Responses - With All Of Your Might

Below are just two of the responses I received to the subject message - one calls for action & the other makes an observation.  Nancy Pelosi has signaled that Universal Healthcare - BO's highest priority - is not dead saying that she "will climb the wall, catapult over the wall, or helicopter over the wall to get it passed into law."  It is a real shame that we have to keep fighting too - just like the statists - with all of our might.

 

---Response #1---

 

Video with the "I's" was something....yes we need to FIGHT....BO's program....we are trying to take ACTION in whatever ways we can.

 

---Response #2---

 

an observation - that BO is intent on separating himself from all those politicians, he is the good guy fighting against all odds.  Again the reference to lobbyists - so why did he appoint them? And Washington wants us to believe this and that, but it is his Washington.  Of course, the Senate pushed through the additional stimulus bill the next morning to present to Congress before Brown is sworn in.  Nothing has changed!

With All Of Your Might

Many of you are probably like me in that you received several messages over the past few days telling you in advance what purportedly would be in BO's State of the Union speech last night. We had a good idea about the State of the Union speech from BO's visit last Friday to the Cleveland blue collar manufacturing suburb of Elyria that was billed as a trip about jobs & the economy - in Elyria BO repeatedly went off this jobs & economy script to return to his first priority of enacting Universal Healthcare & he continued it last night in the State of the Union speech saying he would fight for it "so long as I have breath in me."

AFP analyzed the Elyria speech & found that BO actually said the word "taxpayers" two times & the words "small business" 8 times. Please watch this video to see how many times BO referred to himself with "I" or "me".

Conspicuous by their absence in the State of the Union speech was any mention of closing the Guantanamo prison, reversing his (not Holder's) decision to try admitted terrorist KSM in NYC, or his latest passed deadline of December 31 for Iran to take up his invitation to negotiate regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

The new leaf BO was supposed to turn over regarding budgetary discipline & the freezing of the discretionary portion of the federal budget turns out to be just another gimmick that insults our intelligence.

AFP reports that "the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office just released its projections for the coming year and they found something interesting. Without Obama's "freeze," discretionary spending would actually decrease over the next four years. So by freezing spending at today's higher level, it would mean spending more!

One more thing about the "freeze" - it freezes in place all of the huge spending increases from Obama's first year in office. When the stimulus was passed, we were told it would be temporary; Obama's freeze would extend that spending for three more years. Don't be fooled."

A caller to Neal Boortz's radio program today said that BO's freeze is like someone who just bought a $5 million house he can't afford saying that he is going to rein in his profligate spending by not buying any new doorknobs for the house for the next three years.

Although BO discussed many things in his 70 minute State of the Union speech you could easily read between the lines to see that his top priorities remain the same:

1. Universal Healthcare

2. Cap & Trade

3. Comprehensive Immigration Reform

The first two respectively will put government in control of your body & your money & the third will ensure the election of statists like BO by empowering through the ballot box the poorest, lowest skilled, most uneducated people in the world @ your expense.

BO said he will fight "so long as he has breath in him" - & I believe that he will with my whole heart & soul. If America as we know her, our Founders, your way of life, & the life of our Posterity are important to you, you should fight against BO's programs as hard as you can every chance that you get - with all of your might

Letter To WSJ - Harold Ford Jr. Weekend Interview

Below is the subject letter.  Carol told me to put in the part about the five & a half year old business.  The statists just keep picking winners & losers don't they?

 

Dear Editor,

 

Jason Riley's weekend interview with Harold Ford Jr. exposed Mr. Ford as just another status quo two party statist who does not have the answers that America is calling for & needs as indicated by the tens of thousands of people who have attended Tea Parties & Town Hall meetings over the past nine months.

 

Specifically Mr. Ford calls for a "six month exemption from payroll taxes for all firms less than five years old" - hope your struggling new business is not five & a half years old.  Ford also calls for "extend(ing) the current capital gains & dividend rates through 2012" & of course there is the old tired McCain call to "lower the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 25%" presumably to make America more competitive.

 

The aforementioned Tea Partiers & Town Hallers are the only thing that has stopped ObamaCare & these people are looking for real solutions like the FairTax.

 

The FairTax replaces the taxes on our productivity with a consumption tax that is the result of a $23 million peer-reviewed study over a three year period.  The FairTax improves Mr. Ford's proposals by completely eliminating the payroll tax, the capital gains tax, dividend taxes, & the corporate income tax forever.  How much more competitive do you want to get?

101.5 FM Radio Host Links FairTax To Webpage

Following Jim Bennett's appearance on 101.5 FM radio on January 13 the host of the show Jim Gearhart has linked the FairTax national website to his webpage on the station.  Mr. Gearhart did not take questions from his audience during the segment because he said that he did not know enough about the FairTax.  One of the purposes of such appearances is to wet the interest of the host so that he does his own research to understand the principles of the FairTax.  In this case it appears that Jim Gearhart has done his homework as evidenced by the link he posted.  All of these kinds of steps are so important as we move the FairTax forward by the constant beating of the drum.

Michael Reagan's First FairTax Message

Below is the first message directly from our new FairTax Chairman, Michael Reagan.  Please consider joining the Reagan FairTax victory team by clicking the arrow under Michael's photo.  You can become a Captain, Leader, or Team Member.  We have this opportunity - someone of Michael Reagan's stature joining the FairTax movement so please make the most of it. 

Update My Preferences  |  Tell-A-Friend  |  Visit FairTax.org

"Our federal tax system is, in short, utterly impossible, utterly unjust and completely counterproductive, it reeks with injustice and is fundamentally un-American... it has earned a rebellion and it's time we rebelled..." President Ronald Reagan Dear Doug,  You know Ronald Reagan as one of the greatest Presidents in American history. I knew him growing up as "Dad." Growing up with him was nothing short of an adventure. He was full of love and warmth and the strength of belief and character. He embraced liberty and the bold and just vision of our Founding Fathers. I have no doubt my father would be one of the FairTax's greatest champions had it had existed in his day. Therefore, as his eldest son, I have added my voice to the great FairTax cause. It is time, past time for our next tax revolution—together we can make it happen! Today I join you in the work you have accomplished with gratitude for what has been done already and a keen sense of how much more needs to be done. Will you join me as we drive this year of 2010 The Year of the FairTax? This should be the Year of the FairTax! This is the 30th Anniversary of my father's successful campaign for President. Then, as now, the nation was mired in a deep economic recession, our nation was viewed as in decline domestically and internationally, and the American people were looking for real, positive and substantive change in the direction of our country. My father, Ronald Reagan, offered and went on to provide just that, real and positive change for the United States. The FairTax will provide the same kind of free enterprise driven economic growth, simplified tax system, reduced taxes to honest Americans, millions of new jobs and a realistic way of dealing with the massive and rapidly growing deficit. As my father said: "We need true tax reform that will at least make a start toward restoring for our children the American Dream that wealth is denied to no one, that each individual has the right to fly as high as his strength and ability will take him. . . . But we cannot have such reform while our tax policy is engineered by people who view the tax as a means of achieving changes in our social structure." He was right then—and that's why the FairTax is right now. It is time the political class heard from the rest of us about public policy that actually benefits the public instead of Washington insiders. I have signed the petition to the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and I'll ask you to sign, too, if you have not already. Click here to add your name and your voice. After so long there simply is no good reason that we have not seen a fair and balanced hearing on the FairTax—especially when it can do so much to save our nation. We will have to make it happen and I am ready to do everything I can to win this hearing---and to win enactment of the FairTax. In the coming weeks and months, expect to see me on the national stage for the FairTax. I'll be asking a lot of you because our nation needs each of us right now. This is our year and I am thrilled to join the fight.   Michael Reagan Chairman, FairTax National Victory Campaign PS: I am told you have invested in and become of Member of the FairTax organization. That's great. Now I want you to help me recruit millions more Americans to our great FairTax cause. Please tell friends, family and coworkers about the FairTax. Click here to Invite them to join us by signing the Official Petition to Chairman Rangel to hold a fair and open hearing on the FairTax. Thank you.

Detroit - Microcosm Of America's Future

Many thanks to Steve Lonegan for providing the link for this video that shows parallels between present day Detroit & America's future based on our country following the same exact government dependent policies that led to Detroit's ruination over the past 50 years. The city has exclusively had Democrat Party mayors since 1961 who all envisioned a state dependent city as their goal just like BO envisions America as a socialist country for starters.

The UAW ran the auto industry into the ground & the teachers' union in Detroit ran education into the ground resulting in the following horrible statistics:

1. Detroit had the highest household median income of any city in 1950. Today it rates 66th out of 68 cities measured.

2. Detroit's population in 1950 was 1.8 million. Today it is 900,000. Where did half of the population go?

3. Unemployment was in the 13 to 16% range in Detroit from 2003 to 2008 when it was less than 5% nationally for most of this time. Today unemployment is 28% in Detroit.

4. The median price of a house in Detroit is $7,100 - that is not a misprint.

5. In 1950 the former Big Three auto makers had almost 90% of the auto industry market share. Today it is under 50%. The industry in this former city of prosperity forgot that when you are on top you have to work all the harder to stay there. The Big Three found that they were not immune to market pressures such as costs & product quality.

6. The Big Three are saddled with large unfunded pension obligations & healthcare costs of thousands of retirees (sound familiar America). Almost 500,000 retirees collect benefits - the active work force is 300,000. About $1500 per vehicle produced in 2007 was spent on healthcare.

7. Only 25% of Detroit children graduate from high school. You can only wonder what any of them learned. Detroit spends $11,100 per student - $2000 higher than the national average.

It is obvious that the people who create wealth & value disappeared from Detroit over the decades. But Detroit is not an isolated example - there is out migration in recent years of tens of thousands from California, New York City, & New Jersey. Gangs & daily kidnapping make Phoenix, Tuscan, & other SW cities undesirable & Nevada has one of the worst housing foreclosure markets in the nation.

Anyone with the most rudimentary understanding of America knows that America was founded on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, & free enterprise. Just ask yourself to identify one of BO's programs that is not intended to reverse these principles & when you cannot you can see America coming into focus one day soon looking like present day Detroit as depicted in the video.

Unemployment & the standard of living in a country or city are functions of the market value of all the socialist programs of the past in that country or city & the result of Detroit's ruinous accumulation of such programs should make every one who sees & understands this do every thing they can to peacefully stop BO's programs dead in their tracks while we still can.

The QALY Surprise In BO's Healthcare Insurance Reform Plan

Below is a message sent to us from a subscriber to ReturnToExcellence.net regarding some of the problems many seniors will encounter with BO's healthcare insurance reform plan.  In this case the person described below is about to run afoul of the cost-benefit principle known to health economists as the quality-adjusted life year (QALY).  Many people who today receive medical treatment will be denied it after BO's plan is enacted into law because of this principle - the cost of the intervention is not warranted by the benefit to their remaining quality of life.  The value for money for medical intervention will be denied in favor of hospice counseling. 

 

BO's budget stats & claims regarding paying for his healthcare insurance reform plan without adding to the deficit count very heavily on QALY in effecting the $475 billon in cuts to Medicare over the next 10 years.  QALY is a good way to decrease costs.

 

Now I was reminded that the devil is in the details of all of this after a recent conversation with a friend who retired early in South Carolina.  Readers of this blog will know full well just how shocked I was when she told me that she thinks BO is doing a good job.  It didn't take long to find out why - she does not have adequate healthcare insurance & she hopes BO's plan passes so she will get it.  Her personal desire for healthcare insurance trumped the importance of every other issue BO is pursuing to America's detriment without considering or realizing what affect they will have on her life.

 

Now my friend was never very enlightened regarding economics or too interested in politics but I can only wonder how she could retire (especially early) without determining how to pay for healthcare in her senior years.  The real bad news for people who are counting on BO providing them healthcare insurance is that the benefits will not go into effect until 2014 & lack of coverage based on QALY will be another unpleasant surprise.  Once again "you only get what you pay for."  Also letting someone else pick or limit your coverage is a pig in a poke which is a fitting description of BO's plan.

 

Thomas Sowell asks "why would you expect someone else to provide for you what you do not provide for yourself?"  Dr. Sowell's question most certainly applies to those who are now expecting the government to provide first class healthcare insurance for them when they did not take the steps needed to provide any for themselves. 

 

---SENIORS WAKE UP---
 
Rec'd this from a good friend of ours in Corpus who was diagnosed with cancer last year.  See what his doctor is saying....
 
Wednesday, I was at the doctor whom I have been going to since we moved down here (he is the one who discovered my cancer).  I have to get a very expensive shot every 3 months ($3000) that is designed to keep the PSI down and help to prevent a recurrence of the cancer.  Has some uncomfortable side effects, and I was questioning the need to continue with it, which he assured me was necessary.  He then asked how old I was, and when I replied 70, he said that if this legislation goes through as intended by the powers that be, that I probably would not be able to get it next year, as that would be money better spent on someone else with greater longevity.  I would be referred to someone to "counsel" me.

I asked him why the AMA had recently endorsed the plan.  He replied that only about 15% of the nation's doctors were members of AMA, and most of them were not really on the front lines of doctor hood but in some other areas of medicine.  He said he was a member, but would not be after this membership year.
 
This man got part of his training in London, and practiced in Canada for 16 years before coming to the US, and he has no use for socialized medicine, regardless of how you wrap it, or what kind of bow to put on it.  He said that we have a shortfall of around 400,000 doctors at the present time, and many of today's doctors are of the baby boomer generation who are nearing retirement and/or will decide to hang it up rather than deal with the results this is sure to bring.

In England no one over 59 can receive heart repairs or stents or bypass because it is not covered as being too expensive and not needed.
 

Michael Reagan Joins FairTax Effort

Below is a message from Ken Hoagland letting us know that Michael Reagan has become a FairTax supporter.  Adding FairTax exposure to Michael's national radio audience is a great addition to having  Boortz & Huckabee as spokesmen. 

Dear Doug, I have some very, very exciting news to share with you. Michael Reagan, the eldest son of former President Ronald Reagan, has just agreed to act as the Honorary Chairman of the FairTax National Victory Campaign! I wanted to tell you first. Mike believes, and we agree, that if the FairTax had existed during his father's time, President Reagan would have been a strong proponent. It's not a hard conclusion to reach given that his father said this: "Our federal tax system is, in short, utterly impossible, utterly unjust and completely counterproductive, it reeks with injustice and is fundamentally un-American... it has earned a rebellion and it's time we rebelled..." Mike has now agreed to help us get the second American tax revolt moving into high gear. That means a lot of Congressional communications, media work, radio, telephone recordings and television. It means a broader base of supporters behind the beloved legacy of Ronald Reagan, one of our greatest Presidents. We have needed a strong public "face" and voice for the FairTax and it is hard to imagine a better champion for our needed cause. I've written you before that this will become the "Year of the FairTax" and this is a big step forward toward that goal. Please help me welcome the newest leader to our work and a fine person. I'll have more news about our campaign progress soon and other "inside" details of the work. Thanks for everything you do and for your steady support. You are the heart of our campaign. Ken P.S. I know that you've already signed your name on the petition demanding that the Ways and Means Committee finally hold a hearing on the FairTax. Thank you. Can I ask you now to send this petition to everyone you know? If you click here you'll find an easy way to forward this to your friends and family.

Another Barometer - Massachusetts Senate Election

The subject election set for January 19 to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy could provide another indication of a change in the political mood of the electorate following the first year of BO's presidency.

 

The three-way debate held on Monday night between Democrat Martha Coakley, Republican Scott Brown, & Independent Joe Kennedy (no relation to the late senator) revealed many similarities to other recent races as well as future ones - both upcoming primaries & the general election next fall.

 

In summary the Democrat, if elected, will be a reliable vote in the Senate for BO on everything except sending troops to any front (country) in the war against Islamic Fascists - a distraction that is a nuisance to BO in that it impedes his real plans.  You could easily get the idea from the debate that the Republican is a so-called moderate & the Independent is the only one of the three who "doesn't get anything out of it" but is a normal American just trying to help his country which is just what we need more of.

 

The power of the two party system was on full display as the Independent was all but ignored standing there for much of the debate like a potted plant.  When allowed to talk the Independent, unlike the other two, gave specific examples of where he would cut spending while the Republican could not give a clear opinion on global warming & the Democrat (laughingly) stated that she was a fiscal conservative - it was two big government candidates against one little government candidate.

 

The point of this message is not to totally judge the Republican or the Independent based on a one hour debate although there is no mistaking the Democrat as being a typical Massachusetts statist.  The point is that all of a sudden a race like this in Massachusetts of all places seems to be tightening.  I doubt that the Independent will win & may not even make a good showing.  But for the Republican to win or make a good showing in Massachusetts is important to everyone who needs encouragement to find, support, & work for good candidates that will make the difference in America's future.

 

If on the other hand the Democrat wins by the usual Massachusetts comfortable margin it is just business as usual in the state with one more affirmation that the majority prefers government dependence.  We can only wonder what that portends for the rest of us as America moves to the last stage of Death Of Democracy.  Do we accept the inevitable statist encroachment on all of America or fight all the harder?  Pretty clear choice for all of us who love liberty.

 

FairTax Rescheduled On 101.5 FM Radio

Jim Bennett's appearance on NJ 101.5 FM radio was rescheduled @ the last minute from today to Wednesday January 13 to be aired shortly after 8 AM. If you live in or around New Jersey, you can tune in on your radio to 101.5 FM. If you are outside the signal area, you can listen on your computer by clicking on this link - click on "Listen Now" in the upper right-hand corner. You can call in with your questions and comments to 1-(800) 283-1015.

Jim Bennett is a champion FairTax speaker so please take advantage of this opportunity.

FairTax On 101.5 FM Radio

Jim Bennett will be the guest on the Jim Gearhart Show on NJ 101.5 FM radio shortly after 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday January 12, 2010 to be interviewed on the FairTax. There is no better spokesman for the FairTax than Jim Bennett.

Jim Gearhart's morning radio talk show, out of Trenton, is heard throughout New Jersey and is one of the most popular in the state. It competes effectively with media out of New York and Philadelphia. Jim Gearhart focuses on New Jersey topics, so it is fortunate to receive an invitation to talk about federal tax reform.

If you live in or around New Jersey, you can tune in on your radio to 101.5 FM (The call letters are WKXW, but they are never used). If you are outside the signal area, you can listen on your computer by logging on to this link. Click on "Listen Now" in the upper right-hand corner.

You can call in with your questions and comments to 1-(800) 283-1015. Don't be bashful about flooding the switchboard. Appearing on this station is a great opportunity that many of you have encouraged for quite some time so please make the most of it.

Constitutional Challenges To Healthcare Reform Bill

Thanks to a subscriber to ReturnToExcellence.net for sending this link for what could be the first Constitutional challenge of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) along with her comment - "knew it wouldn't pass unnoticed!".

This potential challenge is a letter sent to Pelosi & Reid signed by 13 state attorneys general (led by Henry McMaster of SC) because "the current iteration of the bill contains a provision that affords special treatment to the state of Nebraska under the federal Medicaid program. We believe this provision is constitutionally flawed. As chief legal officers of our states we are contemplating a legal challenge to this provision and we ask you to take action to render this challenge unnecessary by striking that provision."

Now undoing the vote bribing money secured by Senator Ben Nelson for Nebraska would ensure that the entire healthcare reform charade that momentarily ended on Christmas Eve would again be thrown into a cocked hat as the Senate-House conference to reconcile the two final versions of the bills officially began today - don't think BO did not scorch the telephone lines between Hawaii & Washington over the holidays pushing the issue.

The AGs specify that "by singling out the particular provision relating to special treatment of Nebraska, we do not suggest there are no other legal or constitutional issues in the proposed health care legislation" & they are so correct. For instance as Orrin Hatch, Ken Blackwell, & Ken Klukowski recently wrote in the WSJ - 1) Congress does not have the power to require Americans to purchase health insurance; 2) The selective spending targeted @ certain states like Nebraska & Louisiana violates the General Welfare clause of the Constitution; & 3) Congress does not have the power to command states to establish such things as benefit exchanges thereby violating the letter, spirit, & interpretation of our federal-state form of government.

Just think of the encroachment of state onto church to require members of faith-based-healing churches like Christian Science to purchase healthcare insurance - especially when you consider that these people will not use the medical benefits after they purchase the insurance relying instead on prayer & their own metaphysical practitioners.

And Idaho State House Member Phil Hart states that "the health care surcharge on the today’s income tax, which constitutes an unapportioned direct tax on the wages and salaries of the American People, (is) not allowed by our Constitution."

So the Constitution provides several more defenses against the abuse of the impending healthcare reform bill.

Thanks also to Arizona Congressman John Shadegg who has introduced the Enumerated Powers Act into every Congress since the mid 1990s. This Act requires Congress to specify the source of authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws and for other purposes. I originally reported to our group on the Enumerated Powers Act on April 13, 2008 & have posted that message on the blog under "Classics" - some of the links from the message are no longer in existence & the bill # has changed but you will get the idea from the posting.

You would think that since every Member of Congress takes an oath to support & defend the Constitution that the Enumerated Powers Act would either be unnecessary or that it would be unanimously supported & yet it only has 56 co-sponsors.

You will learn that by no coincidence the author of the bill & most of the co-sponsors are also backers & co-sponsors of HR 25, The FairTax Act of 2009.