As a native of Indiana, and a former official with the Bayh administration between 1989-1995, I am not at all shocked that Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) has decided he's had his fill of Washington politics and won't stand for reelection. I admire his candor and his integrity in rejecting the politics of hyper-partisanship that has consumed Washington of late. He stated in his remarks that he is "an executive at heart" and values his independence. That "my decision should not be interpreted for more than it is." But when Mr. Bayh says his bombshell resignation isn't about Barack Obama, you can bet your bottom dollar that it is.
Senator Bayh says he wishes to continue his service to Indiana by either creating jobs in the private sector, leading an institution of higher learning, or running a philanthropic enterprise. One of these might suffice his need for income in the coming months, but make no mistake about it, he will be back in elective politics. Whether it's a return to his former job as governor, or as I suspect, a run against President Obama in 2012. Even though he seemed to flatly reject that notion this morning on MSNBC, believe me, he would like nothing better than to recapture the Democrat party from the ruinous policies of the far left and the Obama administration.
Evan Bayh has always been a conservative Democrat. This has been his appeal to voters in an historically red state since he began his political career in 1986 when he ran for Indiana's Secretary of State. As a two term governor, he successfully managed the state with a combination of tax cuts, fiscal discipline and good old common sense. So much so, that he was succeeded by two more Democrat governors for another eight years. Despite his kind words in departure for President Barack Obama, the progressives who have highjacked his party, including Mr. Obama, are an anathema to him. I suppose, and he himself has said as much, that he simply cannot stomach the continued charade of trying to support them with his vote in the U. S. Senate.
Ever since Evan Bayh, along with his parents Birch and Marvella, visited the retired President Harry Truman at his home in Independence, Missouri, where the former president offered to show an impatient young man the way to the restroom, Evan has had his eye on the White House. Later, meetings with President John Kennedy, while his father was a Senator from Indiana like he himself is today, further interested him in presidential politics. So mark my words. Evan Bayh believes in destiny and he believe his destiny will lead him to 1600 Pennsylvania and to a particular office that is oval. Perhaps not in 2012 but someday. And if he ever does find himself a candidate for the presidency of the United States, I'll likely vote for him.
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Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Tasty Freeze
"Roll back Pelosi!"was the war cry this afternoon from Rush Limbaugh who, among others, is advocating freezing federal spending at 2007 levels. Rush rightly pointed out that the federal budget has exploded ever since the Democrats took over the House after the 2006 elections, and with the help of Barack Obama's $3.8 trillion budget, will further push their deficit spending to a remarkable $1.6 trillion. According to Senator George LeMieux (R-FL), if government spending were reduced to 2007 levels, we'd have a balanced budget with a $163 billion surplus. Think that might be too draconian? Then how about freezing spending at 2008 levels, which would balance the federal budget in 2014 with a $133 billion surplus. In both cases, according to a story in the Weekly Standard, these budgets could be accomplished while maintaining the Bush tax cuts.
George LeMieux, for those who may not remember, was appointed by Florida Governor Charlie Crist to fill out the remaining term of Mel Martinez who resigned. Mr. LeMieux's spending plan has gained little attention in Washington, due in part to the fact that he is not seeking reelection. In Washington parlance, those who do not seek reelection are less than lame ducks, they are pesona non grata. That, and the fact that the Democrat majority have little interest in curbing their monstrous spending spree anytime soon. Suffice it to say that we could use more people like Senator LeMieux in public office.
George LeMieux, for those who may not remember, was appointed by Florida Governor Charlie Crist to fill out the remaining term of Mel Martinez who resigned. Mr. LeMieux's spending plan has gained little attention in Washington, due in part to the fact that he is not seeking reelection. In Washington parlance, those who do not seek reelection are less than lame ducks, they are pesona non grata. That, and the fact that the Democrat majority have little interest in curbing their monstrous spending spree anytime soon. Suffice it to say that we could use more people like Senator LeMieux in public office.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Distracted, Again
Just fourteen days ago, on January 27th, President Obama said in his State of the Union speech that "jobs must be our number one focus in 2010." So, after just two weeks since he made that statement, what are we talking about? Healthcare. Forget Scott Brown and Massachusetts. Forget a record 6.1 million Americans who have been out of work for more than 27 weeks straight. Forget another 661.000 who just last month dropped out of the labor market and stopped looking for work altogether. The president wants to talk healthcare reform again, from now until February 25th when he has scheduled a half-day bipartisan summit to discuss same. And, from the sounds emanating from the mouths of those who have been invited, we begin where we ended. With a bill that a majority of Democrats in the House and the Senate and the White House couldn't slip past the American people.
So it's no surprise then that Republican leaders in Congress are balking at the idea of spending another minute on something that a majority of Americans have weighed in on and found wanting. The 2,700 page Obamacare bill is a stinker and needs to be scratched. I agree with the president when he says that bipartisanship is not the abandonment of ones' own principles for the total adoption of anothers', but too much time and attention has already been wasted on something that will never happen. Unless of course the progressives in the Democrat party get their way and break the glass of the emergency reconciliation box and shove this crap down our throats. Either way, there will be further hell to pay at the ballot box in November.
If I were advising the Republicans in Congress, and I am not, I would let the president know that I would be more than willing to come to the White House on February 25th to discuss job creation and getting America back to work. I would remind them to remind him that just 14 days ago this was his intent as well. I would tell them to tell him that once we get our economy back on track, through cutting spending and cutting taxes, that we could then resume negotiations over a full range of ideas that together might move America ahead. But if all he wants to do on that particular Monday is talk healthcare, then thanks but no thanks. Republicans will take our chances with the American voter without participating in another White House sideshow.
So it's no surprise then that Republican leaders in Congress are balking at the idea of spending another minute on something that a majority of Americans have weighed in on and found wanting. The 2,700 page Obamacare bill is a stinker and needs to be scratched. I agree with the president when he says that bipartisanship is not the abandonment of ones' own principles for the total adoption of anothers', but too much time and attention has already been wasted on something that will never happen. Unless of course the progressives in the Democrat party get their way and break the glass of the emergency reconciliation box and shove this crap down our throats. Either way, there will be further hell to pay at the ballot box in November.
If I were advising the Republicans in Congress, and I am not, I would let the president know that I would be more than willing to come to the White House on February 25th to discuss job creation and getting America back to work. I would remind them to remind him that just 14 days ago this was his intent as well. I would tell them to tell him that once we get our economy back on track, through cutting spending and cutting taxes, that we could then resume negotiations over a full range of ideas that together might move America ahead. But if all he wants to do on that particular Monday is talk healthcare, then thanks but no thanks. Republicans will take our chances with the American voter without participating in another White House sideshow.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Trivial Pursuits
I'm curious about many things, both meaningful and meaningless. For instance I learned many years ago that you can tell the origins of a necktie simply by observing the direction in which the stripes are arranged. So it always struck me that Barack Obama seems to prefer foreign neckwear over domestic brands. Whenever you see President Obama wearing a striped tie, chances are the stripes run from his left down to the right. This is often a sign that it is an English or European brand. American brand ties that are striped, for the most part, run opposite, or from the wearers right, down to the left. This isn't significant, unless you purport to be someone who supports American union workers like those organized under the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union or UNITE HERE. I'll bet you a gazillian dollars that you won't find a union label on the back of one of Obama's ties.
This innocent observation on my part, led this morning to some other strange and meaningless things. For instance I wasn't aware that the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, or the ILGWU, the people behind the "Look for the union label" ads that were so popular in the '70's had morphed into UNITE HERE. Or that most ties, striped, club, signet, paisley, American, English or European, are mostly made in China. I also came across a website called neckofstate.com. Neck of State, is a website devoted to the neckwear of POTUS. Really.
Neck of State claims it is a "research blog that studies how what the President of the United States of America wears on his or her neck may affect their decisions while in office." Their "current mission is to track, catalog, and correlate the neckties and other neckwear of President Barack Obama. President Obama was a powerful force for change long before he took office, and it's imperative that we understand, clearly, how his choice of neckwear affects world events." Indeed. We also learn that Obama prefers the four-in-hand knot, which "is easier to tie than the full- or half- windsor, and thus the most appropriate tie for a President focused on drastic change in Washington now, rather than fussing with his neckwear in the morning." How true. I can't imagine the kinds of calamitous world events or domestic policy gaffes that were perhaps averted simply by Obama shaving three seconds off his morning routine. Not surprisingly, we learn that the White House will not disclose where Obama buys his ties. Only his haberdasher knows for sure.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
I Want Your MTV
"Money for nothin' and the chicks for free." So sang Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits back in the 1980's. Today, the Michigan League for Human Services explains how to get money for practically nothing in their just released 2010 edition of Money Back in Michigan. Money Back in Michigan details how to file for and receive income tax deductions and refunds from nine different federal and state tax credits. The reader is also encouraged to utilize "free" (read government subsidized) tax preparation services rather than "expensive" (read private sector) tax preparers. In other words, under the right circumstances, a person can get money for something they didn't do, and arranged for by someone they don't have to pay. Under Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, people with low or moderate incomes are incongruously rewarded for work that was either underpaid, not paid at all, or performed by someone else altogether.
The Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC was established in 1975 to offset the costs of social security income taxes and to provide an incentive to work. If you have more credits than what you owe to the IRS, you get cash back. Oddly enough, even though the EITC refund supplements your income, it does not count as income against eligibility for other government programs like Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, low income housing, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Michigan, like many other states, has their own EITC which provides state refunds on top of federal dollars.
The federal Child Tax Credit will be available to families earning as little as $3000 this year, as opposed to $8500 under George Bush. The American Opportunity Tax Credit makes post secondary education easier on the wallet. If you spent at least $2500 on college tuition, you can get $1000 back from the feds. The superfluously named Making Work Pay Credit provides $400 for individuals and $800 for couples filing jointly. Other credits are the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit, the state Child Deduction, the state Home Heating Tax Credit, and the state Homestead Property Tax Credit. Keep in mind that these are the kinds of tax credits and incentives that President Obama offers as his bona fides when talking with Republican lawmakers.
Lest I make too much fun of President Obama for his tax giveaways, we have our own progressive-in-chief Governor Granholm. Under her watch, Michigan has enacted tax credits that give money back to renters for heat, which may have even been included in their rent and payed for by their landlord. Renters may also receive refunds for taxes paid on property they don't even own. It doesn't get any better than that. No wonder then that over the last eight years, under Jennifer Granholm, Michigan has slid to the bottom of most lists you can find.
While the EITC can put much needed money back into a community, it's really only money that was once there, taxed, and then redistributed.
The Earned Income Tax Credit or EITC was established in 1975 to offset the costs of social security income taxes and to provide an incentive to work. If you have more credits than what you owe to the IRS, you get cash back. Oddly enough, even though the EITC refund supplements your income, it does not count as income against eligibility for other government programs like Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, low income housing, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Michigan, like many other states, has their own EITC which provides state refunds on top of federal dollars.
The federal Child Tax Credit will be available to families earning as little as $3000 this year, as opposed to $8500 under George Bush. The American Opportunity Tax Credit makes post secondary education easier on the wallet. If you spent at least $2500 on college tuition, you can get $1000 back from the feds. The superfluously named Making Work Pay Credit provides $400 for individuals and $800 for couples filing jointly. Other credits are the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit, the state Child Deduction, the state Home Heating Tax Credit, and the state Homestead Property Tax Credit. Keep in mind that these are the kinds of tax credits and incentives that President Obama offers as his bona fides when talking with Republican lawmakers.
Lest I make too much fun of President Obama for his tax giveaways, we have our own progressive-in-chief Governor Granholm. Under her watch, Michigan has enacted tax credits that give money back to renters for heat, which may have even been included in their rent and payed for by their landlord. Renters may also receive refunds for taxes paid on property they don't even own. It doesn't get any better than that. No wonder then that over the last eight years, under Jennifer Granholm, Michigan has slid to the bottom of most lists you can find.
While the EITC can put much needed money back into a community, it's really only money that was once there, taxed, and then redistributed.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Mismatch
Washington's budgets are killing our country. Yes we know that record deficit spending is doing considerable long term damage to the fiscal solvency of our country, but it's more insidious at the state level, where each year's rise in federal spending forces states to either spend money they don't have, raise taxes, or lose out on much needed federal funds to augment their own services. Specifically, "maintenance of effort" clauses in practically every funding steam that comes from Washington to the states, is forcing each and every state to increase their own budgets disproportionally and to their own detriment.
Take Michigan for example. Governor Failure, I mean Jennifer Granholm, in her (thankfully) last state of the state speech this week, lamented the fact that the Michigan will spend $800 million less on road projects for the next few years compared to the $1.4 billion we'll spend this year because we cannot generate enough funds from our current gas tax to meet the requirements for a federal match. Michigan is a donor state, meaning that we send more money to Washington then we get in return. In fact, according to something called Scribd.com, we rank 5th as a donor and 47th as a recipient of net federal tax benefits. We get back 92 cents in federal transportation dollars for every dollar we send in to federal fuel tax. Without an increase in our gas tax, we will go from 92 cents to 50 cents in a few short years. A bill has been introduced in the MI House to raise our gas tax from 19 to 23 cents, and diesel from 15 to 21 cents per gallon. In just three years, both would be 27 cents per gallon. These tax increases would raise just enough funds to meet our federal match over the next five years, going from $240 million next year to twice that amount beginning in 2013. Folks this is just to meet our transportation match. There are other such requirements for Medicaid/Medicare, education, public safety, job training, you name it.
Of course Washington, especially under Barack Obama, will continue to put our states through this perilous tail chase unless we end this practice now. Short of that in the near term, we should at least demand a drop in the percentage of the match requirement from say 20% to 10%. Trying to raise taxes anytime should be a difficult thing to do. In a recession it's downright criminal.
Take Michigan for example. Governor Failure, I mean Jennifer Granholm, in her (thankfully) last state of the state speech this week, lamented the fact that the Michigan will spend $800 million less on road projects for the next few years compared to the $1.4 billion we'll spend this year because we cannot generate enough funds from our current gas tax to meet the requirements for a federal match. Michigan is a donor state, meaning that we send more money to Washington then we get in return. In fact, according to something called Scribd.com, we rank 5th as a donor and 47th as a recipient of net federal tax benefits. We get back 92 cents in federal transportation dollars for every dollar we send in to federal fuel tax. Without an increase in our gas tax, we will go from 92 cents to 50 cents in a few short years. A bill has been introduced in the MI House to raise our gas tax from 19 to 23 cents, and diesel from 15 to 21 cents per gallon. In just three years, both would be 27 cents per gallon. These tax increases would raise just enough funds to meet our federal match over the next five years, going from $240 million next year to twice that amount beginning in 2013. Folks this is just to meet our transportation match. There are other such requirements for Medicaid/Medicare, education, public safety, job training, you name it.
Of course Washington, especially under Barack Obama, will continue to put our states through this perilous tail chase unless we end this practice now. Short of that in the near term, we should at least demand a drop in the percentage of the match requirement from say 20% to 10%. Trying to raise taxes anytime should be a difficult thing to do. In a recession it's downright criminal.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Catching Up
The news doesn't stop when you go away for a few days so here are a couple of things that happened while I was gone that I can't get out of my head:
From a story in USA Today, about the recovery efforts underway in Haiti, the world has provided over $8 billion in aid to Haiti since 1969. So what does the world have to show for all this money and effort in raising the living standard in one of the poorest countries on earth? Haiti's unemployment rate, before this latest disaster, is 25% higher than it was in 1969. This is what culminates when you mix massive amounts of money with a plethora of unfocused and uncoordinated agencies and organizations run at the behest and oversight of corrupt officials.
Speaking of colossal failure and mismanagement on a grand scale, on Morning Joe earlier this week, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an associate professor of Politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, and a regular guest on the show, said that African-American politicians, like Barack Obama, often find themselves elected to high office in places that have been "hollowed out" by greedy corporations and poor urban planning. She used this president and the City of Detroit as examples. This statement went unchallenged by everyone on the panel. Just for the record Ms. Harris-Lacewell, Detroit had the highest per capita income in 1950. It was a great American city until President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and the riots of 1967 drove whites to the suburbs. Since then, Detroit has been a model of progressive government; a living wage, militant school and public employee unions, and a tax system that aggressively redistributes income from businesses and the wealthy to the poor and government bureaucracies. Often dubbed the most liberal city in America, Detroit was hardly "hollowed out" before Coleman Young became mayor in 1974.
From last week's State of the Union speech by President Obama, he reeled off a bunch of policy initiatives like additional tax cuts, pro-business plans and home grown energy development for oil. coal, and nuclear power that sounded eerily familiar to conservatives. Although we've heard such rhetoric before, is this an embrace of the policies of the past? Are the very policies he demagogued on the road to the White House his salvation? We shall see.
From a story in USA Today, about the recovery efforts underway in Haiti, the world has provided over $8 billion in aid to Haiti since 1969. So what does the world have to show for all this money and effort in raising the living standard in one of the poorest countries on earth? Haiti's unemployment rate, before this latest disaster, is 25% higher than it was in 1969. This is what culminates when you mix massive amounts of money with a plethora of unfocused and uncoordinated agencies and organizations run at the behest and oversight of corrupt officials.
Speaking of colossal failure and mismanagement on a grand scale, on Morning Joe earlier this week, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an associate professor of Politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, and a regular guest on the show, said that African-American politicians, like Barack Obama, often find themselves elected to high office in places that have been "hollowed out" by greedy corporations and poor urban planning. She used this president and the City of Detroit as examples. This statement went unchallenged by everyone on the panel. Just for the record Ms. Harris-Lacewell, Detroit had the highest per capita income in 1950. It was a great American city until President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and the riots of 1967 drove whites to the suburbs. Since then, Detroit has been a model of progressive government; a living wage, militant school and public employee unions, and a tax system that aggressively redistributes income from businesses and the wealthy to the poor and government bureaucracies. Often dubbed the most liberal city in America, Detroit was hardly "hollowed out" before Coleman Young became mayor in 1974.
From last week's State of the Union speech by President Obama, he reeled off a bunch of policy initiatives like additional tax cuts, pro-business plans and home grown energy development for oil. coal, and nuclear power that sounded eerily familiar to conservatives. Although we've heard such rhetoric before, is this an embrace of the policies of the past? Are the very policies he demagogued on the road to the White House his salvation? We shall see.
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