the ban on the usage of federal money to foreign non-governmental organizations for abortions & abortion education. not surprisingly, abortion advocates are already lining up at the door for the money---your money. bet when you became an obamaholic, you never thought your dollars would be funding abortions on residents of third world countries. oh, & in case you didn't know, federal money is your taxes.
now, don't get me wrong, it's a good thing when we, as a nation, can help those less priviledged regardless of where they are but, with all the crap & turmoil going on right here, you'd think obama would think of us first. after all, he was running around the country telling us how bad our economy was & is &, that he was the only one that could fix it.
a lot of you didn't even listen to that joe-the-plumber & obama incident about spreading the wealth but you will &, the above is just the beginning of it. &, if you think only the wealthy are going to be paying the way, i'm still here to tell you that you're crazy. IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
want more proof of obamas bad intentions for your money---i've got plenty.
when obama signed the state children's health insurance program (schip) into law, he did so by raising the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes .62 to $1. to help pay for it. (bet you obamaholic smoking supporters are happy about that). it is to my understanding that in order for families to sign up for this, they just have to present a social security card, no picture id required. america, there are a lot of good phony social security cards out there---i know, because i managed a temporary employment agency in allentown, pa. so, when you hear congresspeople talking about illegal aliens getting health care, you better believe it. but, doesn't this make you want to run out there & buy a few extra cartons of cigarettes? IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
but, keep the faith. with the final closing of gitmo will come the housing problems & costs for the
detainees. the only countries that really want them are countries like iran, syria &, yemen. so,
coming soon to you will be the detainees & a bill for their confinement from the federal government. you're finally getting it---federal dollars means your taxes. after all, obama is really looking out for you & the good of this country. IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
still not ready to say uncle? good---i loath quitters.
obama likes you so much & wants to take care of you so badly that he's going around the country telling you how great this "AMERICAN RECOVERY & REINVESTMENT ACT" is &, that it needs passage now &, negatizing (like that word?) the republicans role in their resistance to it &, without it, america is facing a catastrophy we may never recover from &, this bill will have absolutely no 'ear marks/pork projects' in it. if i were waking up for the first time tomorrow & reading this, i would be jumping for joy. but, alas, i've been doing my homework, & sadly, you're not going to like the results...&, please remember, the stated purpose of this bill is to stimulate the economy---even says so on the bill.
here's the facts: the bill cuts the tax credits for the middle class; the bill cuts the tax credit for first time home buyers; the bill cuts the tax credit for new car buyers; the bill provides funding for a rail system in harry rieds back yard; the bill provides funding for rats/mice in nancy pelosis back yard; the bill provides funding for NASA (they can take the unemployed into space & get them jobs up there); the bill provides funding for 30 plus federal government new agencies (that should make you real happy); the bill provides funding for infrastructure repair & building---for which obama says should go to unionized labor. this bill provides funding for everything but something to make you go out there & spend your money. IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
before i go on, the word 'funding' in the above paragraph means federal dollars & by now you should know obama is talking about your money.
30 new agencies & at what cost to you? has obama even mentioned the cost to you? i remember obama debating with mccain & saying that he would eliminate government programs & agencies that don't work, do you? yet here he is, expanding the growth of government with 30 new agencies amidst a time when government is struggling to remain afloat.
oh, how stupid of me, you think obama & his crew are going to pay for all of the above out of their own pocket. man, why didn't you tell me?
obamas bill as is would net you a savings of about $600. a year (about $12. a week)---&, don't forget michelle "$750 a dress" obama bashing bush for his $600 rebate to you saying "it would only buy a pair of earings". please enjoy that $12. & spend it in a way that will turn this economy around---for that matter, invest it in obamas global green planet stock.
&, don't forget, nancy pelosi is waiting in the wings to undo all of bushs tax programs.
so, yeah, obama lied to you about raising your taxes & growing government but, the sad thing is, this is just the beginning. IN THESE DIRE TIMES!
OBAMA, LIE TO ME SOME MORE, I CAN'T GET ENOUGH
hello america! when obama was campaigning last year, i was going around telling people that he would raise taxes no matter what he said. i even wrote a few things on that subject. well, this is one time i hate to say i told you so because it affects me also.
now, don't get me wrong, i think all americans that can't afford health care should be able to get the care they need, when they need it, where they need it &, regardless of why they need it. that being said...
...just don't expand the health care system & health care coverage & then lie to me about not raising my taxes. obama, when mcain said you were going to raise our taxes you responded by lieing to america that you wouldn't. however, you did raise my taxes in a spindless way but, that's what i expect of you.
while you were running around telling america how great this health bill is for them, did you take the time to tell them you raised the tax on their cigarettes to pay for it? or is this another of those asides you continue to so conviently forget to mention? you touted the passage of the state children's health insurance program (schip) as your downpayment on your "commitment to cover every single american", & yet, not one word from you about raising the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes 62 lousy cents. no, in your open & honest administration you could not admit that.
obama, you don't surprise me. i knew you were sneaky & deceptive & would expand government &, you'll raise our taxes any way you can---you're too liberal to do it any other way.
when all is said & done, obama, you're legacy will be one of expanding government & outspending every administration before yours. &, your legacy will also include all that you did to hurt this great nation.
now, don't get me wrong, i think all americans that can't afford health care should be able to get the care they need, when they need it, where they need it &, regardless of why they need it. that being said...
...just don't expand the health care system & health care coverage & then lie to me about not raising my taxes. obama, when mcain said you were going to raise our taxes you responded by lieing to america that you wouldn't. however, you did raise my taxes in a spindless way but, that's what i expect of you.
while you were running around telling america how great this health bill is for them, did you take the time to tell them you raised the tax on their cigarettes to pay for it? or is this another of those asides you continue to so conviently forget to mention? you touted the passage of the state children's health insurance program (schip) as your downpayment on your "commitment to cover every single american", & yet, not one word from you about raising the federal tax on a pack of cigarettes 62 lousy cents. no, in your open & honest administration you could not admit that.
obama, you don't surprise me. i knew you were sneaky & deceptive & would expand government &, you'll raise our taxes any way you can---you're too liberal to do it any other way.
when all is said & done, obama, you're legacy will be one of expanding government & outspending every administration before yours. &, your legacy will also include all that you did to hurt this great nation.
BARNEY NEEDS TO GO
hello america! are we a stupid people? time after time we make the same mistakes when it comes to electing our representatives to washington. in this case, i'm refering to democrat representative barney franks, mass. my question is why is still in office? how can we allow him to have anything to do with finance committees? his record record for supporting fannie mae speaks for itself.
being from the east coast, i just assumed that everybody else from there was at least as smart as i think i am. am i ever wrong in thinking that. it seems the good people of mass don't messure up. how else can you explain their continued support of franks?
i've been writing about franks for a year now &, none of it was good---he doesn't do good things.
research this article when you can-there are many more like it out there-just google barney franks & see for yourself.
Media Mum on Barney Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection Democratic House Financial Services Committee Chair promoted GSEs while former 'spouse' was Fannie Mae executive. By Jeff Poor Business & Media Institute9/24/2008 4:00:57 PM
being from the east coast, i just assumed that everybody else from there was at least as smart as i think i am. am i ever wrong in thinking that. it seems the good people of mass don't messure up. how else can you explain their continued support of franks?
i've been writing about franks for a year now &, none of it was good---he doesn't do good things.
research this article when you can-there are many more like it out there-just google barney franks & see for yourself.
Media Mum on Barney Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection Democratic House Financial Services Committee Chair promoted GSEs while former 'spouse' was Fannie Mae executive. By Jeff Poor Business & Media Institute9/24/2008 4:00:57 PM
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