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Originally posted by Niki2:
Post what the REPUBLICANS have proposed that would do any better. Something of actual SUBSTANCE, not just "cut taxes".

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Republicans’ No-Cost Jobs Plan
Tear Down Self-Imposed Obstacles to Economic Growth:

The threat of increased taxes, new government regulation, and costly government mandates
– all of which are currently pending before Congress and various regulatory bodies – are a
significant threat to any employer who is trying to decide whether they can afford to expand.
As the CEO of a steelmaker recently told the Wall Street Journal “Companies large and small
are saying, ‘I am not going to do anything until these things – health care, climate legislation –
go away or are resolved.’”
Therefore Congress and the Administration should:
•
Halt Any Proposed Rule or Regulation Expected to Have an Economic Cost, Result in Job
Loss, or Have a Disparate Impact on Small Businesses:
Since taking office, the Administration has had under consideration over 100

regulations that are deemed economically significant, meaning they have an impact
on the economy in excess of $100 million. Many of these rules will directly impact
small businesses.
The President should issue an immediate Executive Order halting any proposed

regulations expected to impose any net costs on the economy in either the near or long-term or that negatively impact small businesses or result in a net loss of jobs. Such rules should be rewritten to fully mitigate any negative economic impact.
•
Eliminate Job Killing Federal Tax Increases:
While there is a philosophical difference between the two parties when it comes to

taxes, we believe we should find common ground on the premise that the government should at a minimum never raise taxes during periods of high unemployment.
While Republicans will continue to fight both new initiatives that are premised on

tax increases and automatic tax increases that are imbedded in current law, we
urge a bipartisan commitment to blocking such tax increases at least until
unemployment is below 5% again.

Restore Confidence in America’s Economic Future:

Record deficits and debts and the seeming lack of commitment on the part of policymakers to
restrain federal spending has caused many to conclude that the federal government is likely
to address its deficit problems by either raising taxes or inflating the dollar. Even the threat of
such actions in the future is a drag on the current economy.
Therefore Congress and the Administration should:
•
Demonstrate a Commitment to Lowering the Deficit Now Without Raising Taxes By
Freezing Domestic Discretionary Spending at Last Year’s Level:
In addition to the $787 billion “stimulus” bill, Congressional Democrats are pushing
through appropriations bills that will increase domestic discretionary spending by
12% in one year.
A freeze in domestic discretionary spending would immediately save $53 billion and
more importantly demonstrate an immediate commitment to fiscal restraint.
Assist Community Banks and Small Businesses:

The downturn in the commercial real estate market is impacting not just businesses that must
roll over their loans, but also community and regional banks that have a significant exposure
in commercial real estate. Because commercial real estate loans are generally written for a
five year term and many are coming to term over the next several years, approximately $400
billion in loans must be refinanced each year for the next several years. Many economists
have cited the problems in the commercial real estate market as major hindrance to
economic recovery.
Therefore Congress and the Administration should:
•
Assist Community Banks and Small Businesses with the Downturn in the Commercial
Real Estate Market:

The after-tax costs of properties could be lowered by reducing the depreciation
schedule for property from 39½ years to 20 years or less.
Bank regulators should act to improve transparency and ensure flexibility in

underwriting and appraisal standards so as to ensure that financing is available for
those properties with the promise of generating revenue. At a minimum this should
include requiring standardized reporting on the number of performing loans per
institution that are not renewed. This would ensure that regulators on the ground
are living up to the commitments of regulators in Washington not to deny renewal
of loans simply because of a fall in the value of the collateral.
Reform the Unemployment System to Help the Jobless and Small Businesses Alike:

The current Federal-State unemployment insurance program is ill-equipped to assist
individuals in the current economic downturn, especially those who may not be able to find
employment in their former field. Furthermore, as a result of declining / negative balances in
unemployment trust funds, most states will increase unemployment payroll taxes on
employers, averaging almost $250 per worker per year through 2012. This will directly
increase costs of employment for businesses of all sizes.
Therefore Congress and the Administration should:
•
Reform the Unemployment System to Help Those Out of Work Find Jobs and Lower
Federal Payroll Taxes to Assist in Hiring:
Federal unemployment insurance recipients who are most likely to exhaust

benefits should be expected to engage in education, training, or enhanced job
search as a condition of eligibility. This proposal would expand on the current
successful Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment program operated by some
States.
The government should require states to adopt a program like “Georgia Works” as

a condition of accessing Unemployment Insurance Modernization funds. Under
this successful program unemployment insurance recipients are placed in real part
time jobs with real employers, with the employer deciding whether to hire them at
the end of a 6-week trial period. Their pay during the period is their
unemployment benefit, along with a State-provided stipend for job-related
transportation and child care expenses. This has resulted in faster returns to work,

less unemployment payments, and thus lower State unemployment taxes.
The Federal government could help offset part of the cost of state payroll tax

increases by immediately suspending the Federal unemployment tax, saving
employers $56 per worker per year. The “cost” of this tax suspension is $7 billion a
year and could be offset through reduction in improper government payments,
which according to the Administration totaled $98 billion last year – an increase of
$26 billion over the previous year.
Reduce Regulatory and Tax Barriers to Domestic Job Creation:

Federal regulations and tax law often make it easier for large companies to create jobs overseas than to create jobs here at home. Efforts should be taken to ensure the most favorable environment possible for domestic job creation.
Therefore Congress and the Administration should:
•
Remove Unnecessary Barriers to Domestic Energy Production:
Increased domestic energy production from all sources (including oil, natural gas,

oil shale, nuclear, and renewable) has the potential to lower energy costs, reduce
our reliance on foreign oil, and create new jobs. Yet regulatory barriers often
prevent or unnecessarily delay environmentally sound domestic energy production.
The Administration and Congress should act to remove the regulatory barriers to
energy production and streamline the existing permitting process.
•
Provide an Incentive for Companies to Repatriate Earnings Back to the United States:
Currently any profits a U.S. based company earns abroad are taxed at the 35% U.S.

corporate tax rate when those earnings are brought into the U.S. As a result
companies often choose to reinvest their earnings in subsidiaries overseas rather
than at home.
In 2004, Congress allowed companies a limited time to repatriate foreign profits

and pay a reduced tax rate of 5.25%. The policy resulted in more than $350 billion dollars of profits being returned to the U.S. and a windfall to the Treasury of about $18 billion in tax revenue.
Providing another limited window for repatriation of foreign earnings would help
U.S. companies retain domestic workers and weather the current economic

downturn. This would actually increase revenues in the short-term and any
estimated long-term losses can be offset through reductions in improper payments.
Expand U.S. Export Jobs:

Recently President Obama said that increasing U.S. exports by just 1% would create over
250,000 jobs. The independent International Trade Commission has estimated that
implementation of the three pending free trade agreements would increase U.S. exports by
more than 1%. By failing to act on just the three pending agreements the Congress and the
President are preventing the creation of hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs.
Therefore:
•
President Obama should submit – and the Congress should quickly approve – these job-
creating trade agreements.”

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Originally posted by Niki2:
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This is Mr. Obama's 9th vacation since taking office. As of today, he has spent all or part of 38 days on "vacation" away from the White House. He has also made 14 visits to Camp David spanning all or part of 32 days. It brings his total time away to all or part of 70 days.

It's less than the "vacation" time taken during the same period by his immediate predecessor. (Former President George W. Bush gets the quotation marks too.)

As of this point in his 1st term, Mr. Bush had made 14 visits to his Texas ranch spanning all or part of 102 days. He also made 40 visits to Camp David spanning all or part of 123 days. His "vacation" total at this point in his presidency was all or part of 225 days away

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Originally posted by Penguin:

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King of the Mythical Land that is Iowa

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

Niki

Your comments are too ridiculous to even respond to with any level of seriousness.

So I won't.

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Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello,

"Since when is going home a 'vacation' ?"

'Home' is where I take most of my vacations.

"Nothing in the least bizarre about a vacation's destination mitigating it. It is precisely what I'm saying, that being at one's own home is far and away different than taking an army of groupies and staffers along w/ you to, to 5 star vacation destinations."

I believe an army of groupies and staffers accompany the president no matter where he goes. If cost is your concern, I am quite confident that Bush's forays 'home' were quite costly, just as any president's forays anywhere are costly.

"And exactly what do you feel I 'insinuated' ?"

You insinuated that Obama was taking excessive vacations, but since you didn't actually say those precise words, you could feign ignorance and offense at a topic derailing when someone pointed out that his vacationing is actually less frequent and lengthy than the former administration's.

"I suspect that you're smart enough to know all this, but are feigning being obtuse"

I understand the sensation.

--Anthony



_______________________________________________

“If you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all”

Jacob Hornberger

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.”

Mahatma Gandhi

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Originally posted by Niki2:
I just HAD to check. Your attempt to slip through doesn't work either, tiny one. Bush had spent 85 vacation days NOT at his ranch in Crawford as of August 2003--Obama has spent 70 vacation days TOTAL in the same time. So go ahead, take the Crawford time OFF the "vacation days" list, despite that being a lie....so you lose either way. Normally I don't think in terms of "win" and "lose" here, but when you start messing with FACTS like that, I care.

As to what he did on his vacation, here is what he planned to do on the FIVE WEEKS he was at Crawford:

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he will be based in Crawford, Texas but will, from there, travel.....He's also enjoying a little down time and a little running, and a little cedar clearing....He'll do a little fishing on the ranch. I'm sure he'll have friends and family over to the ranch.

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Heavy work, that. Oh, by the way, that was the five-week "extended vacation" where he STAYED after Katrina.

That was fun, and satisfying, but enough already. Do scramble on, little tiny man, by all means! Hey, if we can keep him here desperately scrambling, we can keep everyone else on FFF free to have intelligent discussions! Naw, not worth it.

Goodness sake, Anthony, SURELY you've learned by now that engaging Raptor civilly is a losing proposition? I learned that long ago, and still stay semi-civil to him, just because being as horrible as him isn't who I am, but I happily mock him, because that's all he's worth and trying to do otherwise is a total waste. Eventually I think you'll join my thinking. You're just too damned polite.


Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off

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Originally posted by Kwicko:

Oh, by the way, the Obamas rent a home on Martha's Vineyard, so that's technically "home" for them as well as Chicago. Just sayin'.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:

Oh, by the way, the Obamas rent a home on Martha's Vineyard, so that's technically "home" for them as well as Chicago. Just sayin'.

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True.

And perhaps the most honest and accurate thing you've ever posted on FFF.NET

Congratulations.


" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "

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Originally posted by AnthonyT:

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:

Oh, by the way, the Obamas rent a home on Martha's Vineyard, so that's technically "home" for them as well as Chicago. Just sayin'.

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True.

And perhaps the most honest and accurate thing you've ever posted on FFF.NET

Congratulations.


" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "

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Hello,

So... Obama's not on Vacation, then? He's at home?

--Anthony



_______________________________________________

“If you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all”

Jacob Hornberger

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.”

Mahatma Gandhi

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Originally posted by Niki2:
I don't mind the training thing, but there's a major difference. Obama's plan would "tie jobless benefits go to employers who hire the unemployed as trainees"--in other words, the employer would get the jobless benefits while paying the employees to be trained (at least that's what it sounds like to me), as opposed to forcing the unemployed to get training, etc., or their benefits are withheld.

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The Republican proposal on tax cuts specifies getting rid of the Federal unemployment tax. Obama's proposal apparently includes a "payroll tax cut for employers, in addition to the one for workers", but not abolishing unemployment tax.

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While Obama is suggesting "preferential tax rates in exchange for job creation measures", the Republicans brought that money home at a tax rate of 5.25% and say nothing about job-creation measures.]

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The differences between the two, in my opinion, pretty much GUARANTEE the Republicans will be against them; which I think they would even if he proposed exactly the SAME things they did.

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Originally posted by AnthonyT:

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Originally posted by AURaptor:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:

Oh, by the way, the Obamas rent a home on Martha's Vineyard, so that's technically "home" for them as well as Chicago. Just sayin'.

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True.

And perhaps the most honest and accurate thing you've ever posted on FFF.NET

Congratulations.


" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "

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Hello,

So... Obama's not on Vacation, then? He's at home?

--Anthony

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