- Jun 6, 2007
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The Stimulus Deal is done so say our leaders in Washington, but its a lousy deal for the American people. The economic stimulus power of the deal is the problem, it is of questionable strength, in fact and in reputation it falls short to what America was looking for. A piece of legislation doesnt become law until it is passed by a majority of members in both the House and the Senate chambers. Americans who hold onto the hope that America can return to and surpass her greatness and be everything a great country should be should hold on to that fact and maintain hope that the bill can still be fixed.
The bill is three-quarters legitimate, it is only around a quarter of the bill that needs to be fixed. In short, what needs to be done is drop the non-stimulus spending, use those monies for stimulus spending and add the crucial initiatives that were dropped in the conference committee on this bill. This bill is readily fixable from an ideas standpoint it only takes character and will to get it done. It is in rank and file members of Congress including both partys interest to fix this bill and not let it pass in its present state. It is moderates in both parties who hold the well-being of America in their hands with respect to this bill, and when it is said moderates that means members who have as their constituents, that is voters that voted for them in significant numbers, mainstream America and that includes the majority of rank and file members in both partys in both chambers.
To moderate Democrats they should consider the following. The history of this bill is clear, the only question which is up to you is whether or not this history is the complete history of the bill. The history of this bill is that Nancy Pelosi and her liberal allies wrote this bill; these individuals took their new found power from the Democrat partys success in the past election and wrote wrongs done to them in the past, they advanced their social agenda instead of making this solely an economic stimulus bill which is what America needed. Mainstream America wont think the right decisions were made when the initiatives in this bill are made clear to them. Come the mid-term elections America will still be hurting economically and the Democrat party will lose a significant number of voters because of the indefensible elements of this bill that have nothing to do with economic stimulus.
To moderate Republicans they should consider the following. Your party is gaining support because of the Democrats blunder in not making this economic stimulus bill an economic stimulus bill to a significant degree. The question you have to ask yourself here is are you going to advance your partys interest or do what is best for the American people. Moreover, the Republican leaderships message on this stimulus is a flawed message and the Republican party wont quite pick-up the level of American voter support they think they will. The Republican party plan on the stimulus legislation of focusing on tax cuts is wrong the business tax cuts wont create sufficient number of jobs (businesses increase executive compensation, pay dividends and buy back stock with income from tax cuts) and neither will the personal income tax cuts (people pay down debt, save and spend tax savings on purchases of foreign made goods). The state aid in the economic stimulus bill is very much legitimate because it staves off job losses and it keeps taxes from being raised. The size of the economic bill is legitimate because considering the job losses that will almost certainly occur by the end of this year, the American economy will need to create four million jobs that dont exist today by years end. The proportion of the stimulus bill that goes to direct government spending is legitimate, America needs jobs and lots of them and the only option to achieve this is for the government to create them and the reason why they need a laundry list of spending is that is the only way to reach the high number of new jobs that are needed by the U.S. economy.
The bottom line here is that America absolutely needs an economic stimulus bill. Because of this moderates in both parties can obtain the power to force their will in this legislation they only need to stick together. On the TARP legislation last September, rank and file Democrats subverted the will of the Party Leadership and did not pass the first TARP bill and within a week a new TARP bill was passed; rank and file members of Congress can do it again. Rank and file members of Congress using mainstream America values and common sense should draw up a list of the elements they want out of this bill, elements increased in this bill and new elements added to this bill and go around to rank and file members and collect the needed number of votes to pass this legislation. To members of the general public to know what is in the compromise bill with 100% accuracy is not possible but based on media reports and the House and Senate versions of the Stimulus bill one can have a responsible conversation on what should be in the bill. This rank and file member bill shall be called the bipartisan economic stimulus bill.
This bipartisan bill should strip out all the indefensible non-stimulus spending in the bill, eliminate the following: the $1.1 billion for Head Start programs; the $12.4 billion for Education
for Disadvantaged Children programs; the $13.5 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act programs; the $13.98 billion for Higher Education Assistance Spending; the $7.5 billion for Education Incentive Programs For States; the $13 billion for the American Opportunity Tax Credit (Leave the Hope Scholarship Credit which it would replace).
Take this $61.5 billion savings and spend it on major infrastructure spending which meets industry and the American peoples expectations in deed and in reputation. Increase Highway and Bridge Infrastructure spending to $45 billion (mandating one-third must go to capacity expansion projects) and increase public and rail transportation spending to $ 25 billion (mandating one-third go to capacity fixed-rail expansion projects) these transportation infrastructure increases will use up $24 billion of this $ 61.5 billion. Increase spending on the spread of broadband especially to rural areas that dont presently have it by $10 billion taking the bills total spending to around $20 billion. Increase spending on the nations electricity grid to bring it up to the state where it can meet Americas present and future needs which will increase the bills total spending to around $20 billion.
This bipartisan bill should go through the compromise bill and insure there isnt major increases in government bureaucracy growth brought on by this bill. Some of the compromise bills provisions have such restrictions others dont, these would be provisions that say management, administration and oversight cost is limited to a maximum of 3.5% (5%, $5 million, $15 million or the like) of the spending initiative. This seems to be especially relevant with the Health Information Technology Initiative and the Comparative Medical Research Initiatives one gets the sense from reading this bill and listening to politicians that America is going to be stuck with big bureaucracies here.
What is shocking about this compromise is that the conference committee got rid of two of the glowing positive features of the stimulus bill. The $15,000.00 tax credit for home purchases and the interest rate and sales tax income tax deduction for new car purchases. The home purchase tax credit is crucial, crucial, crucial. New home construction spurs a lot of truly lot of employment and they are never going to get back to normal without dramatically cutting the supply of home for sale in the real estate market this initiative would have been extremely effective helping this problem. This initiative should be inserted into the bipartisan bill at least at the level of a $10,000 tax credit. As for the income tax deduction related to new car purchases what does Congress want to see another 50,000 plus people layed-off connected to the auto industry; this industry is struggling in the extreme it is a vital industry to the American economy the additional $ 9 billion cost to add this program back in to this bill is worth it, this initiative should be added to the bipartisan bill.
The bipartisan bill should add provision which give a one or two year tax holiday on repatriated profits from U.S. companies foreign subsidiaries back to the United States. Reducing the tax rate on these monies from 35% to 5.25% for one or two years will bring $500 billion back into the United States. Even if only a conservative estimate of like 15% of that amount is put back into business development and job creation that is significant. Criticism that this one to two year tax holiday will cause the shuttering of Americas plants and off-shoring of American jobs is ludicrous, it didnt in 2005 the last time it was used and common sense indicates it wont now. It is a no brainer to do this. In addition, the bipartisan bill should means test the Cobra assistance provided by the bill to layed off workers. Some of these layed off workers are wealthy Americans that can afford to pay for their own health insurance. It is not responsible stewardship of taxpayers money not to means test this program. On the digital to analog converter box program spending should be decreased to $350 million with $260 million restricted to coupon expenditures. In 2007, it was estimated 14.3 million households relied on a TV antennae for TV reception as of January 2009 12.6 million households had been sent coupons for converter boxes. The numbers here dont justify the $650 billion in the compromise stimulus bill. Spending in the nature of Violence against women prevention and prosecution programs, Assistance for victims of Crime programs, Fighting internet crime programs, and Renewing Section 8 Housing programs dont belong in an economic stimulus bill.
The bill is three-quarters legitimate, it is only around a quarter of the bill that needs to be fixed. In short, what needs to be done is drop the non-stimulus spending, use those monies for stimulus spending and add the crucial initiatives that were dropped in the conference committee on this bill. This bill is readily fixable from an ideas standpoint it only takes character and will to get it done. It is in rank and file members of Congress including both partys interest to fix this bill and not let it pass in its present state. It is moderates in both parties who hold the well-being of America in their hands with respect to this bill, and when it is said moderates that means members who have as their constituents, that is voters that voted for them in significant numbers, mainstream America and that includes the majority of rank and file members in both partys in both chambers.
To moderate Democrats they should consider the following. The history of this bill is clear, the only question which is up to you is whether or not this history is the complete history of the bill. The history of this bill is that Nancy Pelosi and her liberal allies wrote this bill; these individuals took their new found power from the Democrat partys success in the past election and wrote wrongs done to them in the past, they advanced their social agenda instead of making this solely an economic stimulus bill which is what America needed. Mainstream America wont think the right decisions were made when the initiatives in this bill are made clear to them. Come the mid-term elections America will still be hurting economically and the Democrat party will lose a significant number of voters because of the indefensible elements of this bill that have nothing to do with economic stimulus.
To moderate Republicans they should consider the following. Your party is gaining support because of the Democrats blunder in not making this economic stimulus bill an economic stimulus bill to a significant degree. The question you have to ask yourself here is are you going to advance your partys interest or do what is best for the American people. Moreover, the Republican leaderships message on this stimulus is a flawed message and the Republican party wont quite pick-up the level of American voter support they think they will. The Republican party plan on the stimulus legislation of focusing on tax cuts is wrong the business tax cuts wont create sufficient number of jobs (businesses increase executive compensation, pay dividends and buy back stock with income from tax cuts) and neither will the personal income tax cuts (people pay down debt, save and spend tax savings on purchases of foreign made goods). The state aid in the economic stimulus bill is very much legitimate because it staves off job losses and it keeps taxes from being raised. The size of the economic bill is legitimate because considering the job losses that will almost certainly occur by the end of this year, the American economy will need to create four million jobs that dont exist today by years end. The proportion of the stimulus bill that goes to direct government spending is legitimate, America needs jobs and lots of them and the only option to achieve this is for the government to create them and the reason why they need a laundry list of spending is that is the only way to reach the high number of new jobs that are needed by the U.S. economy.
The bottom line here is that America absolutely needs an economic stimulus bill. Because of this moderates in both parties can obtain the power to force their will in this legislation they only need to stick together. On the TARP legislation last September, rank and file Democrats subverted the will of the Party Leadership and did not pass the first TARP bill and within a week a new TARP bill was passed; rank and file members of Congress can do it again. Rank and file members of Congress using mainstream America values and common sense should draw up a list of the elements they want out of this bill, elements increased in this bill and new elements added to this bill and go around to rank and file members and collect the needed number of votes to pass this legislation. To members of the general public to know what is in the compromise bill with 100% accuracy is not possible but based on media reports and the House and Senate versions of the Stimulus bill one can have a responsible conversation on what should be in the bill. This rank and file member bill shall be called the bipartisan economic stimulus bill.
This bipartisan bill should strip out all the indefensible non-stimulus spending in the bill, eliminate the following: the $1.1 billion for Head Start programs; the $12.4 billion for Education
for Disadvantaged Children programs; the $13.5 billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act programs; the $13.98 billion for Higher Education Assistance Spending; the $7.5 billion for Education Incentive Programs For States; the $13 billion for the American Opportunity Tax Credit (Leave the Hope Scholarship Credit which it would replace).
Take this $61.5 billion savings and spend it on major infrastructure spending which meets industry and the American peoples expectations in deed and in reputation. Increase Highway and Bridge Infrastructure spending to $45 billion (mandating one-third must go to capacity expansion projects) and increase public and rail transportation spending to $ 25 billion (mandating one-third go to capacity fixed-rail expansion projects) these transportation infrastructure increases will use up $24 billion of this $ 61.5 billion. Increase spending on the spread of broadband especially to rural areas that dont presently have it by $10 billion taking the bills total spending to around $20 billion. Increase spending on the nations electricity grid to bring it up to the state where it can meet Americas present and future needs which will increase the bills total spending to around $20 billion.
This bipartisan bill should go through the compromise bill and insure there isnt major increases in government bureaucracy growth brought on by this bill. Some of the compromise bills provisions have such restrictions others dont, these would be provisions that say management, administration and oversight cost is limited to a maximum of 3.5% (5%, $5 million, $15 million or the like) of the spending initiative. This seems to be especially relevant with the Health Information Technology Initiative and the Comparative Medical Research Initiatives one gets the sense from reading this bill and listening to politicians that America is going to be stuck with big bureaucracies here.
What is shocking about this compromise is that the conference committee got rid of two of the glowing positive features of the stimulus bill. The $15,000.00 tax credit for home purchases and the interest rate and sales tax income tax deduction for new car purchases. The home purchase tax credit is crucial, crucial, crucial. New home construction spurs a lot of truly lot of employment and they are never going to get back to normal without dramatically cutting the supply of home for sale in the real estate market this initiative would have been extremely effective helping this problem. This initiative should be inserted into the bipartisan bill at least at the level of a $10,000 tax credit. As for the income tax deduction related to new car purchases what does Congress want to see another 50,000 plus people layed-off connected to the auto industry; this industry is struggling in the extreme it is a vital industry to the American economy the additional $ 9 billion cost to add this program back in to this bill is worth it, this initiative should be added to the bipartisan bill.
The bipartisan bill should add provision which give a one or two year tax holiday on repatriated profits from U.S. companies foreign subsidiaries back to the United States. Reducing the tax rate on these monies from 35% to 5.25% for one or two years will bring $500 billion back into the United States. Even if only a conservative estimate of like 15% of that amount is put back into business development and job creation that is significant. Criticism that this one to two year tax holiday will cause the shuttering of Americas plants and off-shoring of American jobs is ludicrous, it didnt in 2005 the last time it was used and common sense indicates it wont now. It is a no brainer to do this. In addition, the bipartisan bill should means test the Cobra assistance provided by the bill to layed off workers. Some of these layed off workers are wealthy Americans that can afford to pay for their own health insurance. It is not responsible stewardship of taxpayers money not to means test this program. On the digital to analog converter box program spending should be decreased to $350 million with $260 million restricted to coupon expenditures. In 2007, it was estimated 14.3 million households relied on a TV antennae for TV reception as of January 2009 12.6 million households had been sent coupons for converter boxes. The numbers here dont justify the $650 billion in the compromise stimulus bill. Spending in the nature of Violence against women prevention and prosecution programs, Assistance for victims of Crime programs, Fighting internet crime programs, and Renewing Section 8 Housing programs dont belong in an economic stimulus bill.
