Has anyone seen this?
Administration May Withhold Stimulus Funds, Restructure Legislature
NASHVILLE, TN From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Business groups have slammed a Tennessee commemorative quarter dollar that pairs the familiar slogan with an artists rendering of the landmark Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Responding to the plans opponents, the Obama administration has threatened to withhold the states economic stimulus funds. The administration is also considering options that could include restructuring the Tennessee legislature.
The controversy stems from a U.S. Treasury program to issue quarters featuring national parks and other national sites beginning in 2010. The Treasury Department has asked each state to recommend a design to appear on the back face of its quarter.
Tennessee Coalition for Compassionate Policy, a citizens group, has collected nearly 1,100 signatures on a petition asking the Tennessee legislature to approve the new coin, which will enter circulation in 2013.
According to TCCP spokesman Roy Cohn, The design reflects our shared values, and the policies of presidents as diverse as FDR, Johnson and Obama. The peoples overwhelming response demonstrates that basic economic fairness is the first casualty of a free market economy. We urge citizens everywhere to voice their support.
Business interests oppose the measure. Donald DeFreeze, leader of Tennessees Society for Labor Advocacy, claims that the proposal will hamper the states economic recovery. Business leaders are the engines of our national prosperity and are entitled to the fruits of their labor. Ill-considered and discriminatory proposals like this one are the inevitable result of the Federal governments interference in the affairs of private enterprises like AIG and General Motors.
A senior Treasury Department staff member, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, told CNA that if the Tennessee legislature fails to endorse the slogan, the Obama administration will exercise its inherent authority to redistribute the stimulus funds to other, more deserving states. The Justice Department is also evaluating options for restructuring the legislature to align more closely with the will of the people.
Other groups have mixed feelings. Gerald Goldthwaite, spokesman for the non-partisan International Workers Alliance for Gender Equity, says his group supports the coins design. However, Goldthwaite feels that the slogan reinforces outmoded stereotypes. I-WAGE has called for the use of a progressive, gender neutral pronoun in place of the archaic and sexist his. With this important modification, our organization will weigh in for the proposal, said Goldthwaite.
The coins design elements are Tennessee icons.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a Department of Energy facility located near Knoxville. A precursor to the lab enriched the uranium for the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima to end WWII. The lab is in the final stages of a $350 million modernization and was slated to receive an additional $71.2 million in economic stimulus funds.
The slogan is well known to generations of Tennesseans. It gained renewed popularity after being featured in a recent adaptation of the song Rocky Top, which became an official Tennessee state song in 1982.
According to Cohn, TCCP and I-WAGE have settled their differences. As to opposition from business interests, TCCP has suggested an alternate Tennessee landmark such as the Fort Loudoun Dam or Chattanooga. These efforts have been rebuffed.
Absent a compromise, the stage is set for a showdown between the people of Tennessee and the Obama administration on one side, and interest groups like the Tennessee legislature and the SLA on the other.
Copyright © 2009 Citizens News Alliance.
Republication permitted with attribution to Citizens News Alliance.
From:
allvoices.com/contributed-news/2893158-controversy-pits-people-obama-against-tennessee-lawmakers-business-groups
Administration May Withhold Stimulus Funds, Restructure Legislature
NASHVILLE, TN From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs. Business groups have slammed a Tennessee commemorative quarter dollar that pairs the familiar slogan with an artists rendering of the landmark Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Responding to the plans opponents, the Obama administration has threatened to withhold the states economic stimulus funds. The administration is also considering options that could include restructuring the Tennessee legislature.
The controversy stems from a U.S. Treasury program to issue quarters featuring national parks and other national sites beginning in 2010. The Treasury Department has asked each state to recommend a design to appear on the back face of its quarter.
Tennessee Coalition for Compassionate Policy, a citizens group, has collected nearly 1,100 signatures on a petition asking the Tennessee legislature to approve the new coin, which will enter circulation in 2013.
According to TCCP spokesman Roy Cohn, The design reflects our shared values, and the policies of presidents as diverse as FDR, Johnson and Obama. The peoples overwhelming response demonstrates that basic economic fairness is the first casualty of a free market economy. We urge citizens everywhere to voice their support.
Business interests oppose the measure. Donald DeFreeze, leader of Tennessees Society for Labor Advocacy, claims that the proposal will hamper the states economic recovery. Business leaders are the engines of our national prosperity and are entitled to the fruits of their labor. Ill-considered and discriminatory proposals like this one are the inevitable result of the Federal governments interference in the affairs of private enterprises like AIG and General Motors.
A senior Treasury Department staff member, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, told CNA that if the Tennessee legislature fails to endorse the slogan, the Obama administration will exercise its inherent authority to redistribute the stimulus funds to other, more deserving states. The Justice Department is also evaluating options for restructuring the legislature to align more closely with the will of the people.
Other groups have mixed feelings. Gerald Goldthwaite, spokesman for the non-partisan International Workers Alliance for Gender Equity, says his group supports the coins design. However, Goldthwaite feels that the slogan reinforces outmoded stereotypes. I-WAGE has called for the use of a progressive, gender neutral pronoun in place of the archaic and sexist his. With this important modification, our organization will weigh in for the proposal, said Goldthwaite.
The coins design elements are Tennessee icons.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a Department of Energy facility located near Knoxville. A precursor to the lab enriched the uranium for the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima to end WWII. The lab is in the final stages of a $350 million modernization and was slated to receive an additional $71.2 million in economic stimulus funds.
The slogan is well known to generations of Tennesseans. It gained renewed popularity after being featured in a recent adaptation of the song Rocky Top, which became an official Tennessee state song in 1982.
According to Cohn, TCCP and I-WAGE have settled their differences. As to opposition from business interests, TCCP has suggested an alternate Tennessee landmark such as the Fort Loudoun Dam or Chattanooga. These efforts have been rebuffed.
Absent a compromise, the stage is set for a showdown between the people of Tennessee and the Obama administration on one side, and interest groups like the Tennessee legislature and the SLA on the other.
Copyright © 2009 Citizens News Alliance.
Republication permitted with attribution to Citizens News Alliance.
From:
allvoices.com/contributed-news/2893158-controversy-pits-people-obama-against-tennessee-lawmakers-business-groups
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