Yesterday, I wrote about Obama’s 180 degree turn from proposing the sequestration cuts and vowing to veto to keep them, to blaming Congress during the Presidential debates, to currently blaming Republicans for sequestration. (more…)
Is anyone else getting a little bit tired of the President of the United States continuing to blame Republicans for sequestration?
Time for some flashback — (more…)
Here’s a rundown of the top Obama lines from the State of the Union, along with the appropriate responses:
“After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over six million new jobs” — Mainly for the government and IRS (more…)
The idea that government spending is necessary in order to keep an economy going is a Keynesian theory that hasn’t proven worthwhile in the last four years. At the same time, business growth has been sluggish to non-existence because of – not in spite of – current government policy. (more…)
This morning comes the news that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning at the end of the month. This unexpected event brings to mind the controversial Prophecy of Malachy, who is purported to have detailed the line of Popes until the end. With Benedict’s resignation, if Malachy’s prophecy is to be believed, his successor is to be… the last Pope. (more…)
Perhaps the Republicans need to revive the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles package as their Republican bargaining strategy over the next few months since it contains the very things Obama is now calling for. Just before the Superbowl, Obama conducted a CBS interview. During that discussion, Obama claimed that “There is no doubt we need additional revenue, coupled with smart spending reductions in order to bring down our deficit,” he said. “I don’t think the issue right now is raising rates.”
Consider this: during earlier debates regarding Simpson-Bowles, the main stumbling block for Republicans was the tax increase for highest income earners. This sticking point, however, was settled during the Fiscal Cliff deal when the tax margin was raised for the $400K/$450K threshold.
Meanwhile, while the Democrats claim to despise the spending cuts in Simpson-Bowles, it could be/should be argued (as it was previously debated in 2010 and 2011) that such cuts are the necessary counterpart to the tax increases which the Republicans have now yielded to –a true “balanced approach” (the Democrat’s favorite buzz word).
The virtues of Simpson-Bowles are that it includes entitlement reform, actually reins in spending, simplifies the tax code, and most importantly, is a bipartisan commission that originated from President Obama. And because Simpson-Bowles originally had more Democrat support than Republican support, it would put the Democrats in a tough spot if they rejected it once again — especially since Obama made the remarks he did earlier this evening.
Coming off the miserable Fiscal Cliff deal and treading water in the debt ceiling and sequestration debates to come, offering the Simpson-Bowles package may be just what the Republicans need as a rallying point for true reform. The economy is contracting. The Simpson-Bowles package is already written. We all know what is in it. Republicans — just do it!
We heard the unexpected news that the economy contracted for the first time in three years. For all the pundits who claimed that spending our way out of recession was the answer to our economic recovery, it hasn’t proved worthwhile. However, instead of acknowledging failed policy, the Left resorted to more blame and outright ignorance. (more…)
This past week, The Hill reported that the cost of Obama’s regulations for his first term were $518 billion, with nearly half of that –$236 billion – coming in the year 2012 alone. Expensive and prohibitive government policies such as these are the driving force behind the mass exodus of businesses abroad. (more…)
As the Senate prepares to pass the Sandy Hurricane Relief Act for $50.5 Billion, it’s worthwhile to consider this piece of legislation within the bigger picture of looming the fiscal crises. No one will deny that those citizens who were affected by this catastrophic and legendary storm deserve help. However, the bill perfectly encapsulates the dysfunction of our Congress. In merely a few short weeks, Congress has managed to figure out how to fritter away a year’s worth of revenue that was raised — after many months of wrangling and negotiations. (more…)
Did anyone else notice Justice Antonin Scalia’s headgear at the inauguration today?
Richmond Law Professor Kevin Walsh notes on his blog that
“The twitterverse is alive with tweets about Justice Scalia’s headgear for today’s inauguration. At the risk of putting all the fun speculation to an end . . . The hat is a custom-made replica of the hat depicted in Holbein’s famous portrait of St. Thomas More. It was a gift from the St. Thomas More Society of Richmond, Virginia. We presented it to him in November 2010 as a memento of his participation in our 27th annual Red Mass and dinner”.