Today's Update 1/27/2010
Submitted by admin on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 12:22.
TODAY’S MORNING UPDATE: Quote of the Day, Today’s News Clips
Quote of the Day:
Politico: “At a time when millions of Americans are trimming their family budgets back, the fact that President Obama would work to increase America’s credit card limit so he can spend more of the taxpayers money is the exact opposite of what America wants.” - RNC Chairman Michael Steele
Today’s News Clips:
Local News:
· Meadowlands' mission a top issue facing N.J. Gov. Christie, The Record
· N.J. Assembly Republicans make leadeship appointments, NewJerseyNewsroom.com
· Powerball lottery expands to New Jersey starting Sunday, Associated Press
· N.J. Assembly members to host public hearing on how to improve state, Associated Press
· N.J. will be short nearly 3,000 doctors in next decade without changes, report say, Star Ledger
National News:
· Michael Steele: An explanation to the nation, Politico
· Editorial: Democratic Tax Dissent, Wall Street Journal
· Stimulus price tag soars as jobless rate rises, Washington Times
· Panel eyes deals with special-interest groups, Washington Times
· Alex Conant: Words are cheaper than the budget, Politico
· Joel Achenbach: American disapproval of Obama is on the rise , Washington Post
· 9/11 Commission head presses Obama on anti-terrorism efforts, The Hill
Local News:
Meadowlands' mission a top issue facing N.J. Gov. Christie
By John Brennan
The Record
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Governor Christie didn’t have much time to celebrate his inauguration last week, given the daunting list of state issues he faced — including a constellation of problems at the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.
He responded quickly, with a series of reports last week that lays out some of the details and offers some solutions — but the work is just beginning.
“With a horse racing industry losing tens of millions of dollars, the Devils gone, the Nets leaving and a poor deal with the Jets and Giants with their new stadium, the entire mission and future of the [sports authority] must be entirely rethought, not simply tweaked,” the report on state authorities said.
The report also conceded “the authority will require immediate drastic cuts or capital infusion from supplemental sources simply to preserve its existence within the first quarter of 2010.”
Throw in a seemingly dormant Xanadu shopping and retail complex, and it’s clear that Christie will have to devote a significant amount of time to sports authority matters in the first weeks and months of his administration.
Christie intends to do it with the same pugnacious style that marked his campaign.
“This will be a blunt, direct, straightforward, no-nonsense administration,” Christie said this month at a Morristown press conference.
Read Full Article <http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/politics/012610_Meadowlands_mission_a_top_issue_facing_NJ_Gov_Christie.html>
N.J. Assembly Republicans make leadeship appointments
By Tom Hester Sr.
NewJerseyNewsroom.com
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Amid an air of bipartisanship that is wafting through the Statehouse, Assembly Republican leaders Tuesday announced the party's lower house leadership for the 2010-11 legislative session.
"The members of our leadership team possess exceptional talents and skills which will be invaluable to our caucus," said Republican Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris). "I will continue to rely on their unique insights regarding public policy issues as we seek to make New Jersey a better and more affordable place to live."
"Our leadership team is a diverse group with a vast amount of knowledge and experience which will benefit all our members," said Conference Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Union) "Each person offers a unique perspective on the challenges we face and how to overcome them. I look forward to working with them in our new session."
DeCroce and Bramnick were unanimously elected as was Assemblyman Dave Rible (R-Monmouth) as Republican Whip.
Read Full Article <http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/nj-assembly-republicans-make-leadeship-appointments>
Powerball lottery expands to New Jersey starting Sunday
Associated Press
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
TRENTON -- Powerball lottery tickets will go on sale in New Jersey starting Sunday.
Gov. Chris Christie says the multistate game has the potential to be a solid "revenue generator" that helps support schools, veterans and the developmentally disabled.
Drawings take place on Wednesday and Saturday at 11 p.m.
Powerball is available in 31 states, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands.
New Jersey is already part of the multistate Mega Millions game.
Read Full Article <http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/article_83b5d04a-0b42-11df-b3a1-001cc4c002e0.html>
N.J. Assembly members to host public hearing on how to improve state
Associated Press
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
TRENTON — Lawmakers in the New Jersey Assembly want to hear from their constituents.
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Republican Leader Alex DeCroce will co-host a public hearing on Feb. 2 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Statehouse in Trenton to hear New Jerseyans' ideas for improving the state.
Oliver says lawmakers know the problems but want to hear firsthand from the public about their ideas for solutions.
Republican Conference Leader Jon Bramnick said he envisioned this type of input when he introduced legislation last year that would allow members of the public to comment on the floor during some Senate and Assembly sessions.
Read Full Article <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_assembly_members_to_host_pu.html>
N.J. will be short nearly 3,000 doctors in next decade without changes, report says
By Peggy Ackermann
Star Ledger
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
New Jersey will be short nearly 3,000 doctors by 2020 if the state does not take preventive measures, a task force said today.
The statewide Physician Workforce Policy Task Force, which the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals trade group began in 2007, undertook what the group described as an "intensive study" three years ago and found New Jersey faces shortages in both primary care and specialty areas. The shortfall is projected to be more than 2,800 doctors -- beyond a current 12 percent gap in the current physician supply and demand. The doctor deficit consists of approximately 1,000 primary care physicians and 1,800 specialists.
“A physician shortage crisis is right around the corner in New Jersey if we do not take immediate steps to change course,” J. Richard Goldstein, president and CEO of the hospitals council, said in a news release. “National health reform, while laudable and needed, will only work to accelerate the time when there simply will not be enough doctors to serve New Jersey’s adults and children.”
Read Full Article <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_will_be_short_nearly_3000_d.html>
National News:
Michael Steele: An explanation to the nation
By Michael Steele
Politico
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
As President Barack Obama steps up to the podium Wednesday night to deliver his State of the Union address, the American people will be intently listening for an explanation to the past year of failed policies. This president was elected to change business as usual in Washington and reach across party lines to find real solutions to improve our economy. But as we sit here today, Democrats in Congress continue their secret backroom deals, unemployment is in double digits, and all of the president’s major policy initiatives have failed to gain much, if any, bipartisan support. This is a far cry from what we were promised a year ago and the American people need answers.
Taxpayers deserve to know why the president’s $787 billion stimulus package failed to keep unemployment below 8 percent. We deserve to know why his government takeover of health care stalled somewhere between the House and the Senate, if according to President Obama, the American people support it. And most of all, our country deserves to know why President Obama has wasted a year without working to find real solutions to create jobs and put Americans back to work. Tonight our nation deserves a genuine explanation, and we need to know how the president is planning to fix this mess his policies have made worse.
When President Obama isn’t busy explaining away his failures, he will do his best to convince middle class America that he understands their frustrations and stands by their side. The president will both encourage a spending freeze while calling on Congress to pass an $80 billion job creation bill – here’s to hoping the American people aren’t watching too closely to note the blatant hypocrisy. Since day one, President Obama has single-mindedly pushed an all out binge spending agenda that has brought disastrous consequences to not only himself and the Democrat Party, but to our entire country. Just this week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office announced the U.S. budget deficit for the current fiscal year will reach $1.3 trillion. At a time when millions of Americans are desperately struggling to live within their means and survive this economic recession it would make sense for Washington to follow suit but President Obama has taken the exact opposite track over the past year.
Using the economic crisis as a means to their liberal ends, President Obama started with his failed $787 billion economic stimulus package, moved to his job killing “cap and trade” scheme, and continued with his $2.5 trillion government-run health care experiment. Tonight America wants to hear an explanation for why these policies were chosen, strongly pushed, and subsequently failed. But the American people don’t want to be placated with fabrications and they don’t want to hear fantasies. They want to hear the truth and they want to hear detailed plans about job creation and more than anything they want their money back.
Read Full Article <http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=6FD947DA-18FE-70B2-A85DC644D9F8F473>
Editorial: Democratic Tax Dissent
Wall Street Journal
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
In Democratic Washington, it's supposed to be an article of faith that the Bush tax cuts "on the rich" were a disaster and must be allowed to expire at the end of this year. However, that means socking the economy with a record tax hike next January 1, and some Democrats are beginning to have second thoughts.
Harry Mitchell, a second-term Congressman from Arizona, wrote President Obama last week to urge him to extend the 15% tax rate on capital gains and dividends that will revert to 20% and 39.6%, respectively, next year. He also doesn't want the 55% confiscatory rate on estates restored, as it also would be in 2011.
"Given the unique economic difficulties we face as a nation, this is the wrong time to raise these taxes. We need to retain these tax cuts that encourage investment that stimulates growth and job creation," Mr. Mitchell wrote.
Those sensible words are echoed by Gerry Connolly of Virginia, who told Dow Jones Newswires that "I think there is a certain logic to leaving well-enough alone for now, given the fragility of the economic recovery," adding that "it's a question of prudent judgment and timing."
Read Full Article <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703906204575027672095659344.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop#printMode>
Stimulus price tag soars as jobless rate rises
By Stephen Dinan
Washington Times
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The economic stimulus bill's price tag has risen to $862 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday — a $75 billion jump that's a result in part to the fact that, despite the spending, joblessness has risen and the government is paying out more than expected on unemployment benefits.
The CBO, in a new report, also said spending in fiscal 2010 will push the deficit to more than $1.3 trillion, or nearly the record $1.4 trillion deficit recorded in 2009.
The dire warnings fueled spending hysteria, which hit Washington in full force this week after Democrats' health care overhaul got shelved last week.
President Obama plans to call for a freeze on non-security spending in Wednesday's State of the Union address — but advisers said it wouldn't take effect until 2011.
"In 2010, we are focused on making sure we can get people back to work. In 2011, when we believe the economy will be back on stronger footing, we're going to be looking to make sure the footing we are putting them on is a more sustainable discretionary footing," said White House deputy budget director Rob Nabors.
Meanwhile, in Congress, lawmakers said the new numbers from Congress's official scorekeeping agency are a further wake-up call to control runaway debt and ballooning spending.
"It's hard to applaud a $1.3 trillion deficit," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, adding Democrats have spent with abandon. "This is completely and totally unacceptable. We're going to have to do something a lot more serious than this rather modest freeze suggestion that we're going to hear [Wednesday] night."
The 2010 budget picture is slightly better than last year, and CBO said it will slowly get better as the economy improves and tax revenues pick up. But the long-term challenges still remain, the budget analysts said.
Read Full Article <http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/27/stimulus-price-tag-soars-as-jobless-rate-rises/print/>
Panel eyes deals with special-interest groups
By Jennifer Haberkorn
Washington Times
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
House panel on Wednesday will consider shining a light on White House deals made with special-interest groups during the push to pass a health care reform bill.
The Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to take up a resolution that demands the administration release documents related to any and all negotiations concerning the measure.
A widely reported pact between pharmaceutical companies and the White House — in which the industry agreed to support health care reform in exchange for a limited financial hit — raised the ire of both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill as the health bill slogged through both chambers.
Lawmakers argue that the agreement let the pharmaceutical industry, represented by trade group PhRMA, off the hook too easily. They also question whether other groups, such as hospital associations and unions, were involved.
Rep. Michael C. Burgess, Texas Republican, offered the resolution after a previous attempt to get the same information, through a letter, failed.
"Despite your promise to make all health care reform negotiations in public, we still have very few details on what exactly was agreed to during these highly publicized negotiations," Mr. Burgess wrote in a September letter, in reference to President Obama's campaign pledges to conduct health reform talks in the public's view.
Democrats on Capitol Hill argued during debate in both the House and Senate that they didn't have to live up to the White House handshakes. But attempts to override the agreements — such as a Senate amendment to allow prescription drugs to be imported into the United States — failed amid what some lawmakers said was White House lobbying.
Read Full Article <http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/27/panel-eyes-deals-with-special-interest-groups//print/>
Alex Conant: Words are cheaper than the budget
By Alex Conant
Politico
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
In Wednesday’s State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama will vow a return to fiscal responsibility, featuring a temporary freeze on “nonsecurity” discretionary spending. We’ve heard this sort of talk from Obama before — but his words have proved cheaper than his budget.
Shortly after his Inauguration, Obama also went before Congress pledging fiscal austerity. Then, he “pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office.” He added that “because we’re also suffering from a deficit of trust, I am committed to restoring a sense of honesty and accountability to our budget.”
Now, as Obama readies his second budget, both the actual and the “trust” deficit are much bigger.
First, the actual budget: While Obama inherited an economic mess, the short-term budget outlook was relatively stable. Until the economic meltdown and subsequent financial bailouts in fall 2008, President George W. Bush’s past few budgets contained essentially no increases in nondefense discretionary spending (the sort of freeze Obama now wants to reinstate) and actually forecast a small surplus by 2012. So rosy was the nation’s short-term fiscal outlook that John McCain confidently promised a balanced budget during his first term if elected president.
The nation’s fiscal situation worsened dramatically during the financial meltdown in fall 2008, with tax receipts plummeting at the same time that government spending skyrocketed. Nevertheless, Obama appeared to view the decline as a blip, as his first budget did in fact forecast the deficit would be cut in half within four years.
Read Full Article <http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=6C3692CD-18FE-70B2-A826C0FC57EFD404>
Joel Achenbach: American disapproval of Obama is on the rise
By Joel Achenbach
Washington Post
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The state of the union is obstreperous. Dyspepsia is the new equilibrium. All the passion in American politics is oppositional. The American people know what they don't like, which is: everything.
That sounds like nihilism, but they're against that, too.
Consider the poll last week by The Washington Post and ABC News. People were asked a standard question about how much confidence they had in President Obama to "make the right decisions" for the nation's future. A majority -- 53 percent -- gave the two most dismal of the four possible responses: "just some" and "none at all." The same question had been asked a year earlier; in just 12 months, the "none at all" camp had tripled, from 9 percent to 27 percent.
We are at a strange moment: a crescendo in American anger even as the man in the White House hums along in a state of preternatural equanimity. Obama, who will take over prime-time television Wednesday night for his annual address to Congress, has seen such a drastic erosion of popularity that he may get only about 35 or 40 standing ovations instead of the usual 50 or so.
Lawmakers will feel some kinship with the president, because they're all getting pummeled by the public. Democrats in Congress did worse than Obama in the Post-ABC poll, and Republicans in Congress did worst of all. The health-care bill that lawmakers have labored on for the past year has gotten a national thumbs-down: According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, 55 percent of Americans want Congress to suspend work on the current health-care bills and start over.
And that $787 billion stimulus package? No, thanks. In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 56 percent of those surveyed said they oppose the government's effort to juice the economy.
Read Full Article <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012603519.html?hpid=topnews>
9/11 Commission head presses Obama on anti-terrorism efforts
By Susan Crabtree
The Hill
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
President Barack Obama did not devote enough attention to fighting terrorism last year because he was distracted by legislative battles over healthcare and climate change, the former chairman of the 9/11 Commission said Tuesday.
Thomas Kean, a former GOP governor of New Jersey who led the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States after Sept. 11, 2001, urged Obama to step in more quickly to resolve turf battles between intelligence agencies.
“In a way, this Christmas Day bomber did us a favor because everyone talking about healthcare, cap-and-trade … and I think everyone from the president on down got a little distracted and things got a little off track,” Kean said Tuesday in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
“Now I think we got a wakeup call,” he added.
Lee Hamilton, the 9/11 Commission’s former vice chairman, also criticized Obama for not putting more emphasis on fighting terrorist attacks. He said if Obama does not step in, tensions between the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) could intensify.
Read Full Article <http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/78197-obama-pressed-on-terrorism>
TODAY’S MORNING UPDATE: Quote of the Day, Today’s News Clips
Quote of the Day:
Politico: “At a time when millions of Americans are trimming their family budgets back, the fact that President Obama would work to increase America’s credit card limit so he can spend more of the taxpayers money is the exact opposite of what America wants.” - RNC Chairman Michael Steele
Today’s News Clips:
Local News:
· Meadowlands' mission a top issue facing N.J. Gov. Christie, The Record
· N.J. Assembly Republicans make leadeship appointments, NewJerseyNewsroom.com
· Powerball lottery expands to New Jersey starting Sunday, Associated Press
· N.J. Assembly members to host public hearing on how to improve state, Associated Press
· N.J. will be short nearly 3,000 doctors in next decade without changes, report say, Star Ledger
National News:
· Michael Steele: An explanation to the nation, Politico
· Editorial: Democratic Tax Dissent, Wall Street Journal
· Stimulus price tag soars as jobless rate rises, Washington Times
· Panel eyes deals with special-interest groups, Washington Times
· Alex Conant: Words are cheaper than the budget, Politico
· Joel Achenbach: American disapproval of Obama is on the rise , Washington Post
· 9/11 Commission head presses Obama on anti-terrorism efforts, The Hill
Local News:
Meadowlands' mission a top issue facing N.J. Gov. Christie
By John Brennan
The Record
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Governor Christie didn’t have much time to celebrate his inauguration last week, given the daunting list of state issues he faced — including a constellation of problems at the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.
He responded quickly, with a series of reports last week that lays out some of the details and offers some solutions — but the work is just beginning.
“With a horse racing industry losing tens of millions of dollars, the Devils gone, the Nets leaving and a poor deal with the Jets and Giants with their new stadium, the entire mission and future of the [sports authority] must be entirely rethought, not simply tweaked,” the report on state authorities said.
The report also conceded “the authority will require immediate drastic cuts or capital infusion from supplemental sources simply to preserve its existence within the first quarter of 2010.”
Throw in a seemingly dormant Xanadu shopping and retail complex, and it’s clear that Christie will have to devote a significant amount of time to sports authority matters in the first weeks and months of his administration.
Christie intends to do it with the same pugnacious style that marked his campaign.
“This will be a blunt, direct, straightforward, no-nonsense administration,” Christie said this month at a Morristown press conference.
Read Full Article <http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/politics/012610_Meadowlands_mission_a_top_issue_facing_NJ_Gov_Christie.html>
N.J. Assembly Republicans make leadeship appointments
By Tom Hester Sr.
NewJerseyNewsroom.com
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Amid an air of bipartisanship that is wafting through the Statehouse, Assembly Republican leaders Tuesday announced the party's lower house leadership for the 2010-11 legislative session.
"The members of our leadership team possess exceptional talents and skills which will be invaluable to our caucus," said Republican Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris). "I will continue to rely on their unique insights regarding public policy issues as we seek to make New Jersey a better and more affordable place to live."
"Our leadership team is a diverse group with a vast amount of knowledge and experience which will benefit all our members," said Conference Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Union) "Each person offers a unique perspective on the challenges we face and how to overcome them. I look forward to working with them in our new session."
DeCroce and Bramnick were unanimously elected as was Assemblyman Dave Rible (R-Monmouth) as Republican Whip.
Read Full Article <http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/nj-assembly-republicans-make-leadeship-appointments>
Powerball lottery expands to New Jersey starting Sunday
Associated Press
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
TRENTON -- Powerball lottery tickets will go on sale in New Jersey starting Sunday.
Gov. Chris Christie says the multistate game has the potential to be a solid "revenue generator" that helps support schools, veterans and the developmentally disabled.
Drawings take place on Wednesday and Saturday at 11 p.m.
Powerball is available in 31 states, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands.
New Jersey is already part of the multistate Mega Millions game.
Read Full Article <http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/article_83b5d04a-0b42-11df-b3a1-001cc4c002e0.html>
N.J. Assembly members to host public hearing on how to improve state
Associated Press
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
TRENTON — Lawmakers in the New Jersey Assembly want to hear from their constituents.
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Republican Leader Alex DeCroce will co-host a public hearing on Feb. 2 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Statehouse in Trenton to hear New Jerseyans' ideas for improving the state.
Oliver says lawmakers know the problems but want to hear firsthand from the public about their ideas for solutions.
Republican Conference Leader Jon Bramnick said he envisioned this type of input when he introduced legislation last year that would allow members of the public to comment on the floor during some Senate and Assembly sessions.
Read Full Article <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_assembly_members_to_host_pu.html>
N.J. will be short nearly 3,000 doctors in next decade without changes, report says
By Peggy Ackermann
Star Ledger
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
New Jersey will be short nearly 3,000 doctors by 2020 if the state does not take preventive measures, a task force said today.
The statewide Physician Workforce Policy Task Force, which the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals trade group began in 2007, undertook what the group described as an "intensive study" three years ago and found New Jersey faces shortages in both primary care and specialty areas. The shortfall is projected to be more than 2,800 doctors -- beyond a current 12 percent gap in the current physician supply and demand. The doctor deficit consists of approximately 1,000 primary care physicians and 1,800 specialists.
“A physician shortage crisis is right around the corner in New Jersey if we do not take immediate steps to change course,” J. Richard Goldstein, president and CEO of the hospitals council, said in a news release. “National health reform, while laudable and needed, will only work to accelerate the time when there simply will not be enough doctors to serve New Jersey’s adults and children.”
Read Full Article <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_will_be_short_nearly_3000_d.html>
National News:
Michael Steele: An explanation to the nation
By Michael Steele
Politico
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
As President Barack Obama steps up to the podium Wednesday night to deliver his State of the Union address, the American people will be intently listening for an explanation to the past year of failed policies. This president was elected to change business as usual in Washington and reach across party lines to find real solutions to improve our economy. But as we sit here today, Democrats in Congress continue their secret backroom deals, unemployment is in double digits, and all of the president’s major policy initiatives have failed to gain much, if any, bipartisan support. This is a far cry from what we were promised a year ago and the American people need answers.
Taxpayers deserve to know why the president’s $787 billion stimulus package failed to keep unemployment below 8 percent. We deserve to know why his government takeover of health care stalled somewhere between the House and the Senate, if according to President Obama, the American people support it. And most of all, our country deserves to know why President Obama has wasted a year without working to find real solutions to create jobs and put Americans back to work. Tonight our nation deserves a genuine explanation, and we need to know how the president is planning to fix this mess his policies have made worse.
When President Obama isn’t busy explaining away his failures, he will do his best to convince middle class America that he understands their frustrations and stands by their side. The president will both encourage a spending freeze while calling on Congress to pass an $80 billion job creation bill – here’s to hoping the American people aren’t watching too closely to note the blatant hypocrisy. Since day one, President Obama has single-mindedly pushed an all out binge spending agenda that has brought disastrous consequences to not only himself and the Democrat Party, but to our entire country. Just this week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office announced the U.S. budget deficit for the current fiscal year will reach $1.3 trillion. At a time when millions of Americans are desperately struggling to live within their means and survive this economic recession it would make sense for Washington to follow suit but President Obama has taken the exact opposite track over the past year.
Using the economic crisis as a means to their liberal ends, President Obama started with his failed $787 billion economic stimulus package, moved to his job killing “cap and trade” scheme, and continued with his $2.5 trillion government-run health care experiment. Tonight America wants to hear an explanation for why these policies were chosen, strongly pushed, and subsequently failed. But the American people don’t want to be placated with fabrications and they don’t want to hear fantasies. They want to hear the truth and they want to hear detailed plans about job creation and more than anything they want their money back.
Read Full Article <http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=6FD947DA-18FE-70B2-A85DC644D9F8F473>
Editorial: Democratic Tax Dissent
Wall Street Journal
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
In Democratic Washington, it's supposed to be an article of faith that the Bush tax cuts "on the rich" were a disaster and must be allowed to expire at the end of this year. However, that means socking the economy with a record tax hike next January 1, and some Democrats are beginning to have second thoughts.
Harry Mitchell, a second-term Congressman from Arizona, wrote President Obama last week to urge him to extend the 15% tax rate on capital gains and dividends that will revert to 20% and 39.6%, respectively, next year. He also doesn't want the 55% confiscatory rate on estates restored, as it also would be in 2011.
"Given the unique economic difficulties we face as a nation, this is the wrong time to raise these taxes. We need to retain these tax cuts that encourage investment that stimulates growth and job creation," Mr. Mitchell wrote.
Those sensible words are echoed by Gerry Connolly of Virginia, who told Dow Jones Newswires that "I think there is a certain logic to leaving well-enough alone for now, given the fragility of the economic recovery," adding that "it's a question of prudent judgment and timing."
Read Full Article <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703906204575027672095659344.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop#printMode>
Stimulus price tag soars as jobless rate rises
By Stephen Dinan
Washington Times
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The economic stimulus bill's price tag has risen to $862 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday — a $75 billion jump that's a result in part to the fact that, despite the spending, joblessness has risen and the government is paying out more than expected on unemployment benefits.
The CBO, in a new report, also said spending in fiscal 2010 will push the deficit to more than $1.3 trillion, or nearly the record $1.4 trillion deficit recorded in 2009.
The dire warnings fueled spending hysteria, which hit Washington in full force this week after Democrats' health care overhaul got shelved last week.
President Obama plans to call for a freeze on non-security spending in Wednesday's State of the Union address — but advisers said it wouldn't take effect until 2011.
"In 2010, we are focused on making sure we can get people back to work. In 2011, when we believe the economy will be back on stronger footing, we're going to be looking to make sure the footing we are putting them on is a more sustainable discretionary footing," said White House deputy budget director Rob Nabors.
Meanwhile, in Congress, lawmakers said the new numbers from Congress's official scorekeeping agency are a further wake-up call to control runaway debt and ballooning spending.
"It's hard to applaud a $1.3 trillion deficit," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, adding Democrats have spent with abandon. "This is completely and totally unacceptable. We're going to have to do something a lot more serious than this rather modest freeze suggestion that we're going to hear [Wednesday] night."
The 2010 budget picture is slightly better than last year, and CBO said it will slowly get better as the economy improves and tax revenues pick up. But the long-term challenges still remain, the budget analysts said.
Read Full Article <http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/27/stimulus-price-tag-soars-as-jobless-rate-rises/print/>
Panel eyes deals with special-interest groups
By Jennifer Haberkorn
Washington Times
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
House panel on Wednesday will consider shining a light on White House deals made with special-interest groups during the push to pass a health care reform bill.
The Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to take up a resolution that demands the administration release documents related to any and all negotiations concerning the measure.
A widely reported pact between pharmaceutical companies and the White House — in which the industry agreed to support health care reform in exchange for a limited financial hit — raised the ire of both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill as the health bill slogged through both chambers.
Lawmakers argue that the agreement let the pharmaceutical industry, represented by trade group PhRMA, off the hook too easily. They also question whether other groups, such as hospital associations and unions, were involved.
Rep. Michael C. Burgess, Texas Republican, offered the resolution after a previous attempt to get the same information, through a letter, failed.
"Despite your promise to make all health care reform negotiations in public, we still have very few details on what exactly was agreed to during these highly publicized negotiations," Mr. Burgess wrote in a September letter, in reference to President Obama's campaign pledges to conduct health reform talks in the public's view.
Democrats on Capitol Hill argued during debate in both the House and Senate that they didn't have to live up to the White House handshakes. But attempts to override the agreements — such as a Senate amendment to allow prescription drugs to be imported into the United States — failed amid what some lawmakers said was White House lobbying.
Read Full Article <http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/27/panel-eyes-deals-with-special-interest-groups//print/>
Alex Conant: Words are cheaper than the budget
By Alex Conant
Politico
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
In Wednesday’s State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama will vow a return to fiscal responsibility, featuring a temporary freeze on “nonsecurity” discretionary spending. We’ve heard this sort of talk from Obama before — but his words have proved cheaper than his budget.
Shortly after his Inauguration, Obama also went before Congress pledging fiscal austerity. Then, he “pledged to cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term in office.” He added that “because we’re also suffering from a deficit of trust, I am committed to restoring a sense of honesty and accountability to our budget.”
Now, as Obama readies his second budget, both the actual and the “trust” deficit are much bigger.
First, the actual budget: While Obama inherited an economic mess, the short-term budget outlook was relatively stable. Until the economic meltdown and subsequent financial bailouts in fall 2008, President George W. Bush’s past few budgets contained essentially no increases in nondefense discretionary spending (the sort of freeze Obama now wants to reinstate) and actually forecast a small surplus by 2012. So rosy was the nation’s short-term fiscal outlook that John McCain confidently promised a balanced budget during his first term if elected president.
The nation’s fiscal situation worsened dramatically during the financial meltdown in fall 2008, with tax receipts plummeting at the same time that government spending skyrocketed. Nevertheless, Obama appeared to view the decline as a blip, as his first budget did in fact forecast the deficit would be cut in half within four years.
Read Full Article <http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=6C3692CD-18FE-70B2-A826C0FC57EFD404>
Joel Achenbach: American disapproval of Obama is on the rise
By Joel Achenbach
Washington Post
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The state of the union is obstreperous. Dyspepsia is the new equilibrium. All the passion in American politics is oppositional. The American people know what they don't like, which is: everything.
That sounds like nihilism, but they're against that, too.
Consider the poll last week by The Washington Post and ABC News. People were asked a standard question about how much confidence they had in President Obama to "make the right decisions" for the nation's future. A majority -- 53 percent -- gave the two most dismal of the four possible responses: "just some" and "none at all." The same question had been asked a year earlier; in just 12 months, the "none at all" camp had tripled, from 9 percent to 27 percent.
We are at a strange moment: a crescendo in American anger even as the man in the White House hums along in a state of preternatural equanimity. Obama, who will take over prime-time television Wednesday night for his annual address to Congress, has seen such a drastic erosion of popularity that he may get only about 35 or 40 standing ovations instead of the usual 50 or so.
Lawmakers will feel some kinship with the president, because they're all getting pummeled by the public. Democrats in Congress did worse than Obama in the Post-ABC poll, and Republicans in Congress did worst of all. The health-care bill that lawmakers have labored on for the past year has gotten a national thumbs-down: According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, 55 percent of Americans want Congress to suspend work on the current health-care bills and start over.
And that $787 billion stimulus package? No, thanks. In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 56 percent of those surveyed said they oppose the government's effort to juice the economy.
Read Full Article <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/26/AR2010012603519.html?hpid=topnews>
9/11 Commission head presses Obama on anti-terrorism efforts
By Susan Crabtree
The Hill
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
President Barack Obama did not devote enough attention to fighting terrorism last year because he was distracted by legislative battles over healthcare and climate change, the former chairman of the 9/11 Commission said Tuesday.
Thomas Kean, a former GOP governor of New Jersey who led the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States after Sept. 11, 2001, urged Obama to step in more quickly to resolve turf battles between intelligence agencies.
“In a way, this Christmas Day bomber did us a favor because everyone talking about healthcare, cap-and-trade … and I think everyone from the president on down got a little distracted and things got a little off track,” Kean said Tuesday in testimony before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
“Now I think we got a wakeup call,” he added.
Lee Hamilton, the 9/11 Commission’s former vice chairman, also criticized Obama for not putting more emphasis on fighting terrorist attacks. He said if Obama does not step in, tensions between the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) could intensify.
Read Full Article <http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/78197-obama-pressed-on-terrorism>
»
- admin's blog
- Login or register to post comments