Let's take a look "Up Close and Personal."
1, Permanently stop all job-killing tax hikes. What this really means is that they want to maintain the Bush tax cuts and call a failure to extend an end-date created by Bush, a tax hike. Here is the deal, if spending stays constant, then any loss of revenue will increase the national debt. So, this, taken by itself, lowers revenue without impacting spending so the net effect is a bigger national debt. There is an argument that keeping more money in the hands of the taxpayers will stimulate the economy. I agree with this. So, let's put it in the hands of those most likely to spend it. I am quite certain that a poor person is more likely to spend than a rich person. Give an extra $500 to a poor person and they will buy food and shelter. Give $500 to a billionaire and he will put it in a coin jar. This is why the tax cut extension for those making less than $200K is better then extending it to everyone. By the way, even the rich will get the tax break on their first $200K. Additionally, the rich get most of their income through capital gains which is taxed at 15% while the poor are taxed on income which is 25%. The poor are already paying a higher rate. This pledge is merely an attempt to cater to the rich. Not a bad strategy since its the rich that pay $1,000 a plate at fund raisers. Overall, this gets a Thumbs Down.
2. Give small businesses a tax break. I am a small business owner. This is a big plus for me so I am a big supporter of this point. Thumbs Up.
3. Rein in the red tape in Washington. I just waded through a ton of that with my wife's immigration issue. This is where government needs to shrink. Thumbs Up.
4. Act immediately to reduce spending. I am mixed on this one. There is a lot of strong evidence that the stimulus package saved us from a certain depression. There are those that say much of the money was wasted. This is way overblown. The GOP reported about 20 million used to build a wine train to Napa. In reality, it was used to build anti-flooding zones for the area and part of it meant raising the bridge of the existing wine train so they could build a levi. This willingness of the GOP to lie about this brings into question all of their other claims of mismanagement. Also, the GOP will claim we bailed out the banks. True, but the other half of the story is that the money is now being paid back with a very handsome return (8% on average). If reduce spending means cutting out the waste, I'm all for it. However, the GOP is really trying to make us believe the stimulus package was a waste. That simply is not close to being true. I give this a Thumbs Down just because of the misleading aspects of it.
5. There are a couple of statements about responsible budgeting. I am in favor of that in principle. Thumbs Up.
6. End Tarp. This is just propaganda. Every economist of note agrees that the Tarp fund was needed. The GOP knows this but they are hoping you don't. Thumbs Down.
7. Root out government waste and duplication. This feels like a duplication of earlier points and I still agree with it. Thumbs Up.
8. Replace Obamacare. My 22 year old daughter has insurance for the first time since she left home at the age of 18. Thank you Obamacare. There are a lot of great things about this. However, I think it is not complete in some places and heavy handed in others. I would welcome a review of this program but don't drop it until something better is ready to go. The GOP wants to go after tort reform and I am a big fan. The GOP wants to take the mandatory coverage out, which is now a big burden on states and I agree with that as well. I give this a Conditional Thumbs Up.
9. Get tough on terrorists. Wow! What a great idea! How come no one else ever thought of that? I think this is just political talk. It implies that Obama wants to open the doors to them. This is the type of Fear mongering that got me to vote for George W six years ago; a vote I will forever regret. Thumbs Down on the rationale for including this here.
10. Fully fund missile defense. You have got to be kidding me. Who are we getting ready to fight? Aliens from outer space? This is more of the "Be afraid and don't worry, we will protect you," strategy of the GOP. They are reaching back to Ronald Reagan years to find something we all support. They failed to notice that there is no one out there to shoot ICBMs at us. This is a hugely expensive undertaking. Why do it? Especially when Russia is starting to climb into bed with us. This is pure political BS and I give it a big Thumbs Down.
11. Get tough on Iran. I am all for this but I don't think anyone knows how to do that right. Bush invaded Iraq and Afghanistan and there was nothing there. To me, getting tough is standing way, way back, and then dropping a few bunker buster bombs on a handful of sites. Bomb Iran's nuclear sites down to bedrock. The world might get pissed off but they will get over it. Let's face it, we are going to piss people off no matter how we handle it. Thumbs Up.
12. Immigration. They want to make it tougher to get into the states legally and illegally. They want fences and more stringent visa management. I am very familiar with this. First of all, a 20 foot fence can be scaled with a 21 foot ladder. The fence will cost billions. The ladder...maybe twenty bucks. One of the reasons people come in illegally, is because it is nearly impossible to come in legally. It took 5 YEARS before my wife could come over. The United States loses $90 Bn a year because people opt to vacation elsewhere. Their reason for choosing a new venue - Bush era rules that cause humiliation when then come over to drop off a few paychecks. My wife has come through several times before we were married. Nearly every time, she was taken to a back room and scolded for entering the country. She would come out in tears. This, in spite of just coming over for a week to visit with a perfectly legal visa. High school dropouts in uniform guard our borders and airports. I am all for fixing immigration. The GOP's politically sweet sounding sound bites on this issue are way, way off the mark. A big Thumbs Down.
Overall, I'm glad the GOP finally said they stand for something. This is the first time they haven't just said, "No, we can't support that." I would like to encourage them to keep thinking about ways to make our country better. However, this "pledge" still reeks of political spin.
I would write my own pledge but I'm too busy - I have a world to save.
Up, up and away...
j
