Currently viewing the tag: “Gov’t”
Yeargh.
Earlier in the week, Howard Dean told an audience that Democrats should be rooting for a government shutdown rather than agree to budget cuts, because voter anger would punish Republicans. That may have been true in 1995, but as Rasmussen discovered it its latest polling, the political and fiscal environment in 2011 is far different. […]
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates expressed worry in an interview on “This Week” about Yemen, after that middle eastern country’s long-time President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, said he was willing to step down. Saleh was in talks Saturday to leave office…
Political Punch
Right-wing state and federal lawmakers all over the country are asking Main Street Americans to sacrifice their education, health, and wellbeing by ramming through massive budget cuts and even tax increases on the working and middle class to finance tax cuts for the wealthiest among us.
And at the same time, corporate tax dodgers are getting away with paying little to nothing. For example, megabank Bank of America paid literally nothing in 2009 in corporate income taxes.
Now, a new audit by the Treasury Inspector General For Tax Administration finds that almost a dozen federal contractors that were delinquent on their taxes in 2009 nevertheless received billions of taxpayer dollars that same year:
For Tax Year 2009, we identified that 10 of the 11 contractors owing delinquent taxes also received payments totaling approximately $ 3.7 billion from other Federal agencies. To identify the Federal agencies and the payments made, we researched the contractors’ tax accounts. These agencies included the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Agriculture, General Services Administration, Department of the Interior, and Department of Veterans Affairs.
While the report says that it lists the eleven contractors it investigated on Appendix V on page 20, a review of that page reveals blank boxes with numerical totals at the bottom, indicating that the report intends to shield the identity of the contractors for the time being:
Earlier this month, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced legislation that would prohibit “any person who has a seriously delinquent tax debt from obtaining a federal government contract or grant.” All across the country, a Main Street Movement has sprung up that is demanding fair sacrifice rather than economic policies that attempt to balance budgets on the backs of the great American middle class. This movement rightly points out that it is simply unfair for lawmakers to continue to demand more from those who have already sacrificed too much while allowing tax dodgers to get away with highway robbery.
-By Warner Todd Huston
In a recent interview with Channel 4 TV News in Milwaukee, President Obama denied that government employees are responsible for the “budget problems” that the nation faces and that employees such as those in Wisconsin are not to blame. We shouldn’t “vilify” them, he said. Yet, seeming to contradict Obama’s claims USA Today has reported that in 41 states government employees make more on average than workers in the private sector.
In a fine demagogic manner Obama told Channel 4 that we need to understand that these public employees are “our friends and neighbors.”
And I think it’s very important for us to understand that public employees, they’re our neighbors, they’re our friends. These are folks who are teachers, and they’re firefighters, and they’re social workers, and they’re police officers. You know, they make a lot of sacrifices, and make a big contribution, and I think it’s important not to vilify them, or to suggest that somehow all these budget problems are due to public employees.
Naturally Obama is standing up for the very unions that gave him millions in campaign cash as they sought to make of him their bought and paid for presidential candidate in 2008. Still, is he right? Is it wrong to focus on government employees as a budgetary item worth cutting? Are the salaries of public employees nothing to get all excited about?
The answer appears to run counter to Obama’s claims. USA Today reports facts that tend to make the lie to Obama’s dismissal of cuts in public employee pay and benefits.
USA Today finds that Wisconsin is one of 41 states where public employees earn more than the average citizens in the private sector.
The analysis of government data found that public employees’ compensation has grown faster than the earnings of private workers since 2000. Primary cause: the rising value of benefits.
So, as President Obama tries to cajole people into imagining that government employees are not the problem and that they do not earn more than the rest of the country, facts say just the opposite. Public employees live high on the hog while those that pay for them, the taxpayers, suffer.
Transcript of Obama’s Appearance on Channel 4 News:
Well I’d say that I haven’t followed exactly what’s happening with the Wisconsin budget. I’ve got some budget problems here in Washington that I’ve had to focus on. I would say, as a general proposition, that everybody’s gotta make some adjustments to new fiscal realities. And I think if we want to avoid layoffs — which I want to avoid, I don’t want to see layoffs of hard-working federal workers.
We had to impose, for example, a freeze on pay increases for federal workers for the next two years, as part of my overall budget freeze. You know, I think those kinds of adjustments are the right thing to do.
On the other other hand, some of what I’ve heard coming out of Wisconsin — where you’re just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain, generally — seems like more of an assault on unions.
And I think it’s very important for us to understand that public employees, they’re our neighbors, they’re our friends. These are folks who are teachers, and they’re firefighters, and they’re social workers, and they’re police officers. You know, they make a lot of sacrifices, and make a big contribution, and I think it’s important not to vilify them, or to suggest that somehow all these budget problems are due to public employees.
So, I think everybody’s gotta make some adjustments, but I think it’s also important to recognize that public employees make enormous contributions to the well being of our states and our cities.
Losing the PR war.
In other words, Quinnipiac found almost exactly the opposite of the NYT/CBS poll from two days ago. I wonder how that happened? Hmmmm: American voters are split as 46 percent say it would be a good thing and 44 percent say it would be a bad thing if the U.S. government shut down because of […]
Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded its Oscar for Best Documentary, Short Subject to “Strangers No More,” a film about a school in South Tel Aviv that educates children from 48 different countries, many of whom have come to Israel as refugees or because their parents have immigrated for employment. The film’s co-producer and co-director Karen Goodman thanked the school’s children in her acceptance speech:
“Thank you most of all to the exceptional immigrant and refugee children from 48 countries at Tel Aviv’s remarkable Bialik Rogozin school. You’ve shown us that through education, understanding, and tolerance, peace really is possible.”
Yet Mya Guarnieri at the Middle East news website Mondoweiss reports that the Israeli government doesn’t necessarily see it that way. “After a five month delay, which followed a year-long battle over the matter, the deportation of 400 children and their parents is scheduled to begin on Sunday,” Guarnieri reports, “Just a week after a crowd in the US applauded the touching story of foreigners who find a home here in Israel.” Moreover, the Israeli government may deport children from the Bialik Rogozin school, including one of the stars of “Strangers No More”:
Just a week after the Israeli media runs its hip-hip-hooray! reports of the win, the Oz Unit will start rounding such kids up. And one of the children is the 10-year-old star of the film. According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel:
…10-year-old Esther who starred in the movie is facing a probable deportation alongside an estimated 120 pupils from her school. Esther fled from South Africa and arrived in Israel with her father four years ago – thus missing the five-year mark set as a condition to remaining in the country.
Leftist Meretz Party leader Haim Oron called the deportation plan “brutal, random, and regretful” while a former member of the Knesset from the same party called the deportation plan “despicable” and “evil.”
As for the children attending Bialik Rogozin starring in “Strangers No More,” Guarnieri observes, “it seems that ‘strangers’ are strangers to the Israeli government — no matter how tolerant and understanding the children might make the state seem to the world.” (HT: @julespenner)
59% of independents.
If Congressional Republicans need a little spine-stiffener in the budget battle, Rasmussen provides just the tonic. This poll question differs from the earlier survey by The Hill on the question of a government shutdown. Rather than focus on blame, Rasmussen instead asked about priorities in the debate over spending, and clearly the priority of the […]
Not “middle class vs the rich.”
Give the Washington Post credit for putting the fight over state budgets in the proper perspective. Union protesters attempted to cast the debate as one of the rich against the middle class, but that presumes that the entire middle class works in the public sector and that everyone else is “the rich.” Elected officials — […]
Pressing the advantage.
The Hill polled on the question of which party would get more blame in a government shutdown — and pronounced the results “surprising.” Slightly more of the respondents would blame Democrats more than the GOP, but a shutdown wouldn’t exactly cover anyone in glory: Twenty-nine percent of likely voters would blame Democrats for a government […]
And the US knew.
As it turns out, the release of the man responsible for almost 300 deaths in a terrorist attack from Scotland came as no surprise to either British or American officials. Leaked diplomatic cables show that the American embassy knew as early as October 2008 that the British Foreign Office had secretly consulted with Libya on […]
This post was written late last night, but is relevant background today as we see the Egyptian government building burning today in Cairo, and the violence in the streets with citizens, Egyptian military and police. Yesterday, The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt said today, January 28th, “is the day of the Infatada.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke just minutes ago, trying to walk a fine line between supporting the people and democracy, and the Mubarak government we have invested billions in. I’ll have updates as they are available.
“Tomorrow is the Day of the Infatada,” said a spokesman for The Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, Egypt. This minute it is already tomorrow there, January 28th. The sun rises in about two hours at 6:43 a.m. or about 10:45 p.m. CDT on the 27th of January.
- Suez, Egypt
As the Egyptian government shutdown the Internet and Twitter after a man was shot down on a Suez street, the unnamed spokesman mentioned above says The Brotherhood is encouraging those ages 15 to 30 to take part in protests throughout the country.
The city on the Mediterranean [Alexandria], long Egypt’s gateway to the outside world, has mirrored the country’s steady erosion over decades of authoritarian rule. It has gone from being a cosmopolitan showcase to a poor, struggling city that evokes barely a vestige of its former grandeur. The New Year’s bombing of a Coptic church here was a reminder of the direction of the city, identified by European intelligence services as a hub for radicalizing students who come to study Arabic. Many of the most radical Salafists — those who would support the use of violence — were arrested by the government after the bombing.
The Egyptian Interior Ministry reportedly issued a statement blaming the protests on The Muslim Brotherhood. The rest of the world is reporting that the youth are revolting against police brutality, unemployment, lack of freedom of speech, food inflation and generally poor living conditions.
This only 28 days after a car bomb in Alexandria directly attacked the Coptic Christian Saints Church, killing twenty-one.
Please hop over to American Perspective. Opus has information on the communications blackouts. In Suez, it appears the Internet, Twitter, cells and landlines have gone black. One YouTube commenter said “they are committing a mass murder.” Others are asking for news, and for us to report what is going on.
While we see this conflict and citizens fighting for democracy, the hard truth is, neither the Hosni Mubarak government, and certainly not the Muslim Brotherhood, will provide it for these oppressed peoples. Pray for Israel as this develops on their borders.
This post was written late last night, but is relevant background today as we see the Egyptian government building burning today in Cairo, and the violence in the streets with citizens, Egyptian military and police. Yesterday, The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt said today, January 28th, “is the day of the Infatada.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke just minutes ago, trying to walk a fine line between supporting the people and democracy, and the Mubarak government we have invested billions in. I’ll have updates as they are available.
“Tomorrow is the Day of the Infatada,” said a spokesman for The Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, Egypt. This minute it is already tomorrow there, January 28th. The sun rises in about two hours at 6:43 a.m. or about 10:45 p.m. CDT on the 27th of January.
- Suez, Egypt
As the Egyptian government shutdown the Internet and Twitter after a man was shot down on a Suez street, the unnamed spokesman mentioned above says The Brotherhood is encouraging those ages 15 to 30 to take part in protests throughout the country.
The city on the Mediterranean [Alexandria], long Egypt’s gateway to the outside world, has mirrored the country’s steady erosion over decades of authoritarian rule. It has gone from being a cosmopolitan showcase to a poor, struggling city that evokes barely a vestige of its former grandeur. The New Year’s bombing of a Coptic church here was a reminder of the direction of the city, identified by European intelligence services as a hub for radicalizing students who come to study Arabic. Many of the most radical Salafists — those who would support the use of violence — were arrested by the government after the bombing.
The Egyptian Interior Ministry reportedly issued a statement blaming the protests on The Muslim Brotherhood. The rest of the world is reporting that the youth are revolting against police brutality, unemployment, lack of freedom of speech, food inflation and generally poor living conditions.
This only 28 days after a car bomb in Alexandria directly attacked the Coptic Christian Saints Church, killing twenty-one.
Please hop over to American Perspective. Opus has information on the communications blackouts. In Suez, it appears the Internet, Twitter, cells and landlines have gone black. One YouTube commenter said “they are committing a mass murder.” Others are asking for news, and for us to report what is going on.
While we see this conflict and citizens fighting for democracy, the hard truth is, neither the Hosni Mubarak government, and certainly not the Muslim Brotherhood, will provide it for these oppressed peoples. Pray for Israel as this develops on their borders.
This post was written late last night, but is relevant background today as we see the Egyptian government building burning today in Cairo, and the violence in the streets with citizens, Egyptian military and police. Yesterday, The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt said today, January 28th, “is the day of the Infatada.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke just minutes ago, trying to walk a fine line between supporting the people and democracy, and the Mubarak government we have invested billions in. I’ll have updates as they are available.
“Tomorrow is the Day of the Infatada,” said a spokesman for The Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, Egypt. This minute it is already tomorrow there, January 28th. The sun rises in about two hours at 6:43 a.m. or about 10:45 p.m. CDT on the 27th of January.
- Suez, Egypt
As the Egyptian government shutdown the Internet and Twitter after a man was shot down on a Suez street, the unnamed spokesman mentioned above says The Brotherhood is encouraging those ages 15 to 30 to take part in protests throughout the country.
The city on the Mediterranean [Alexandria], long Egypt’s gateway to the outside world, has mirrored the country’s steady erosion over decades of authoritarian rule. It has gone from being a cosmopolitan showcase to a poor, struggling city that evokes barely a vestige of its former grandeur. The New Year’s bombing of a Coptic church here was a reminder of the direction of the city, identified by European intelligence services as a hub for radicalizing students who come to study Arabic. Many of the most radical Salafists — those who would support the use of violence — were arrested by the government after the bombing.
The Egyptian Interior Ministry reportedly issued a statement blaming the protests on The Muslim Brotherhood. The rest of the world is reporting that the youth are revolting against police brutality, unemployment, lack of freedom of speech, food inflation and generally poor living conditions.
This only 28 days after a car bomb in Alexandria directly attacked the Coptic Christian Saints Church, killing twenty-one.
Please hop over to American Perspective. Opus has information on the communications blackouts. In Suez, it appears the Internet, Twitter, cells and landlines have gone black. One YouTube commenter said “they are committing a mass murder.” Others are asking for news, and for us to report what is going on.
While we see this conflict and citizens fighting for democracy, the hard truth is, neither the Hosni Mubarak government, and certainly not the Muslim Brotherhood, will provide it for these oppressed peoples. Pray for Israel as this develops on their borders.
By Michael F. Cannon
This is how a front-page story in this morning’s Washington Post portrayed the cause of this year’s $ 1.5 trillion deficit:
Record U.S. Deficit Projected This Year
CBO forecasts tax cuts will push budget gap to $ 1.5 trillionThe still-fragile economy and fresh tax cuts approved by Congress last month will drive the federal deficit to nearly $ 1.5 trillion this year, the biggest budget gap in U.S. history, congressional budget analysts said Wednesday.
Federal spending and federal tax revenue play equally important roles in creating the federal budget deficit. Yet the Post blames the deficit only on inadequate tax revenue. Federal spending isn’t too high, the Post implies, tax revenue is too low.
This may not be an example of media bias. But it is an example of why supporters of limited government believe that major news organizations like the Washington Post are biased toward bigger government. At a minimum, the Post has some explaining to do.
As If Gov’t Spending Had Nothing to Do with It is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
Last week, Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) said he wouldn’t participate in the bipartisan seating intermingling at President Obama’s State of the Union yesterday. “Sitting together being kissy kissy is just another way to try to silence Republicans,” Broun complained, warning that Obama would “spew” his rhetorical “venom” at members.
Except during the speech, it was Broun spewing venom, tweeting, “Mr. President, you don’t believe in the Constitution. You believe in socialism.” And on a right-wing radio show this afternoon, Broun upped the ante:
BROUN: The Republican Party is the party of K-N-O-W. We know how to lower the cost of health care. We know how to take care of the uninsurable. We know how to put patients in charge of their health care and have a market-based, patient centered health care system that’s not going to kill jobs like ObamaCare is going to do. And we know how to stimulate the economy. We know how to create jobs in the private sector. We know how to prevent this huge government take over of health care as well as all of society.
But we are the party of N-O against socialism and that’s what Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama have been proposing is a greater take over of everything in human endeavor in America.
Listen here:
Ironically, seconds after Broun claimed the GOP is “The Party of Know,” Broun reiterated two well-worn falsehoods Republicans have been spreading around since the health care debate began in 2009. PolitiFact.com recently reported that Broun’s claim that the new health care law is “job killing” just isn’t true:
Republicans have used the “job-killing” claim hundreds of times — so often that they used the phrase in the name of the [repeal] bill. It implies that job losses will be one of the most significant effects of the law. But they have flimsy evidence to back it up.
The phrase suggests a massive decline in employment, but the data doesn’t support that. The Republican evidence is extrapolated from a report that was talking about a reduction in the labor supply rather than the loss of jobs, or based on measures that weren’t included in the final health care law. We rate the statement False.
Broun also said that the new health reform law is a “huge government take over of health care.” PolitiFact gave that whopper its “Lie of the Year” award for 2010. It seems like Broun needs to work on a new name for his party.
