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Clinton Bush Haiti Fund: Donate Now
: ....and the Republican Beef is?
The Republicans have been on a continued warpath to circumvent Barack Obama's agenda at every turn. The healthcare debate has shown that all they are interested in an outright power grab to implement their narrow idelogical vision on the country. They are opposed to anything that remotely insures that the average person has a fighting chance. Paul Ryan's plan to replace Medicare with vouchers is just one of those extreme examples.

While the Republicans have continued to dominate the airwaves and win the public relations war, the real world goes on. There was a spike in unemployment not withstanding the 51,000 hires for the Census temporary jobs. The "real" unemployment rate stands at 16.8 Percent, on par with Spain. What Republicans should take notice of is a speech by the US Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue. He spoke and made five key points:


* First, we can create jobs by doubling U.S. exports in five years.
* Second—we can create jobs by rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
* Third—we can create jobs with major investments and breakthroughs in energy.
* Fourth—we can create jobs by expanding credit across our economy.
* Fifth—to create jobs we must ease the uncertainty over tax increases as well as health, environmental, labor, legal, and fiscal policies.

What the stimulus did was to insure that all items were addressed. What he also noted was that the US Infrastructure is "running out of capacity" and has to be rebuilt to deal with 21st Century challenges. This is as China came out with growth anticipated to be around 8 percent per year because it has undertaken a massive investment to continue on the cutting edge on all fronts. The full speech can be accesssed at: Really Long Link


Mr. Pence called the current path by the Adminstration "a failure". I hope that Mr. Pence (who apparently has Presidential aspirations) to take the time to review the Chamber's recommendations and not merely hold on to the old ways of just tax cuts and more tax cuts. There needs to be a concerted effort to actually invest too. There should absolutely be a concerted effort to make sure that we deploy resources in a smart and responsible way. This should not be at the expense of creating a society of haves and have nots.

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After the Stimulus.....

March 2nd 2010 08:38
: Then What?
Recovery.Gov is reporting that it has paid out almost 40% of the 787 Billion Dollars in Stimulus Money. So far, almost 93 Billion Dollars has been in the form of Tax Cuts. The balance has been in the form of contracts and entitlements.

The loyal opposition in the Congress has been on the record noting how the stimulus has "failed". It has noted that not a single job has been preserved. This notion was reinforced by Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona the other day when he noted that unemployment does not create jobs. This was done in defense of the stunt that Jim Bunning pulled that would cost the Government even more to get it done now. I regard Jim Bunning 's bizzare stunt as the most extreme manifestation of what the loyal opposition in the U.S. Congress is hell bent on doing. I have noted that some 325,000 teachers not losing their jobs in and of itself is an achievement. In addition, it is clear that that the short term macro-economic effect has helped to forestall an even more dire situation.

Where the problem lies is the day after the stimulus is paid out. What then? What if the economy has not turned a corner? Will businesses start investing and hiring? Will consumers have the courage to spend again? What I see on Main Street right now does not give me much hope. But tomorrow is always another day.

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: The Lines Are Clearly Drawn....
I was pleased to see the reports that the Economy is on the mend. The President talked about it during the State of the Union. I especially was jazzed about the 5.7% growth of GDP during the 4th Quarter of 2009. Jobs, though, continue to be lost--albeit at a slower pace. But, if anyone thinks we're out of the woods--I have a bridge in Alaska that I really want to suggest that they go out and check out. The point is that this growth is not translating into much.

President Obama hit the road noting that there is a lot yet to be done. He noted that 1 in 10 Americans can't find work. The President needs to be reminded that the actual number is almost 1 in 17. In California, it is almost 1 in 20. I think the President was brilliant in how he went on the offense with the Republicans during their Policy retreat on Friday:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy


The President made a strong start here. Although he made the case for what he inherited, this will not hold water for much longer partly because The Republicans have done a masterful job to switch the debate. I think that the President's State of the Union and this appearance at the Republican Conference will define the parameters of the 2010 campaign. Their solutions presented to the President on Friday is proving to be interesting reading and I would be talking about it over the ensuing weeks. For those who are interested, they can visit http://solutions.gop.gov. One question that the Republicans never seem to have an answer for: Where were they during the years they were in the majority? Why now? Why should the President and the country listen to them?

Beyond the "politics", there is of course the little matter of the impact on Main Street. I talked to a UPS Driver. I think UPS is a very good indicator of what is going on in the economy. The last reports from UPS and FedEx noted how they "met the numbers". But, it is the plight of such drivers that interests me even more. He noted that in 33 years of working for UPS, this is the worst he had seen and did not anticipate any improvements. There is of course the plight of the Crystal Catheral in Orange County, California. The mega church, founded by the Rev. Robert Schuller, announced cutbacks due to a massive shortfall in revenues. It also cancelled its' fabled "Glory of Easter" Production that is a wonderful depiction of true Glory of Easter. Although such "indicators" may be depressing and not indicative of the "growth", what is being reported will take a while to trickle down.

I continue to be thankful for the online resources available to us all to keep all leaders honest:




Although I am certain that the leadership in Washington realizes the challenges, I continue to wonder when will this realization translate into concerte action?

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What Should We Focus On?

January 5th 2010 08:09
: Why Should we care?
A very good friend turned me on to the National Priorities Project Website. With the Continued challenges we face in America, I was fascinated by what they had done. There is a cool feature that actualy analyzes what could have been done if the monies spent would have somehow been routed towards long-term sustainable development. I realize that some will question the analysis and the rationale. But the implications are staggering:


[ Click here to read more ]
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: And???
The World
The G20 Class of 2009

The World's top 20 countries have desended upon London. London has braced itself for anarchy. Anyone who does not understand the anxiety felt by the people of the world seems to be living in fantasyland


[ Click here to read more ]
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Davos: Reflections

January 30th 2009 05:43
: Wow!!!!
The world is right now fascinated with Davos. The rich, the famous and the powerful are all there in paradise talking about the world and all the problems. There is enough being said by all pundits which will speak for itself on Davos. But, two key things occured which I wanted to note:

1) Turkey's Prime Minister Edrogan stormed out of a discussion with Shimon Peres during discusisons on Gaza. Edrogan was given a minute by David Ignathius of the Washington Post to rebute a lengthy comment by Shimon Peres. I think the gesture by Mr. Edrogan must be taken seriously by Israel. It shows the frustration with Israel and the fact that as Amr Mousa said, Israel "does not listen". I was quite disappointed by David Ignathius when he did not grant equal time during the discussions. It seems to me that Dinner could have waited


[ Click here to read more ]
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