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Lindsey Graham, Saxby Chambliss: Hike tax revenues, cut entitlement spending, hold defense spending
Monetary economists say monetary policy, not fiscal policy, affects the health of the U.S. economy. Now we have Keynesian Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) saying they'd raise taxes or cut tax deductions and cut entitlement spending if that would be good for the country.
Would cutting entitlement spending, raising tax revenues and holding defense spending near current levels help or hurt the economy? Or would all of the "doing something" churning in Washington do nothing but roil the stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities markets and put more people out of work? Would all of this affect the budget deficit or national debt?
LINKS:
Lindsey Graham: I would violate Norquist's pledge, By Tim Mak, 11.25.2012
Why the fiscal cliff matters, By Diana Furchtgott-Roth, 11. 23.2012
Larry Summers signals Obama wants new carbon, sweets, fat foods taxes after fiscal cliff tax hikes
Because he's so political and intellectually corrupted by power, it's hard to believe anything former Obama economic adviser, Larry Summers, says. But one thing he's saying probably signals Obama's plans to impose carbon and sweets taxes after using the fiscal cliff to hike taxes and cut defense spending. Nanny state Obama Democrats always are looking for new opportunities to tax, but it won't happen as long as Republicans control the U.S. House of Representatives.
LINKS:
Hispanic votes wouldn’t have given victory to Mitt Romney
Reporters and pundits are figuring out that even if Mitt Romney had sharply increased his Hispanic votes in Colorado, Ohio, Wisconsin and other swing states, he would have lost to President Obama. And Byron York quotes Charles Murray as saying that his sociological studies show that there are no reasons to believe Hispanics are "natural Republican" voters as some delusional Republicans and the Wall Street Journal claim. Question: How many non Hispanics voted for Obama in sympathy with Hispanics? Millions, I'd guess.
Also, how long will it take HIspanics to "forgive" Tom Tancredo Republicans? Blacks still are mad at President Hoover and grateful to FDR. Hispanics still are mad at former California Gov. Wilson about Prop. 187, which was very tough on illegal immigrants. Political memories can be very long.
LINKS:
Amnesty won't magically make Hispanics more Republican, By W. James Antle III, 11.16.2012
The GOP shouldn’t count on tapping latent Latino conservatism, By Charles Murray, 11.20.2012
Assessing how pivotal the Hispanic vote was to Obama's victory, By ALLISON KOPICKI and WILL IRVING
York: Hispanics favor Dems but didn't decide election, By Byron York. 11.22.2012
The GOP turnout myth, By Kimberley A. Strassel, 11.23.2012
Fiscal cliff: Would Obama tax hikes mean end of 47%, more pay taxes, end of GOP?
President Obama wants to kill the Republican Party by getting the House GOP to renege on its 20-year-old pledge to not raise taxes. There is a 25% to 35% chance he may get them to commit political suicide. If the House GOP caves on the fiscal cliff, a lot of economic conservatives will stay home in 2014. But there are some interesting questions about the fiscal cliff and what would happen if we went over it next year.
1. Whose tax credits, tax loopholes, depreciation schedules, government contracts and government subsidies is Norquist protecting?
2. If we go over the cliff, what percent of working Americans will NOT pay income taxes? 47%, 35%, 30%, or what?
3. If we go over the cliff, wouldn't it advance future tax votes if more Americans had to pay the increased taxes and pressed Congress to NOT raise taxes again?
4. If defense is cut another $500 billion, what welfare programs, health benefits, retirement benefits and pork for contractors would be cut first?
5. What kind of security threat would it take to get Congress to reinstate most defense spending? Isn't the Middle East mess enough as it is?
6. Since the fiscal stimulus bill of 2009 and ObamaCare upped spending some $1 trillion over 10 years, maybe $2T, wouldn't it be easy to cut spending under sequestration?
7. If Sequestration made Obama stop picking energy winners and losers with his crony capitalism spending on his favored few ethanol and wind tower makeris, wouldn't we see revivals in petroleum exploration and coal? Wouldn't markets work?
8. With sequestration, would infrastructure spending increase and use up the increased tax revenues? Or would the need to pay down the debt, House refusals to spend on infrastructure unless defense spending was increased again cause more gridlock and help reduce all spending?
9. While stock markets might drop 5% or so if we went over the cliff, would there be enough certainty for businesses to begin investing and hiring again as the economy recovered?
If we go over the cliff, I blame Obama more than the GOP. Obama Democrats are so greedy for political power that they'll do anything to win it, including putting lots of Americans out of work in the process. Obama Democrats are just like the Hostess union leaders who fund them.
The problem is that few trust or believe Obama Democrats or Republicans. That makes it hard to get anything done. The markets have to clear out the dead wood in a bunch of markets before there can be a recovery.
Democrats elected an extremist in Obama, but a Republican extremist can’t make it to the White House
Because Republicans ran weak and incompetent candidates in 2008 and 2012, Democrats elected a liberal extremist, Barack Obama, president. But there is no way a conservative extremist will make it to the White House. And the GOP extremists already are stumbling into oblivion:
Jindal's denial of the Moocher Nation makes him toast before he leaves the bakery.
Christie's toast because he re-elected Obama.
Rubio's toast because he denies evolution.
Ryan's just personhood toast.
Santorum's burnt toast because he's Rick Santorum.
Jeb Bush not only is a Bush, but he's an easily demonized anti-women, anti-gay Bush.
Everyone of these guys is a Big Intrusive Government Republican who can be beat by any mediocre Democrat, I fear.
LINKS:
Republicans, 2016: In full swing, Politico 12.21.2012
What should Republicans be for?
What should Republicans be for, I've been asked by a prominent Colorado Republican. In addition to sending him the reply below, I posted it on my Facebook page.
I think Republicans lost in 2008 and 2012 because the Rick Santorum social issues folks scared independents, young men and women and Hispanics to death. It's time to reassure, not scare voters.
Here's what's practical, if not politically possible: GOP governors, legislators and other officials should take social issues such as abortion and marriage off their political agendas. Small government's stay out of our personal lives. They enforce fair tax laws. They encourage private investment and job creation and they ensure national security and a safe and healthy environment.
Small Government Republicans should make sure that laws and regulations apply to all regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual preferences or citizenship (other than voting). Anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage laws violate the civil rights of women and men alike.
Eliminate crony capitalism and government tax credits, subsidies, grants and contracts for the favored few industries, companies, universities, hospitals, charities, unions and other contributors to political campaigns.
Messages for voters that Republicans should be using include:
!. Women, young and old: We will invest in teaching school board members and school administrators how to run better schools. We want schools that will help you and help you help your kids be more academically successful and prosperous.
We respect your ability to make decisions about you and your family that are best for you and everyone you love. A small government's job is to make your environment, you and what you consume as safe and comfortable as possible, not to tell you what to buy, do or believe. Everyone is entitled to her or his beliefs, but no one should have the power to use the government to impose her or his beliefs or values on others.
2. Hispanics. Republicans want to help all Hispanics and all Americans educate their kids, get good jobs, enjoy being Americans and prosper. We do this by limiting governmental interferences in your lives, jobs and businesses and by making sure that you enjoy the best infrastructure, safety, schools and health insurance markets in the world.
Republicans want Hispanics—immigrants as well as American born—to feel at home in the United States. We support applying to everyone all laws and regulations regardless of ethnicity, place of birth, race, income, wealth, or spiritual beliefs.
We will ensure that tax credits, tax incentives, government subsidies and government grants are available to all citizens and to those who have applied for citizenship.
A path to citizenship should be available to everyone who is in the country upon the date of the enactment of an immigration reform law. That law must ensure our border security and create a fair immigration system and a fair path to citizenship for future legal immigrants.
3. Gays and Lesbians. We will make sure that government enforces the civil rights of all Americans and keeps politicians out of your bedrooms and weddings. Whether you're married or not and whom you marry is none of the government's business. Limited government means equal treatment in tax and welfare laws, employment and education laws and regulations of all Americans regardless of whether they're married, single, straight or gay.
4. Non Christians and non religious. Republicans believe Americans should learn to respect and live with their neighbors, co-workers, employers, educators, health care providers, insurers and competitors regardless of their religious beliefs and practices.
5. Young people. Republicans want equal opportunities for all to make the most of their talents and ambitions as cost effectively as possible. We want you to have big dreams and to live your dreams.
Republicans believe schools should be reformed to ensure that they graduate students who are functionally literate in the basics—reading, writing, math, risk taking and learning. Once students have proved their mastery of the basics, they should be taught civics, history, science and healthy living.
We want school reforms that give children more high-quality learning hours in school, more small class time for students who find one of the basics difficult and the best educational materials available in all schools.
Upon graduation from high school, we want young people to feel that if they want, they can and should be helped to afford to get advanced educations in colleges, trade schools, the military and in other training environments. All schools should be for the students.
LINKS:
Anti-abortionists will re-elect Obama and give him the power to turn Supreme Court hard left, By Donald E. L. Johnson, 6.19.2011
'12 President • Colorado • Politics • Immigration Reform • Permalink
How to cut Medicare, Medicaid entitlement costs, expenditures
Congress and the Obama administration are fighting over how to fix entitlements, especially Medicare and Medicaid. Even Democrats disagree among themselves, according to today's Wall Street Journal. Some Democrats want no cuts, others want cosmetic cuts. Republicans want real reforms, but good luck with that.
Here are some ideas for fixing Medicare and Medicaid that I've made over the years and are even more relevant today:
1. Take free physician office visits out of ObamCare. They waste physicians' time and create tremendous wait times for sick Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries, which increases costs.
2. Require patients with minor symptoms to see nurse practitioners and other allied providers before wasting the time of the shrinking number of primary care physicians.
3. Eliminate coverage of the most wasteful primary care and allied providers.
Health insurance • Fraud and Abuse • Medicaid • Medicare • Permalink
Mitt Romney may have tough time raising money for November election
Mitt Romney may have a tough time raising enough money to be competitive in the general 2012 election. (Nov. 20, 2012 update: Romney wasn't able to raise enough money after the primaries to fight Obama's successful character assasination ads. He raised billions later in the campaign, but spent the money on lousy ads and a dumb campaign strategy. And he turned out to be a weak campaign strategiest and candidate. As predicted below, he turned off young women. And he turned off young men. The social issues libertarians and the Moocher Nation won.)
His potential contributors are
'12 President • Health insurance • Health Insurance Reform • Read More
Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital and the private equity and venture capital industries
Since the attacks on Mitt Romney by Obama Republicans like Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman began, several writers who've worked with and at Bain and in the private equity industry have written about how Bain and private equity companies turn around struggling startups and companies that are headed for failure. See the links below:
Mitt Romney looks like GOP’s presidential nominee after winning 31.365% of non Ron Paul Iowa votes
Mitt Romney looks like the Republican Party's 2012 presidential nominee.
The Iowa primary finished off Ron Paul as a serious contender. But he never was in the running for the GOP's presidential nomination because he is more of an Obama Democrat on foreign policy issues than a Republican. He's being labeled as a "dangerous man", and he won't be able to shake that label.
Iowa Poll: Mitt Romney 24%, Ron Paul 22%, Rick Santorum 15%, Newt Gingrich 12%
Mitt Romney leads 24% to 22% for Ron Paul and 15% for Rick Santorum in the final Iowa Poll by the Des Moines Register, which reported:
Facebook, Twitter, WSJ.com, Politico.com, DailyCaller.com violate your privacy
Facebook privacy continues to be a problem on WSJ.com, Politico, Daily Caller and other sites. When you recommend an article via FB, you get an opt-in request that says if you use the FB connection, you give WSJ.com or whatever site access to the names of your friends, your profile info and more. The sites sell this info to marketers and spammers.
If you click "don't allow" the connection is cancelled. I don't use the FB connection on WSJ.com because I don't trust News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and Fox News. The WSJ.com comment section also is programmed to invade your privacy and often requires a new log in even though you're logged into wsj.com. It's all very frustrating to me.
Similarly, I don't use Yahoo.com's Facebook connection.
FB and the sites that want you to recommend their articles to your FB friends say that they're not violating our privacy because our Friends and profile info are available to anyone who checks us out on FB. I believe only we should know who our FB and Twitter friends are. Our friends' names should be confidential, imho.
I haven't signed up for Google+ because it wants access to all of my info and the right to sell that info just like FB and Twitter do.
e-commerce • Ethics • Trust • Marketing and Sales • Blogging • Permalink
President Obama’s jobs speech the same old song; what a disgrace!
President Obama's cry for help in a feeble campaign speech to a joint session of Congress probably hurt him politically more than it helped him. It will do nothing for the American economy.
What a disgraceful pander to public sector and construction unions. How empty can a presidential suit look and sound? Now we've see and heard one of the weakest and most self serving speeches a president has ever delivered in an appearance before Congress.
'12 President • Congress 112th • Economy • Permalink
Mitt Romney and Rick Perry win GOP debate with smart, slick and flawless performances
My quick reaction to the GOP debate tonight is that Mitt Romney and Rick Perry didn't hurt or help themsleves. They both turned in smart, slick and flawless performances. Jon Huntsman's defense of Al Gore's global warming alarmism in the name of appealing to gullible Goreans was the biggest fumble of the night. He's toast.
GOP debate
I'm live blogging the debate:
Gov. Perry gets the first question. Dodges question about education in Texas.
4. Get hospitals out of the doctor business. Their overhead is too high, and they demotivate physicians with all of their rules, red tape, etc.
5. Breakup so called integrated health care systems that are local monopolies and horribly distort local provider and health insurance markets.
6. Eliminated incentives for physicians/hospitals to practice very expensive defensive medicine.
7. Raise premiums for Medicare beneficiaries by 25% on coverage of primary care and drugs, and allow them to spend what they want on the kind of supplementary care they want.
8. Repeal the laws that keep Medicare beneficiaries from opting out of Medicare, especially the primary care coverage, which is a waste of money most of the time.
9. Invest in real fraud and abuse law enforcement.
10. Hire private insurers whose administrative costs per patient, not per enrollee, are 20% to 30% of the administrative costs of Medicare and Medicaid.
None of these reforms will be attempted because AARP, health workers' unions, HCA, the American Hospital Assn., the Catholic Health Assn. and the Federation of American Hospitals will fight them.
LINKS:
13 ways to cut Medicare costs, by Donald E. L. Johnson, 8. 3.2011
Cutting physicians’ incomes wrong way to cut Medicare costs and expenditures, By Donald E. L. Johnson 8.2.2011