Take Back Politics

President Obama noted last night that his housing rescue plan will not help those who were irresponsible when they took out a loan for a house they could not afford, and on CNN today people are continuing to beg for their bailout. While the government has already noted it will help these irresponsible people (since you can’t tell who will be in true need), and those who knew they were buying something they could not really afford, the government should place liens on those houses that receive assistance. Why should those who are in need of a bailout be any different than the banks who have to give the Government ownership via stock? If a homeowner recieves a bailout for X% of their loan value, the government should get a lien on the house for that same precent.  That way when the market recovers, those who should not have been in those houses will not reap potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars while their responsible neighbors do not.

“It is time for America to lead once again”

“This is America. We don’t do what’s easy, we do what’s necessary”

“The cost of our healthcare has weighed down our concious and our economy too long”

“The countries that out teach us today, will out perform us tomorrow”

“Dropping out of school is not just quitting on yourself, it is quitting on your country”

“We will end tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas”

“Living our values does not make us weaker, it makes us stronger”

In GM’s recent announcement of their plan to continue to become a viable business, GM stated that they will close plants in the U.S. and lay off more workers. While GM continues to receive U.S. taxpayer money in their bailouts they should be forced to close plants outside of the U.S. before anything in country is closed. While people currently argue against protectionism in today’s global economy, is it right for U.S. taxpayers to pay to save foreign jobs while we loose more GM plants and employees? We agree that GM is bloated when it comes to the workforce and that more needs to be done by the union to increase American GM employee productivity, but we also believe that U.S. taxpayer money should go to save U.S. jobs and stimulate our local economies first.

In the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, money has been made available to help those who are upside down in their mortgage and to prevent further foreclosures. The question that many people are beginning to ask is, “how does this help those of us who have not gotten ourselves into a house we could not afford?” The answer is that it does not, unless you factor in the lower foreclosure rate in your area, which MAY help keep housing prices higher. There in lies the problem.  First, people who should never have been given a loan are able to keep a house they should not have.  Instead of “free” money for these individuals, the government should put a lien against their house so that the government gets the money back, not the individual. Also, in many areas it was the over inflated housing prices that are part of the problem, and a reset in the housing values would be a good thing. Finally, those who did not over extend themselves should be rewarded as well via a tax credit.

It would appear that even in the mist of the “Obama Stimulus” the negative economic news has trumped the possible results of the stimulus as the market has opened much lower on Tuesday, February 17th. Maybe getting money out there faster than the projected six months would be a better idea.  Large infrastructure projects can’t help the economy over night.  Now we wait…

Instead of wasting tax payer money on pork projects that will take months to stimulate the economy, if they do at all, lawmakers should be passing immediate dramatic tax cuts instead. Money in consumers pockets where it is needed most would have a much more immediate impact. Wouldn’t families in hard hit states like Michigan be better off with a few hundred dollars in the pockets in the next pay check?

While America is suffering through one of the worst economic downturns in history, the House Democrats are 150 miles away spending taxpayer money to have their Annual Retreat.  At a time when companies who have received bailout money are being criticized about trips to Las Vegas and private jets, why are the House Democrats wasting tax payer money in Williamsburg?  Perhaps the Democrats should hold their meeting in the Washington D.C. area and save money.

While Barbara Bush spent most of her time in the shadows of President Bush, and never really had much of a captivating personality, Michelle Obama has already started to step out on her own. While speaking at the Department of Education, First Lady Michelle Obama showed that she has her own star power and can speak in front of an audience. We’d argue that while Barack speaks very well in front of large crowds, Michelle does better in front of small groups with an even more captivating speaking style.

Could Michelle Obama end up following Hillary Clinton’s lead and work to step out of President Obama’s shadow in four or eight years like Hillary?

GM announced that they will end the Jobs Bank on February 2nd, moving 1600 employees out of the system.  This is something that is long over due.  How many other companies continue to pay you indefinitely for not doing your job?  This is a burden that GM, nor any other company, should bear and it is great to see GM finally moving to become competitive.

Sarah Palin’s official political action committee is up and running at SarahPAC.  Palin has continued to fight back at the image she had during the McCain 2008 campaign, but will she be able to do enough to get American voters behind her? Our speculation is that she’ll continue to ride the McCain wave of popularity, but it will burn out in the next year and she’ll be back in Alaska full time.  Hopefully…

Also, check out the logo on the PAC’s website — Alaska is eating the Great Plains.