Incentives or Bribery?

Many times you hear that the GOP is the party of big business and the Democratic Party is the party of the workers. It may surprise you to know that both parties are the party of big business and corporations. As long as the corporations are contributors, or the shareholders are buddies, the business community has developed a close relationship with DC. This is evident in the Export-Import Bank debate. 

I have to be honest that until recently, the mention of the Export-Import bank brought about a Krispy Kreme glazed look from yours truly. I had heard of it but had never delved into what it is or what it does. Ignorance is bliss, especially when it comes to Government. It is time though, that we stop taking anything for granted, especially the Export-Import Bank. 

The Export-Import Bank is a facilitator or exchange for foreign companies and other interests. It has been existence, since the days of President Franklin Roosevelt. It is amazing the mess that one man creates. He may have been a great wartime President, but we are still to this day paying for programs and ideaologies that FDR created. The path to Hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. 

The bank doles out loan and loan guarantees. The companies that many times receive these loans are wealthy and have capital. I guess the logic is, why spend our money when we can spend yours? This legal slush fund has become a favor pot. The lending limit for the Export-Import Bank is now up to $140 Billion. The line you hear is that other countries give their companies aid. They say that without the bank's loans and guarantees that American companies will lose out to foreign competition. 

The truth is in the numbers. Only "2% of export businesses received aid from the Export-Import Bank. According to Heritage Action, " 

It is odd that the Export-Import Bank loans are:

a) Mainly to very large corporations.

b) The majority of the loans have nothing to do with export related loans. 

c) They are for companies that otherwise would fail in the free market.

The logic is that by providing these loans, it translates into goods being purchased and that means profits. This does not take into account the basic principle of where does the money come from in the first place? You and me, that's who. The government is taking money out of our pockets, though taxation, and then giving it to rich companies to buy goods. Why not let the capital, money, stay in our hands and we can decide what goods are purchased and what company succeeds or fails. That is the principle of free market. The only reason that I can think of, for violating these basic economic principles is that the state has someone in mind for the benefit. In other words, the free market does not guarantee a positive outcome to a company. Governments can, however, give this assurance through subsidy, incentives, grants, etc. So the question is not why is the Export-Import Bank good or bad, but who are they there to benefit? It most certainly is not the American taxpayer.

Most of us agree that Russia is doing bad things in Ukraine. The administration has issued sanctions, and Russia has been condemned by members of both parties. Would it surprise you to know that, through the Export-Import Bank, Russia has received $580 million in export funding? That's right. We, you the taxpayer, are giving monies that  could stay in your pocket to a Communist superpower. This is a common theme. Companies, some of which are under despotic regimes, are given money that normally would not be given in the free marketplace. In other words our government is taking our money, spending it on things we don't want, and claiming that they are for a free market. This is typical statist, Keynesian economics. Do not fall for it. Even if the lines are coming from our Republican friends.

The Export-Import Bank's charter is going to expire next summer. There are many GOP Reps. and Senators who tout the line of "job creation" and "economic growth". What they are really fighting for is growth and profits for the select few and the continuation of a crony capitalistic system. 

Please call your Congressional Rep. and Senators and tell them to let the Export-Import Bank expire. If you live in Moore County call Rep. Renee Ellmers at 202-225-4531 and Senator Burr at 202-224-3154. 

Helpful links:

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/ex-ims-small-business-subsidies-actually-go-to-big-businesses/article/2556152

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/if-republicans-take-congress-they-could-wage-war-on-crony-capitalism/article/2553491

http://heritageaction.com/2014/09/ex-im-bank-just-facts/

http://reason.com/archives/2014/07/19/the-crony-capitalism-machine

http://heritageaction.com/press-releases/heritage-action-club-growth-urge-majority-leader-end-export-import-bank/

It's About the Revenue, Not Fairness

Washington D.C. is the ultimate magic show. The town where the smoke and mirror trick was perfected. The system that says one thing and does another. The place where used car salesman tactics are revered and used daily. The next glittering jewel of this dog and pony show is the Marketplace Fairness Act. Like most things in Washington, it is improperly named and properly awful.
Let us start at the beginning. In 1992, Quill vs North Dakota was a case that came before the U.S. Supreme Court. Quill was a mail order company and did not have a physical presence in North Dakota. Consumers in North Dakota were ordering things from Quill and not having to pay sales tax. Anytime a citizen doesn't pay tax on something, it makes the bureaucrats gnash their teeth. The state of North Dakota felt that they were missing out. A lawsuit ensued, no pun intended, and the Supreme Court took their quill in hand, pun intended, and ruled in favor of Quill. The court decided that the fact that the Quill corporation was not benefiting from State and Local services. They ruled that physical presence was required in order to levy local and state taxes.
Politicians in Washington DC and State capitols ever since have been trying to work around this decision. There is money to be had, and of course the government needs more revenue for more things you and I don't need or want. They have now come up with the Marketplace Fairness Act. What Democrat liberal politician has come up with this? Oh no my friends, it is a Republican in the Senate who is sponsoring this. Senator Mike Enzi is the culprit. Sad isn't it? That your own folks who shake your hands, and kiss your babies are the ones that are trying to stab you in the back.
Of course, the talking points for the bill are typical. That the online retailers have a unfair advantage over the brick and mortar stores. When they say brick and mortar stars, they want you to think of a mom and pops store that sells antiques. What they really mean is Walmart, Target, etc. Not that these mega stores are contributing to their  campaigns or lobbying them. That simply isn't done in Washington.
They will also say that it would give State and Local governments more revenue so they can keep your other taxes low. They will say that the money will go to roads and bridges. They will then play the political version of a royal flush, education. You can't possibly begrudge a little more money for that DVD player or NFL jersey. After all it is going to little Susie, so she can get an IPad. It;s amazing government all the great things government taxes us for, but they never seem to get fixed.
The picture these politicians paint is of course what than it actually is. Here is a quote from the Heritage Action report.

"This legislation is premised on the misassumption that all Internet sales skirt taxation. A significant number of electronic purchases are already being taxed—not only because many retailers collect taxes from online customers in their home state, but because many also have a presence in multiple states, and impose taxes in each. As Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow James Gattuso noted:

Using 2008 data, one study found that 17 of the 20 largest online sellers—ranging from Office Depot to Apple—had retail stores or other facilities nationwide, and collected taxes in all or almost all 46 states that impose sales taxes. Even Amazon.com collects taxes for nine states, representing close to 40 percent of all U.S. residents. It is expected to soon be collecting taxes for many more, as it expands its physical distribution network throughout the country." 

Now there is an exemption. If you are a online retailer that generates less than a million dollars in revenue, than you are exempt from the law. You will hear that this tax is punishing the big mean money grubbers at Amazon, Ebay, etc. This is the kind of class warfare rhetoric I expect from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, not from Senator Mike Enzi, or even Congresswoman Renee Ellmers.

Here is a list of bullet points on why I do not support the bill, and would encourage you to oppose it as well:

1. The Bill punishes small businesses- The bill puts a magic exemption for a million in revenue. This is a smoke screen. All business owners and common sense thinkers know that revenue is not profit. Just because these stores make over a million dollars in revenue does not mean that they are large retailers. It could be a small family run online store. Many of these smaller online stores are run online because the folks lack the capital to build a brick and mortar store. This bill mean that smaller retailers will now be subject to over "10,000 jurisdictions and 46 state tax authorities". This will result in less capital in the market. Less money for new hires and jobs. Higher prices on consumers. This is anything but fair.
2. It is a tax- Once a tax is enacted, it never goes away. This bill sets a exemption on businesses making a million dollars or more in revenue, but how soon till that threshold comes down. Eventually it will be $750,000. Then it will be down to $500,000. Then it will be down to $250,000. You get the picture. Government will use this tax to take more money out of the private sector, your pocket, and into the state coffers.
3. Now is not the time for this debate- The business sector, or realville for those of us in it, is under attack. We are having to deal with a sluggish economy. We have regulations that hinder our time and drain our profits. We have less money to hire workers. We have to deal with Obamacare. We have to deal with already high taxes. Now is not the time for this debate. We need to address the regulatory framework. We need real tax reform. We need to repeal Obamacare. This bill is still a bad bill, but it is more garbage, piled on to the people of America. Now is not the time.

This bill needs to be defeated. Now is not the time to raise taxes on small businesses or large retailers. We need to reduce taxes and reduce spending. This is a cheap ploy to get more revenue and not to look at the real issue. Government never wants to cut spending. They always want to look at the revenue side of the balance sheet, not the spending side. This bill ,regardless of who sponsors it, must be defeated.
It has already passed the Senate and is in the House, awaiting approval. It will probably come up in  this upcoming session. We must stop this unfair, tax and spend, piece of legislation before it is too late. Please call your Congressional Representative in the US House and tell them to vote no on the Marketplace Fairness Act.

If you live in Moore County you can call Rep. Renee Ellmers at 202-225-4531.

Helpful documents and links:

http://heritageactionsentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Sentinel-Brief-Internet-Sales-Tax.pdf

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/domestic-taxes/218576-congress-to-push-internet-sales-tax-after-midterms

http://dailysignal.com/2013/07/18/internet-sales-tax-wishful-thinking-cant-make-it-pro-growth/

http://heritageaction.com/2014/09/obamas-plan-tax-internet/

Represent NC, Not DC

There was a point of order motion from Senator Ted Cruz last night on the Senate Floor. It was in reference to President Obama's Executive order on Amnesty. It failed by a vote 74-22. Our own Senator Burr voted for the motion. I thank theSenator for his newfound sense of conservatism. We will never know if it was a genuine vote or window dressing for a re-election run in 2016. It doesn't matter, at least he voted the right way. 

This bill was a bad bill. A very bad bill. It represented all that is wrong with Washington. All GOP members of the U.S. Senate should have voted against it for the following reasons: 

     1. Too Much Spending. The spending levels for most government agencies and departments were at the levels, not of sequestration, but of the elevated levels of the Murray-Ryan budget compromise. These spending levels are way too high. The American people realize that the deficits and debts that keep piling up must be stopped. This bill's price tag alone was enough to vote against it. 

     2. It Funds Obamacare. Any spending bill that fails to use the power of the purse to defund Obamacare is a bill that endorses Obamacare. Let's not play games. The only way to stop this terrible law from hurting small businesses, patients, and doctors is to defund it. This bill continues to spend money on Obamacare. 

     3. It Allows Executive Amnesty. The bill funds the Department of Homeland Security. This is the department that is implementing the President's executive order on Executive Amnesty. The Omnibus spending bill could have had prohibitive language in it, a defund rider, that would have prohibited the appropriated funds to be spent on Amnesty. The defund rider was not part of the Omnibus bill. With no language or rider prohibiting the spending, this bill grants permission to implement amnesty. Now, you will hear from staffers that the spending for DHS was not increased. That it was limited. What kind of fools do they take us for? Do we not think that as lawless as this President has been, that he will not make implementing his directive a top priority? The only real way to guarantee that the DHS could not implement lawless amnesty was the defund amnesty rider. The Omnibus bill that passed did not have it. Therefore, every yes vote for omnibus, was a yes vote for President Obama's amnesty. 

I am saddened to say that Rep. Renee Ellmers, along with most of the GOP NC delegation, voted for the Omnibus bill. I was happy for the yes vote on the point Senator Cruz's point of order from Senator Burr. I wish he had voted no on cloture but I guess we can't expect too much. The point is that too many Republican's ignored the will of the people. They either believed the false talking points of the leadership and media, or they allowed themselves to be bullied into voting yes. Either way is unacceptable. I hope that Senator Burr will look to 2016 and vote more conservatively than he has since he came to the senate in 2004. I hope the following Reps. will take stock, and realize that they will be held accountable in 2016 if they don't stop voting with DC instead of representing NC: 

Renee Ellmers, Virginia Foxx, Mark Meadows, Patrick McHenry, George Holding, and Robert Pittenger. 

This may be a lost battle but not a lost war. We need, as conservatives, to continue to study the issues. We need to keep lobbying our representatives to do what's right. Now more than ever we must  keep up the fight. This is not the end. It is only the beginning. 

Run Over by Omnibus

Tomorrow the US House will vote on an omnibus spending bill. The spending package will fund most government departments though September of 2015. The Department of Homeland Security spending will only run through March of 2015. The GOP leadership is pushing most of the spending down the road so they can have bigger numbers in the House and a majority in the senate. This would be fine if we had a promise or some form of confidence in our current House Leadership. I am opposed to this spending bill and I think you should too. Here's why. 

1. It spends too much money. The spending levels that are maintained in this short term bill is well above the levels agreed to in sequestration. The spending level are in line with the revised levels set out by the Ryan-Murray compromise. These levels are still way too high and are not sustainable. We should not beats sing bills that continue to bankrupt the next generation. Fiscal discipline and deficit reduction should not begin next year. It should start now. 

2. It funds Obamacare. Any funding bill that continues to fund the implementation of Obamacare is a bad bill. Obamacare may be unpopular but the only way that it truly dies is through the power of the purse. The GOP leadership ran on getting rid of it. So get rid of it. Defund it. 

3. It does not defund Executive Amnesty! This bill does not have a defund rider to defund executive amnesty. This will allow for almost three months worth of funding to a department that is already as you read this trying to implement amnesty to illegal aliens as quick as they can. This was a great opportunity and the GOP leadership blew it. 

Please call Rep. Renee Ellmers and ask her to vote against the omnibus package. It is really simple. 

If she votes for it, than Obamacare is funded through September. Executive Amnesty, will be here until next year. We can't afford it and it's too timid. Please call her and layout the case for opposing omnibus. The only way that this congress or any congress does right is if you put their feet to the fire and wan his aerboww

Fire Up The War Room

Heritage Action is leading the fight against President Obama's lawless policies. The recent Executive order that granted millions of illegal Aliens amnesty is an outrage. It violates the checks and balances of our democratic republic. This must be stopped! You can stop it. 

1. Call Rep. Renee Ellmers between 1pm and 5pm today. Tell her or her staff that we want in the omnibus bill a "defund" rider to the package. This would cut off funds to the departments that the President would use to implement his lawless actions. If such a rider is not part of the package then she vote "No". 

2. Forward her number to all of your friends and contacts, and ask them to call Rep. Ellmers or if not in her district, their Congressional rep. 

3. Over the weekend, flood her office with e-mails, with Facebook posts, with Twitter posts. If you are on Twitter use the hash tag # DefundObamasAmnesty or #NoAmnesty. Let's make it do when they come back from the weekend break that there will be mountains of e-mails, and social media messages telling her to defund the President's amnesty. 

4. The bill will probably be voted on next week anytime between Tuesday and Thursday. Let's pick up the calling on Monday. We will need to keep the pressure on until the vote comes to the floor. 

We are the power in this country. No matter how dark it gets and how bleak it looks, never forget that. You are the power. Rep. Renee Elllmers works for us. Not John Boehner or the Chamber of Commerce. Demand that she be the conservative she claims she is and let's hold her accountable. 

202-225-4531.  Rep. Ellmers DC office

She is on Facebook under Renee Ellmers. 

On twitter @RepReneeEllmers 

(202) 225-5662.  DC Fax number 

Why Karl Rove/ DC Insiders Are Wrong

Karl Rove and many other GOP insiders are saying that we must embrace amnesty. They see it as a political necessity. The GOP can no longer just rely on the "three legged stool" of defense, evangelicals, and fiscal hawks. The GOP is in need of new voters. The obvious choice is the expanding voter pool of Hispanics, legal or otherwise.
The logic is that if the GOP is seen as being compassionate and seen as the instrument of amnesty that it will result in a surge of Latino votes. This has been echoed for decades now. Al Simpson and even Ronald Reagan bought into it, in the Simpson-Rizzoli Act of 1986. We saw it in the lame duck days of the George W. Bush Presidency. We see it now in the emergence of the special interests like the Chamber of Commerce and the Agricultural lobby. The GOP is under immense pressure to authorize some form of amnesty. Mitt Romney says we must do it. Jeb Bush says we must do it. John McCain says we must do it. Well that may be the kiss of death in of itself but that's another matter. The mainstream GOP is leaning towards amnesty. The question is though, will there supposed rescue plan actually destroy them as a national party?
Below is a transcript of the Rush Limbaugh program some years ago. I take no credit for this excerpt.

"They vote not based on immigration at all, and here's the proof. In 1984, Ronaldus Magnus wins in a landslide, and in '84 Ronaldus Magnus got 37% of the Hispanic vote. Two years later, Reagan signed into law amnesty for three million illegals, called Simpson-Mazzoli. Now, according to the wizards in the Republican consultancy class, that should have meant droves of Hispanics voting for the next Republican in 1988.

Reagan got 37% and passed amnesty. We showed the Hispanics we love 'em, we cherish 'em, we care about 'em. We granted them amnesty. We gave citizenship to three-point-some-odd million of them in 1986. The next presidential election is George H. W. Bush in 1988. The percentage of the Hispanic vote that he got two years after amnesty was 30%. So '84, Reagan: 37% Hispanic vote.

Two years later, amnesty (which was supposed to really make us loved and adored and really supported at the polls). Two more years, 1988, George H. W. Bush loses 7% of the Hispanic vote from Reagan's '84 totalitarians. So after amnesty... Now, you might not be able to claim that amnesty loss, but it certainly didn't get us any more votes. We lost votes. Now, how do the Wizards of Smart on the Republican side explain this? I want to hear the explanation for this.

Again, very quickly (I know numbers are tough to follow on radio): in '84, Reagan, 37% Hispanic vote in a landslide. Two years later, he grants amnesty to three million illegals. And in two more years, George H. W. Bush only gets 30% of the Hispanic vote. Two years after amnesty, the Republicans lose 7% of the Hispanic vote they had prior election. So where is this empirical evidence that reaching out and granting amnesty or pathway to citizenship or whatever works?

There isn't any evidence that it accomplishes what the Republicans are dreaming that it will accomplish."

This is the kind of common sense and logic that seems to elude the Karl Rove and company types. They ignore history and insist that they are right, yet the evidence tells a completely different story. Since Simpson-Rizzoli the GOP has steadily lost their already small portion of the hispanic vote. There are number of reasons for this. 

Amnesty is all well and good but what comes after that. Many of these folks are poor and destitute. They will be in need of assistance, government assistance. What party has, since FDR, been associated with government run assistance? Ding, Ding,Ding, that's right, the democrats. The liberal democratic party is a natural choice for these folks since they are a perverse version of Santa Clause Except this benevolent do gooder doesn't have a jolly spirit and an army of elves. This form of assistance comes with strings and dependence, with no hope of self sufficiency. 

Unless the GOP moves to the left, it already has, then the latino vote will always vote for the democrats and not the democrate lite candidates that permeate the GOP. 

http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2012/11/07/gop-outreach-to-hispanics-wont-work/

The above link is the story that Rush was referencing. Folks we have to stop this. Call your congressman or congresswoman. Tell them to defund executive amnesty. It's not because we are mean and racist, as the left and their media cohorts say. It is because we are nation of laws, and at this point the laws are being trampled on. I welcome legal immigration. I do not welcome illegal immigration. The GOP can stop this. It's not too late. 

Renee Ellmers In Bed With Special Interests

Many of you have heard of the Marketplace Fairness Act otherwise known as the Internet Sales Tax. I am always amazed how Wahington acts like used car salesmen when it comes to bill titles. It sounds good but normally the product or legislation falls short of expectations and usually costs more than the sticker price. This act is a threat to small online retailers everywhere. I was sad to learn today in an e-mail that our congresswoman from the 2nd District is a key part of this job killing legislation. 

Hugh Fike with Heritage Action shared this information with me today. 

http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/last-ditch-push-to-pass-marketplace-fairness-act-in-house-falls-short/?SD

This is very troubling but sadly not surprising. Rep. Ellmers has a documented history of siding with the special interests over her own district's values. This is a bill that is heavily lobbied by big retailers. This bill sounds fair but it is anything but. This bill, intentional or not, will hurt small online stores. We all know someone who uses the internet as a storefront. This bill will hurt them exponentially and benefit the big retailers. 

http://youtu.be/UE93LDCcAQM

The above video is just a taste of how Washington, with Renee Ellmers help, is putting more of a strain on small businesses. Keep in mind that small businesses make up a good chunk of employment opportunity in this country. 

http://youtu.be/LWMJHpBfPEQ

The above video is a great breakdown by our friends at the Heritage Foundation why this bill is bad. I will summarize the high points. 

1. It is unfair. Big retailers that have physical presence in a state are eligible to  collect sales tax. They are only responsible for the consumers in that state. This bill would force small online retailers to comply with over 10,000 different tax zones. This will result in higher compliance costs for these small businesses. This bill will discourage innovation. It will bankrupt small online retailers. It will increase unemployment. It may be good for the big retailers, the lobbyists they hire, and the legislators they contribute to, but it is bad for you and me.

2. It is a tax. Taxes, once enacted, are rarely if ever repealed. As a North Carolina voter who pays local/county tax, state tax, federal income tax, sales tax, gas tax, etc. I feel that we are taxed enough. What we need is less taxes and less government. Not more taxes and more government. 

Rep. Is more than just a potential "yea" vote. She is a co-sponsor. That's right Moore County voter. Your "conservative" congresswoman is co-sponsor to a job killing, tax hiking, piece of legislation. This bill will probably be taken up in next session. There is still time. Please call Rep. Ellmers and tell her to do the following: 

1. Remove her name as a co-sponsor. 

2. Vote against this unfair and liberal piece of legislation. 

Remember, she works for you. Not the Speaker of the House. Not the special interests. She is our Representative. Let's  tell her what we feel. 

You can reach her on twitter @repreneeellmers

Also at her office at (202) 225-4531

If we do nothing to stop this, than we have no right to complain about the state of our nation. If we start, as individual ciozens, standing up in the face of these threats to our way of life, we can reverse our perilous course. We can then rebuild this great nation. It starts with me. It starts with you. Let's get started.