Commentary on "Tax Payers Dollars"

I fully agree that the United States government needs to use the tax payer’s money in a way that will help the U.S. in the future. The war on terror is an expense we must spend, but Bin Laden did exactly what he wanted to do, drain funds in a war and put us in financial turmoil. Now we have sunk more than $3 Trillion that could have been used to update our infrastructure, invest in our educational system and green energy to relieve our dependence on foreign oil. Now the United States is in new territory that we created which is globalization.

There are now more people that want the “American Dream” and are willing to work for it, like we used to. The United States needs to invest in education, not basic weaving 101 but science, mathematics, physics, engineering, and at the same time keeping those minds in the U.S. to create jobs and wealth within our country. Christina's blog touches these points of investing in education and properly spending our taxes on what the U.S. needs to be successful. I agree with that, but that is a small portion of the United States problems. What I believe the U.S. needs now and into the future more than ever is collaboration from all political parties to work together for the common people and not just for one’s party. Collaboration will make the United States successful in short term and back to a world power house for the long term.

CONGRESS PREPARES FOR YEAR-END SPENDING AND TAX CUT BAZAAR

The article Congress prepares for year-end spending and tax cut bazaar discusses how Congress focuses on the Senate votes to extend the Social Security payroll tax cut which Congress passed almost one year ago. The article basically sums up the butting heads of Republicans and Democrats.

It is quite sad that the holidays are the excuse that the Republicans and Democrats will work together. It should be like this year round, as we are one country. I do agree extending the payroll tax. Right now is not the time to cut taxes, but both parties need to be on point to be ready to offset the revenue with their own spending cuts. A household of $40k is going to save $800 next year if the pay roll tax cut is extended. That money is only going to go to the necessities that a particular family earning $40k needs and not increase any other spending. On the other hand it will give the working people confidence that the government is not going to take all of their money and play with it like monopoly money. 

This pay roll tax is a very short term benefit that will not have a large impact to the deficit in my opinion. The middle of the road seems like the easier answer, but here, less is more. If we are going to get out of a deficit it is simple economics; raise revenue, cut spending to a degree where the AMERICAN people win, not one party versus another. If a savvy CEO ran the government like a successful business (first I would fire everyone and rebuild competent people) to increase the bottom line profits you need to cut out parts of the business to make margin if you’re not growing top line. Then we need to reassess where we can be successful and invest as well as grow that part of the business or country to ensure we capitalize on our competencies that will get the American people working, spending, and exporting our goods. Congress has the power to make the right business decisions for the USA if they could put their parties needs on the back burner and the American people’s needs in the front. We can become a global power once again, and not use the excuse that the holidays are around the corner to act quickly on important decisions. That’s why we voted for these people in the first place, to make the right decisions for Americans, not their own political beliefs.

Student Loan Debt??

I do agree with classmate Sara's blogstage five that student loans are growing at substantial pace but that is the only truth I see in this argument. Once the great recession hit in 2008 there was a shock sent around the world of a crumbling U.S. economy. Jobs were lost at an exponential rate that our generation has not previously seen. So if there are no jobs and the U.S. has always pushed an agenda that higher education will bring prosperity and the American dream, the only thing left to do is go get that college degree, or MBA. 

In 2009 the applications for MBA rose at a pace never seen before. The thought process of a higher education will increase ones earning power. In an economy that is losing high paying white collar and blue collar jobs, there simply isn’t a need for the “higher educated.” With the low demand of high paying jobs, student debt accumulates. Recent studies that have been published in the Wall Street Journal show that more companies are hiring undergraduates, than MBA’s. College Grads Gain on M.B.A.s states “for some companies, a bachelor's degree means cheaper, more malleable workers. And that's just what they need right now.” There just simply isn’t a demand for higher or highest education. 

If Sara’s facts are correct and the average college student leaves with $25K in debt, then the average MBA student in 2 years leaves with $60K in debt and the same paying job as the undergrad. There is the problem, not the fact that Obama isn’t passing laws to take off the burden of debt on college students then just pass it along to the American Worker, the underlying problem is that high paying jobs are being lost in the US. If America wants to become a major player in the world economy and not be so burdened with debt, there needs to be job creation from janitors to CEO’s so those people working their way up can pay off those loans and still be able to buy a TV, go to dinner and pay with cash not credit. The answer isn’t a “debt relief plan” as Sara quotes, the answer is job creation that creates buying and spending power.

Where Did Global Warming Go?

The article Where Did Global Warming Go discusses how “America has turned agnostic on the issue” of global warming. The article states that when Barak Obama was running for president, he warned about man-made global warming and supported legislation to curb emissions, however, two years later most other nations accept global warming as a problem, while the United States has taken somewhat of a back seat.

John Ashton, Britain’s special representative for climate change, said in an interview that “in the U.K., in Europe, in most places I travel to, the starting point for conversation is that this is real, there are clear and present dangers, so let’s get a move on and respond.” In the United States, “the right wing of the Republican Part has managed to turn skepticism about man-made global warming into a requirement for electability, forming an unlikely triad with antiabortion and gun-rights beliefs. Also, in findings from a Pew poll this spring “75 percent of staunch conservatives, 63 percent of libertarians and 55 percent of Main Street Republicans said there was no solid evidence of global warming,”

I believe global warming is a big problem, not just in the United States but also around the world. However, it seems like other countries are responding to global warming with more alarm then the United States. The United States needs to do something about this pressing issue. The United States is seen as a global power and since the Obama has won presidency, we are losing that power. If the EU is doing more and China and India are on board, and the United States is doing nothing, that is seen as weak. The EU is calling us out as not doing anything.  If the U.S. wants to keep its power and not lose their meager AA bond rating to China on having the largest Army, it’s time for America to step up and become the leader. We have gone into these countries the last 20 years to show them how America is great and how these countries can be too. However, these countries that were the apprentice, are now in charge and making the U.S. look like the old boss that is irrelevant.

There needs to be a committee and serious one to commit to working with the EU, India and China to show we are a major player. Most or around 60% of the revenues of the S&P 500 are going to the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries. If India with almost 1.22 billion and the Chinese with 1 billion people can put in commission reduction laws/actions then America needs to get off their fat butts and start doing something with the meager 350 million people we have. The article also hits a point about Americans wanting the biggest cars, and houses. That’s what got us in the financial crisis, not Wall Street. Back to global warming and why Americans wanting bigger homes and cars are putting more pollution in the air then ever before. Plus we are so reliant on oil it is disgusting. People in the U.S. have to chose feeding their children or putting on the heat due to increase oil costs. It is time the United States puts in the energy and technology on becoming green. There is a potentially new bill that will be passed that will give graduating PHD's and Doctors who are on VISAs a 10 year visa to stay in the country and work.  These are the people we need to develop green energy to reduce our carbon footprint. This could be one step that America takes to keeping highly educated people in the States to deal with developing greener solutions.

WINGLESS, BLOODSUCKING AND PARASITIC: MEET THE FLEA PARTY!

The article Wingless, Bloodsucking and Parasitic: Meet the Flea Party!, is written by Ann Coulter who sits on the right side of the political party. Coulter’s intended audience would be for anyone who is not in favor of the protesters who “Occupy Wall Street.”  The reason I say that because is Coulter refers to protesters as “average democrats – they can’t even explain why they’re protesting.”  

The protesters are relatively young people who are graduating with college degrees and cannot find a job, and still live at home with their parents. The argument presented is true that democrats are embarrassed by the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters. These people can’t even explain why they are protesting. Ann Coulter explains in her blog that if you are an American then elect the people you believe is the right person for the job. If the protesters are mostly democrats, then these protesters are the ones who put a democrat in office. The article also rings truth that the Republican Party stood for equal rights. The article quotes, “the congressional Republicans kept introducing bills that implemented the civil rights amendments—only to be blocked by segregationist Democrats.” I agree with Coulter when she describes when Democrats got control of the White House they were free to violate previous constitutional rulings without interference from the elected Democratic presidents. It is clear that the protesters have no specific objections and are only doing this to create mayhem because these protestors might be out of a job. 

Ann Coulter summarizes the article with a clear message, these are not traditional civil rights activists trying to better the country, but complaining just to criticize because they don’t have anything else to blame their own faults on. The logic in the blog is easy to follow and well written. It is interesting how these proclaimed Democrats are embarrassing their own party and from the article it is evident. Again, the protesters do not even have an agenda so it shows they are doing it because they can. The only reason they can protest is because the Republican Party properly went about changing civil rights for the better of the United States of America.

Obama Gets the Numbers Wrong In His Tax Plan

The article, Obama Gets the Numbers Wrong In His Tax Plan , was published by John Lott, a FoxNews.com contributor.  The article discusses how President Barack Obama’s new proposed tax on the wealthy is wrong on the numbers.  Lott believes “his proposed surcharge on capital gains and dividend taxes will raise already high tax rates on high income individuals and force even more investment outside the United States.” This article favors the right wing republicans and shoots down the left wing democrats.

I agree with Lott’s arguments based on two reasons. The first reason is that the rich do not pay fewer taxes on their income than the middle class. Second, Obama is not telling all the facts and displaying this at a high level that will ultimately get middle class voters attention because it attacks the rich. Obama is playing on the uninformed middle class and using that to his advantage.

We are talking about raising capital gains tax, not income tax. Not only do all Americans pay taxes, with the richest paying 38 percent, but then the rich have to pay another 15 percent on the investments they earn. Clearly that is double taxation. Should Obama propose that if you are not in the 38 percent tax bracket then you don’t have to pay capital gains tax? Well if he did then the middle class would invest their disposable income, and that would lead to investments staying in the United States, which would also create jobs and more wealth.

Simply put, if Obama wants to raise taxes, you can kiss local investing goodbye. Singapore, for example, has zero taxes on corporations. This is one of the reasons why U.S. companies keep billions overseas. If these companies bring foreign revenues back, they will get taxed at an extremely high rate. From pure business sense, the costs outweigh the benefits.

Obama's 'American Jobs Act'

Obama calls on Congress to quickly pass his 'American Jobs Act'

With the unemployment rate at 9.1%, constant republican criticism, and low approval ratings, President Barak Obama purposes a new plan to stimulate jobs in the United States, called the American Jobs Act. The article “Obama calls on Congress to quickly pass his ‘American Jobs Act’” summarizes Obama’s plan on how to create more jobs in the United States.

President Obama presented a speech Thursday, September 8, 2011, to a joint session of Congress telling legislatures to quickly approve the $447 billion package of measures so he can sign it into law. Obama asked Congress to increase the $1.5 trillion target in deficit to cover the cost of the American Jobs Act. Obama said he will propose his own deficit-reduction plan on September 19 that would “reform entitlement programs such as Medicare while changing the tax system to end loopholes, lower the corporate tax rate, and increase taxes for the wealthy.”

The average American needs to read this article because this proposed plan should affect the roughly 14 million people who are currently unemployed. Over the past two years Obama has increased government spending for multiple reasons, and today has not yielded results once campaigning for. Now that the country has lost its triple A bond rating and potentially be surpassed by China as he world’s strongest economy, now is the time for Congress and both parties to agree on a bill that will help our country be great again. This article, for either side on may sit on, affects our local business, schools, and our children’s future.