Republicans and Tax Reform

        As I watched house speaker John Beohner at the Economic Club of New York a few weeks ago he kept talking about tax reform for corporations. When republicans talk about tax reform the working class better run for cover. Remember the last tax reform; when they introduced us to the alternative minimum tax. It was supposed to affect only the wealthy. The only ones who have been affected negatively are the middle class. And maybe they deserve it because they keep right on voting these same people back into office. If someone keeps hitting me over the head, I will seperate myself from them, not continue to stay close to them. All I can say is it hasn't been a pretty sight. Mr. Beohner had just said that he will not even consider raising taxes on the wealthy or corporations, so what does "reform" mean? It's code for giving more tax breaks for these same two groups! He has forgotten his roots. He came from a working class background, so how can he turn his back on the working class so fully? I think I know the answer to that question. In order to collect all those campaign contribution, that is the requirement. He has to do whatever is asked of him with no mercy, compassion, conscience or regrets.
          It was told him by one of the panelists that in order to get where he wanted to go without allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire he would have to cut the budget across the board by 36%. This didn't even phase him. He went on to brag about the $70 billion they had cut so far and how it didn't matter how much they had to cut to balance the budgets. They will not raise any taxes and they will continue to push for more budget cuts. He must not have heard about those republican governors who decried federal money so loudly but are now begging for that same money to help their weather ravaged states economies at this very moment. One of those same governors; Rick Perry of Texas, who is currently running for president of the U. S., had even threatened to secede from the rest of the country. I wonder if he has turned down any federal money recently?Teachers and policemen are being laid off, emergencies are popping up everywhere, we're fighting wars on the other side of the world and not only does he not see the need to raise taxes but he wants to cut taxes even more. And on top of that he won't allow a jobs bill to come to the floor of the house. When they were in the minority he kept jumping up and down screaming at the top of his lungs for an up or down vote and now that he is in charge that very same charge can be lodged at him. How hypocritical! Does anybody see anything wrong with this picture?
         Mr. Beohner has said that he will negotiate, but he has also said that he will not budge from his position. Then how can there be a negotiation? That can only mean that those with the majority will have to do whatever the minority dictates or nothing will get done. Some negotiation, huh?

Blogdog's EXPOSE': Ending Corporate Welfare

Blogdog's EXPOSE': Ending Corporate Welfare: " The Obama administration has been portrayed by republicans as being anti-business. The truth is the administration has done more to ..."

Blogdog's EXPOSE': National Infrastructure

Blogdog's EXPOSE': National Infrastructure: " What is going on with the president and congress? The president and democrats control two thirds of the government but the republicans..."

Ending Corporate Welfare

       The Obama administration has been portrayed by republicans as being anti-business. The truth is the administration has done more to help small business in their first year than the Bush administration did during it’s entire eight years. This lie was started because Mr. Obama wanted to end the tax breaks for corporations that ship American jobs overseas. Remember, the Bush administration gave these corporations subsidies so that they would create more jobs, and they did but the jobs created were not in the U. S. The corporations used the tax breaks to close down manufacturing in the U. S. and open factories in places like China, Mexico, India and Korea. When Mr. Obama threatened to end those tax breaks and the tax breaks that go to the top five oil companies he was labeled as anti business. Not only do these companies not pay any taxes but they also receive subsidies. Do you realize what that actually means? It means that we the taxpayers reward these corporations to send American jobs overseas and to overcharge us for gasoline prices.
      As far as corporate welfare is concerned let’s take a little further look. According to Citizens for Tax Justice we need to end Deferred Taxes on Income of U. S.-controlled Corporations Abroad because the law encourages the offshoring of jobs and capital. Savings over four years, $199 billion.
      Another law, Deductions for Domestic Manufacturing provides no benefit whatsoever for the economy. When was the last time manufacturing jobs were created by the corporations? It is just blatant corporate welfare. The Obama administration has passed a law to help small business to do so, which the Bush administration failed to do. Savings over four years $76.7 billion.      The law for Accelerated Depreciation on Equipment allows little or no taxes at all on corporate profits. Ending the law, $141 billion savings over four years.
      Ending Last In, First Out Accounting which was first allowed by the Bush administration during the ENRON-Arthur Anderson Accounting Firm years. Savings, $24.2 billion over four years.
      According to Taxpayers For Common Sense small farms are disappearing but Agribusiness rakes in huge profits with the help of corporate welfare support subsidies. Savings, $52 billion.
      During the Bush administration a law was passed that barred the federal government from bargaining with the pharmaceutical companies for drug prices. According to the Congressional Progressive Caucus permitting the government to use it’s massive bargaining power to negotiate with the major drug corporations would save an estimated $159.7 billion over a ten year period.
       Also ending tax breaks for drugs companies. These companies are so profitable that you might turn on your television at anytime, day or night, and see an advertisement for twenty different drugs. They don’t need or deserve our tax dollars. According to rep. Jerold Nadler the savings; $50 billion over ten years.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus has recommended enacting a law to impose Financial Responsibility Fee to repay some of the money lost to the major banks during the taxpayer’s bailout crisis which was caused by these same banks, banks which are now highly profitable but have never repaid the taxpayer’s money. Savings over ten years $80 billion.
       Another law recommended by the Congressional Progressive Caucus is a Derivative and Speculation Law that would force those who speculate on the stock market to put some skin in the game. That means that they would have to take physical possession of whatever stock they purchase. Right now there is no such requirement, which allows almost unlimited speculation on how high the price of oil will rise. That is why the price of gasoline is so high right this moment. A law like this will drive down gas prices and will allow consumers to make other purchases. Savings, $650 billion over eight years.
       And last but not least comes the Defense Department budget. The military budget is continually bloated when it comes to research, development and procurement of weapon’s systems that haven’t been proven to work and aren‘t needed to fight an enemy that doesn‘t exist, according to Sustainable Defense Task Force. Estimated savings over ten years $550 billion dollars. With all of these glaring discrepancies and the fact that the Bush administration gave the very wealthy not one, but two tax cuts at the same time that we were going to war, the republicans have still chosen to make the issue about cutting spending on needed domestic programs. Maybe some cutting still might be necessary, but not until all of these discrepancies have been addressed. Yes, Even individuals have gotten in on corporate welfare at the expense of the rest of the country.
        The mainstream news won’t report on these issues, either. They have become propaganda tools, reporting mostly what is dictated to them by their parent organizations, the corporations. A few cases in point are the anti-war demonstrations that were held in the runup to the Iraq war. Even many hundreds of thousands of people marched on Washington, the mainstream media refused to cover the demonstrations and then downplayed the amount of people who were there. Last the Tea Party gave a rally in which a couple of thousand people attended and the crowds were enlarged and shown on the corporate news over and over again for an entire week. At the same there were almost ten the amount of protestors in Washington rallying for health care but they barely received any coverage, and again their numbers were downplayed. They also did not want to cover Mrs. Sheehan, who was camped out at Mr. Bushs’ ranch, until they were forced to because so many other local news organization were giving coverage. If you really want to hear the truth you have to go to alternative news sources. The corporate media will repeat innuendo and outright lies or any rumor but they rarely do any more investigative reporting or checking of sources. Whatever they are told to say is what they say. There is hardly any integrity involved anymore.

National Infrastructure

     What is going on with the president and congress? The president and democrats control two thirds of the government but the republicans still control the country. Everything is held hostage because the democrats refuse to outmaneuver the republicans. The GOP uses anything at their disposal to accomplish their ends, but the democrats tie their own hands behind their backs. The majority should stop allowing the minority from using parliamentary procedures and tricks to block the agenda that they were elected to carry out. In the house the republicans pass all of their bills with no votes at all from any democrats. The dems should do the same thing to the republicans in the senate. If it were the republicans they would do exactly that. They already have! During the Bush presidency they changed the rules in the senate to call for an up or down vote on every issue that came before the senate and rammed their agenda down the American people’s throats.  But the dems are unwilling to use a tool that has been proven to work and will definitely will get the job done. All it would take is a simple vote to change the rule. Force the republicans to play fair!
     The republicans have said time and time again that they will not allow the president to accomplish anything and no matter how many times they have broken their word in the past, they have kept their promise on this score. Even if it is on an issue they agree with, if the president puts it forth, they vote lock step against it no matter what. Here’s a good example. The individual mandate for for universal healthcare. I personally disagree with the president on the individual mandate but the republicans at first wanted to force everyone to buy individual insurance. Now that a law has been passed to require the insurance companies to include even those who have previous conditions, because the insurance companies can no longer rake in windfall profits the republicans claim to no longer in favor of the individual mandate as a way to try to dismantle the healthcare law altogether. If the insurance companies are against it, so are the republicans.
     Another point is that this certain party’s talking points is to keep repeating that “the government doesn’t create jobs”. When the Interstate Highway system was created was it the federal government that paid for it? Was it a job creator? Right now our Highway system is in almost complete disrepair. If we began to repair it today, who would pay for it? Would it create jobs? Besides infrastructure repair, what about our energy future? Not just oil and gas and electric, what about hydrogen and biofuels energy manufacturing bases? Shouldn’t our government be on the cutting edge of these future clean and renewable energy sources? This is a challenge for our country that is bigger than putting a man in space. Wasn’t it the government that put a man into space? How many more jobs will be created by improving our energy infrastructure than putting a man into space? Millions, I would bet. And it would have a more immediate impact. The factories are already in place, if empty. The infrastructure is already there. It just needs to be modified.
If the energy companies won’t take the lead in alternative energy, why not the government? The oil, gas and utility companies have no incentive to invest in energies that compete with them, They already pay no taxes. On top of that, receive $2 billion a year in subsidies. And what’s even more incredible is that the republicans in congress just voted to continue the subsidies without requiring them to help the situation, so yes the government should take the lead! That create many thousands of jobs?
     Now here is the point. Those millions of people who would fill these job slots will be tax paying Americans who would be able to support their families rather than having to depend on the government for help. And that money would just keep going in circles because the money these persons spend to support their families would create other jobs because of supply and demand which would create more employment opportunities.
So you see that the claim that government can’t or doesn’t create jobs is a deception that should have been exposed long ago by anyone who has any credibility. This would have only increased not decreased that person’s credibility.

James Francis, Lake Charles

Politicians Who Decieve

       As I sat watching Washington Journal on C-span this morning the subject was politicians cheating on their wives and lying about it. Arnold Schwarzenneggar is the latest casualty. He and his wife have recently split because of his infidelity. And there have been many others in both parties who have done the same.Also Newt Gingrich has recently come back into the national spotlight. I have to believe that he thinks everyone has forgotten just exactly what he tried to do to a sitting president of the U. S. He may not know it but he has put himself right into the middle of the shooting gallery. Many of the things that I have done in the past come to mind also. As Mr. Gingrich claims, I have asked my God to forgive me and have turned away from those things and moved on. There is one difference however, between Mr. Gingrich's repentance and mine. People constantly tell me that they see a change in my life. I see no evidence of such in Mr. Gingrich's attitude. He still personally attacks anyone who disagrees with him, he still seems to consider himself the smartest man in the world (pride), and he still does not accept responsibility for what went wrong in his previous marriages, among other things.
         But I would just like to make an observation about what was going during the Clinton impeachment hearings. At that time Mr. Gingrich was one who led the charge. Also one of the U. S. senators from my own state of Louisiana led with him. That senator, like Mr. Gingrich was exposed for a fraud also.And I am sure that another one of our U. S. senators from Louisiana, who is also at this moment on the hot seat, would have been throwing bombs if he had been senator at the time. It brings to mind an old saying "when you dig a grave for someone else dig one for yourself", or when you point the finger at someone else, that means there are four pointing back at you". I guess these men hadn't heard these proverbs.
           As Mr. Clinton was persecuted because he was hated by the republicans, but on the other hand prosecuted because of his sexual indesretions. After many years and spending $70 million tax dollars of investigating the Clintons, the whole affair came down to "lying to congress".There were many republicans who went on the talk show circuit claiming that they have never lied about anything and that they especially have never lied to their children. I recognized those words as lies as soon as I heard them, but many accepted them as the truth. It makes sense if you don't think about it. I can tell you that as a supposedly mature Christian, I occasionally feel the need to omit a truth or even tell a lie ,even at times on important matters. I try not to, but it has happened. If anybody tells you they have never lied, they told a lie when they said that.
           Here's the point I wanted to make. At the time those persons persecuting the president and those who supported them, were also shouting to the tops of their voices about "family values". And now the persecutors have been exposed and those who support them want to excuse their behavior when they showed no mercy at all to Mr. Clinton.. Not only that, but have encouraged these same men to stay in public office and have even encouraged them to run for public office again. You are all hypocrites, because those men were attempting to make themselves appear righteous by exposing somebody else's shortcomings instead of fighting on a political level. They chose to personally and publicly attack a man and destroy his life and assassinate whatever character he might have had. You have made ethics and family values into a joke. But it doesn't have to stay that way. Let's try the best we can to elect people who really reflect our beliefs and not just the party line. Sometimes the party's interests are not in the best interest of our state or our country. Louisiana and America, have a change of heart. Open your eyes and see. Get on the path of mercy and righteousness.

America the Beautiful

     This beautiful and great country of ours will, in the next few years, cease to be the shining beacon that it has been for the last 3/4 of a century or so. No longer will other countries look to the U. S. for leadership as they have in the past. No longer will they admire our ingenuity or the industriousness of our people. We already no longer enjoy the high moral ground and no longer can we control the forces that have taken over the helm of our government. Those that we have trusted and have voted for to represent us have not been able to resist the lure of the money that has been lavished upon them.
     We have seen money used to change the truth into a lie for so long now that even if those who have been blinded by it wanted to see the truth, they couldn't see it. They have willingly made themselves blind for the sake of the almighty dollar. In a certain book that I read it says that "the love of money is the root of all evil". In watching the actions of many of our politicians I would have to believe that this is true. They have their hands out to whatever interest will contribute to their campaigns. They have turned their backs on their constituents in order to satisfy the demands of those corporations who are able contribute so much to them. Money is no longer the means to an end, it is the means and the end.
      It may not be too late yet, but it soon will be if there is not a concentrated effort to force those we elect to listen to the voices of the peole. Not only that, but we must also figure out a way to make the U. S. Supreme Court responsive to the citizens of this country rather than the corporations. We must make them see that their recent ruling (citizen's united) that corporations can contribute unlimited amounts of money to campaigns is not in the best interest of this country. The corporations united against the citizens of the United States. It's like the corporations have written a new constitution themselves. Maybe we can find a way to nullify the courts decisions  until they can see the error of their ways. I know it can be done. It's time for  the people to make known to their congressmen that we want them to do something about the Supreme Court and we want to hear them speaking out loudly on all the news shows and talk shows that will give them air time. They can begin by introducing bills to revoke their lifetime job status. After all, if they refuse to look out for the best inerests of the citizens they don't deserve to be on the Supreme Court anyway. Let's play hardball with them! We the citizens need to start blogging, tweeting and writing letters to the editors of our local newspapers and let everybody get an eyeful. They will have to see and hear what we are talking about! Make it a constant stream. Where there's a will there's a way! We can't just give up without a fight. And if the fight is delayed until after the 2012 elections and the republicans win the senate, the question will not be "if it will happen", but "how long will it take" for the U. S. to belong to the corporations? The answer is "only a couple of years".
      The ball is in your court America. Make your voices heard. You did it in response to the republicans attempt to privatize social security and medicare. Make them hear you on every other issue. Time is running out!