Day: January 6, 2011

Takeover Thursdays – Republicans resume control of the House…

Posted on by Bobby Broadway

Nancy Pelosi hands over Majority Speaker of the House to John Boehner

So here we go folks, “The Boys Are Back in Town”…

Republicans are once again in control of the House Of Representatives and this time things will be different!

Seriously, Boehner and the Republicans promise this will not be a repeat of 1994 when they took control of the House during the Clinton presidency.  They will not make the same mistakes that was made back then as they understand that the House is for the people and not a toy for career congressmen.  Yesterday (1/5/2011) Speaker Boehner officially became the Majority Speaker of the House and during his address to the House laid down a framework (Rules Package) for a “New Congress”.

“No longer can we fall short… No longer can we kick the can down the road… The people voted to end business as usual and today we begin to carry out their instructions.”

“The American people have humbled us; they have refreshed our memories to just how temporary the privilege of serving is.  They have reminded us that everything here is on loan from them…”

Boehner focused on the following key points:

  • An emphasis on ‘REAL’ transparency
  • Greater accountability
  • A renewed focus on the constitution
  • Legislators and public will have 3 days to review bills before they come up for vote
  • Implement Cut-as-you-go; in order to introduce any spending you must first make cuts in other areas to pay for the spending
  • A fair an open process
  • You will always have the right for a debate to make your case and offer alternatives on legislations

Hmmmm, I have to admit at first glance the above framework for running the House SEEMS to be impressive… BUT it took Republicans less than a day for them to already break one of their “RULES”.  During Boehner’s speech he made sure to point out that a Nancy Pelosi run House did not allow for real debate and that would not be the case under his watch.  Well I guess Eric Cantor must have missed the memo; Cantor has already stated he will put forward a repeal bill (repeal health-care law aka Obamacare) but he will not allow amendments from the Democrats.

Um, that doesn’t sound like a…

fair an open process or a debate allowing everyone the chance to offer alternatives on legislation!!

This is the “New Congress”?

I am more than willing to give the Republicans a chance to do their thing but come on guys, at least let the dust settle before you start breaking your own rules.  It’s still early but the GOP is not showing me anything; they rather work on repealing Obamacare as they call it instead of focusing on the deficit and creating jobs.  Speaking of deficits, I thought Republicans and the Tea Party were serious about controlling spending and running a fiscally responsible government?

If that is the case, why would they not include tax cuts as part of their Cut-As-You-Go program?  Republicans made sure that tax cuts were exempt from Cut-As-You-Go; this will allow the House to present tax cut legislation that could be unpaid for and add to our already $14 Trillion dollar National Deficit.

I don’t know John Boehner this looks a whole lot like “Business As Usual”

but I guess “We can disagree without being disagreeable….

As always….

If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!

WTF/WTH Wednesdays – States Running Out of Money…

Posted on by Bobby Broadway

A couple of months ago I was one of the critics of New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie when he cancelled the largest infrastructure project in the United States; the new tunnel between New Jersey and New York which could have doubled commuter train service.  This project would have created 6,000 construction jobs and 45,000 jobs once it was completed.  When you look at it from that point of view of course it looks to be a RIDICULOUS decision, BUT when you look at the reality of the budget situations for states I don’t know how anyone can expect Christie to move forward with a huge expenditure like the Hudson River Tunnel.

As Christie stated on 60 Minutes the Day of Reckoning is here, how much longer can we continue to spend without first securing the fiscal stability of this country?  The answer is not much longer…

States are going broke and Joe Q Public doesn’t seem to realize this is going on; states are spending more than they take and raising taxes is NOT the answer.  Just look at New York, New Yorker’s pay a ton in taxes for years now and we still have a $10 Billion dollar deficit.  So what is the answer??

STATES HAVE TO STOP SPENDING!!!!!

We can’t expect Governors like Christie to OK projects they can’t pay for and create a larger deficit while already facing a $10 Billion deficit.  As the 60 Minutes piece highlighted a state like Illinois is a complete joke, it’s a DEADBEAT state.  They spend double the amount they take in from taxes; what sense does that make?

If we don’t start paying attention to this situation and STOP the demonization of Governors like Christie and Andrew Cuomo who are making the tough decisions; raising taxes on the rich and corporations will no longer cover as they only put a band-aide on what is really the issue.

Ask yourself this…  If you owned a business how long could you run that business spending more money than you actually took in?

In actuality it is simpler than that; if you live on your own and pay rent/mortgage and have bills like electricity/water.  How long could you stay above water if your expenses were greater than your income?  NOT VERY LONG!!!!

Unlike States, John Q Public does not have the federal government to bail them out… and with our National Deficit hovering around $14 Trillion soon States will not have the D.C. to bail them out.  If people thought the snow removal 2 weeks ago was bad; you haven’t seen anything yet.

CUTS CUTS CUTS to all types of City and State services….

As always….

If there is something to be said, “It’s On Broadway” to step up and say it!!