Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

How many TARPs?

I am tired of the TARP and I am frustrated to hear that many senators of this nation, including our own Gordon Smith (R), are trying to build a shanty town out of a once glorious nation. I strongly urge you to read about the bailouts that are being proposed and question how many 'TARPs' we can use to cover the nation before the rain starts dripping in.

Handing out money to big business is not the solution. Mistakes were made, and now debts are due. We all understand there are consequences for our action so why now are we looking for a way out? When it comes down to the individual or the corporation (which is treated as an individual by law) there should be no distinguishing who pays for their mistakes and who does not. If that means you lose a house due to poor decision, so be it. While it may be difficult to swallow on a personal level, I feel the same way on a broader scale.

When a car manufacturer produces inefficient sub-standard vehicles which inevitably become unpopular I do not feel like I an obligation to bail out said company. They never looked out for you me. There eyes were fixed on our wallets. Let them fail if the market no longer sustains them. Poor planning, lack of insight and disregard for fiscal discipline from the 'Big 3' is not my error.

Yes, they created jobs, but they are only a small piece of this economy. We have to look on a broader scale at the long term goals we have as a nation. There is no clear prospect for future prosperity in U.S. auto manufacturing. Instead betting on a proven loser (see Chrysler bailout 1979) we should put stock back in the individuals of this nation.

Now is the time for sound economic policy, which Bernanke and Paulson have failed to implement. I implore congress to consider a reduction in taxes. While it is costly, just as a bailout is in terms of increased U.S. debt, tax reduction is a proven tool to curb recessions. It is one of the few time proven tools.

Attached you will find more of my thoughts on this subject more contained more concisely in a letter to Gordon Smith. I urge you to contact your politicians as well. A cry from my single voice may seem futile, but there can be no change when everyone is silently dissenting.

Dear Senator Gordon Smith,

I disagree with your vote in favor of the Troubled Assets Relief Program. With a new bailout on the near horizon, I strongly urge you to oppose any bailout of the auto industry.

The auto industry has made significant lobbying efforts recently, which should not overshadow their poor long term viability and track record. There is no guarantee that a government handout will solve the struggling auto manufacturers’ problems. GM, Ford, and Chrysler are failing industries that need not be an additional financial burden on the citizens of this country. As we have seen, a bailout for Chrysler in the past was unable to ensure a successful future.

Market forces can, and will, work. The 'Big 3' auto manufacturers are not the top 3 any longer. There is a reason for this. For too long these companies have been patronized based on their location, in the U.S., while there products were inferior. I am not suggesting that automobile manufacturing in the U.S. will cease to exist; however, its presence may diminish until the proper leadership and discipline rekindles it's status. That task is not our responsibility.

Now is not the time to protect the unfit corporations riddled with complacency. It is time move forward and device relief efforts that will aid our economy from the ground up; not from the top down. Big business is inherently inefficient and many corporations have been caught with their pants down in recent months.

Taxpayers’ money should not be handed out to failing industries. Now is a time for decreased regulation and tax reduction. In the current economic climate, we know that cutting taxes is a sound course of action. This is a fundamental concept in economics. It has proven itself, over time, a viable tool to curb recessions. The TARP and proposed subsequent bailouts have no such track record.

Again, I urge a vote against any legislation that allocates taxpayers’ dollars to private industry, whether in the form of loans, grants, or handouts. No company or industry should be too big to fail. Without the reality of failure there is no reason to aspire to excellence.


Sincerely,

Jeremy Evans

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

McCain May Privatize Fannie, Freddie; Obama Sees

Another example of slighlty better economic policy from McCain. I get tired of people complaining about Obama's lack of foregin policy. What about economic policy? Strong economic leadership is what this country needs.

John McCain and Barack Obama agree the Treasury needed to step in to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They disagree over how much the U.S. government should be involved in the housing market once the immediate crisis is past.

Republican Senator McCain of Arizona wants the government to take over the two agencies, split them up, and then exit the mortgage-finance business by selling them off. Democratic Senator Obama of Illinois is suggesting a more lasting federal involvement.


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a1ujoLiLLz78&refer=home

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Palin Steps Forward to Fill In Blanks as National Candidate

Now I know for sure that she is a weak candidate that will make a lousy VP.

``America will have a strong and principled vice president,'' Bush said in a speech delivered via satellite from the White House.

Then, there are the increasing examples of her questionable actions. Looks like her and McCain will win for sure because no one pays attention to this. All they seem to care about is her gender.

Palin's reputation as an agent of change rests on her record as governor. She says she broke with the ``old-boy network'' by facing down oil and gas companies over energy development and tax rates and canceling a project to build a bridge to an island with 50 full-time residents. That project, dubbed the ``bridge to nowhere,'' was to be funded by a $223 million federal budget earmark that became a symbol of congressional spending excess.
In fact, Palin supported the bridge while running for governor, telling the Anchorage Daily News on Oct. 22, 2006, that she would continue state funding for it.
Veco Money
She also accepted $5,000 in campaign contributions in 2001 from executives of Veco Corp., an Anchorage-based oil-services company, when she was running for lieutenant governor. Veco is at the heart of a federal investigation of alleged political corruption; two executives pleaded guilty last year to bribing state politicians.

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXRFPlbM7wuM&refer=home

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

More of St. Paul via I-Witness Video



I-Witness Video uses video to protect civil liberties. We probe police actions at First Amendment events. I-Witness Video has uncovered perjury and abuse by police officers and prosecutors, revealed illegal police surveillance and exposed official lies.

Twin Cities: Police State

Blogging about blogging that blogs about blogging is ridiculous, but this is well wroth the read. I can't stand it when the government takes away our rights.

Twin Cities: Police State

via ACLU Blog: Because Freedom Can't Blog Itself: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union by Suzanne Ito, ACLU on 9/2/08

Scary news has been coming out of Minneapolis since Sunday, where police have been
raiding homes and making mass arrests
. Glenn Greenwald has been all over the story. He writes:

Beginning [Sunday] night, St. Paul was the most militarized I have ever seen an American city be, even more so than Manhattan in the week of 9/11 — with troops of federal, state and local law enforcement agents marching around with riot gear, machine guns, and tear gas canisters, shouting military chants and marching in military formations. Humvees and law enforcement officers with rifles were posted on various buildings and balconies. Numerous protesters and observers were tear gassed and injured.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

McCain's Police State

McCain is suggesting application of military tactics, which are questionable at times, in our neighborhoods. Scary...

As the election rolls forward, it is still unclear who will win (see the latest polls). I continue to be skeptical about the democrats ability to win--what should be--and easy election. I do not support McCain, but I do not underestimate the down home republicans and closet racists in this country. In short, don't be surprised when the government forcibly restricts you further in the freedom and safety.

On Friday at the National Urban League, McCain suggested he'd fight crime using "tactics somewhat like we use in the military."He went on to describe how it would work: "You go into neighborhoods, you clamp down, you provide a secure environment for the people that live there, and you make sure that the known criminals are kept under control," he said. "And you provide them with a stable environment and then they cooperate with law enforcement."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/08/mccains-cure-al.html

Bushisms



"First of all, I don't see America having problems."--George W. Bush, interview with Bob Costas at the 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China, Aug. 10, 2008

This, among other impressive quotes from Dubya, can be found on the
Bushisms: Adventures in George W. Bushspeak website. Updates are added frequently.


The following comments are old, but still impressive. I have spared you the explanations, but included some of the links.

"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

"I don't think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees."

"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it."

America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our people.

I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace.

"It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it."

"We need an energy bill that encourages consumption."

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."

"I'm the master of low expectations."

"First, let me make it very clear - poor people aren't necessarily killers."

"The legislature's job is to write law. It's the executive branch's job to interpret law."

"You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on."

Monday, August 18, 2008

The Bridge Debate; When Will It End?

While I rarely cross the current I-5 bridge over the Columbia River, my opinion counts too.

For months the debate has raged over the proposed replacement of the interstate which connects Vancouver and Portland via I-5. With a sliding price, more accurately ascending, now estimated at $4.2 Billion, the project is projected to cost twice as much as originally thought.

As a gainfully employed taxpayer, I am scrutinizing this plan for significant personal and/or community benefit.

http://www.assmotax.org/Releases/AMCT%20release:%20building%20more%20roads%20relieves%20your%20wallet,%20not%20congestion.php

http://www.columbiarivercrossing.org/CurrentTopics/LPA.aspx

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1218947109273750.xml&coll=7

http://www.kgw.com/environment/stories/kgw_081608_news_I-5_bridge_impacts.4492c36.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Bridge

http://news.opb.org/article/2750-protesters-voice-opposition-new-bridge-lng-pipeline/