Omnibus Bill Proving Ominous

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

March 5, 2009

With Congress prepared to throw another 410 billion of our taxpayer dollars out the window on superfluous projects many of which had previously been rejected at the state level, a few Democrats are finally waking up to smell the Arabica beans.

Moderate Senator Evan Bayh (IN) and reliable liberal senators Russ Feingold (WI) and Robert Menendez (NJ) announced they would not vote for this pork-laden omnibus bill. This after Senator John McCain (R-AZ) took to the Senate floor to decry the multitude of nonsense plaguing the bill that will continue to drive the stock market further and further into oblivion. This is where McCain demonstrates he still has an ounce of conservatism left in him, as he and conservatives lay blame where it belongs – on all members of both parties who took part in this spending orgy – and, yes, that includes the 40 percent of the pork brought to us by GOP members.

McCain cited the following examples as some of the nuggets found in the omnibus bill: $1.7 million for pig odor research in Iowa, $6.6 million for termite research in New Orleans, $2.1 million for the Center for Great Genetics in New York, $1.7 million for a honeybee factory in Weslaco, TX, $333,333 for a school sidewalk in Franklin, TX, $143,000 for an on-line encyclopedia in NV, $951,000 for a sustainable Las Vegas – whatever the hell that means, and $207,000 for a tattoo removal program in Los Angeles – wasn’t Fantasy Island cancelled years ago? And on it goes to the tune of roughly 9,000 earmarks.

Bayh said this is business as usual and that the increases are counter-productive. Not just counter-productive, but in many cases previously rejected on the state level. Case in point, Nevada voters rejected a transportation system from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, which is now part of this omnibus bill to be paid for by all Americans, not just Nevadans, thanks to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. To contact Reid in Washington, DC, call 202-224-3542, or send an e-mail via his Senate website: www.reid.senate.gov.

Yes, there is a link between Capitol Hill and Wall Street, just as there is a link between Wall Street and Main Street, despite Barack Obama admitting just days ago that he doesn’t pay much attention to Wall Street. That is painfully obvious, as every time he opens his mouth the market takes another tumble toward hell. Clearly, this is demonstrative of a lack of confidence in Obama and his plans.

What happens on the Hill does not stay on the Hill. Look at the trends – when Obama makes a public pronouncement of some sort regarding the economy, the housing market, his continued attempts at wealth redistribution and tax increases, the stock market falls precipitously. Eventually people will stop investing causing companies to lose revenue, forcing them to lay more employees off, raising unemployment and thus the people’s dependence upon government.

Obama attempts to delineate a difference between Wall and Main streets, yet they are inexorably linked. In one way shape or form, virtually all Americans – Main Street, are linked to the stock market – Wall Street. Whether it is via an IRA, a 401(k) or some other investment instrument, the average American is touched by the stock market. When the market struggles, consumer confidence wanes, causing a drop in purchasing, and thus the inevitable layoffs.

Obama lied when he said anyone earning less than $250,000 would not see their taxes raised. By allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire, he is doing just that – causing a raise in taxes on anyone owning stock as capital gains taxes will increase. Pushing for a reduction in allowable home mortgage interest deductions will raise the taxes of anyone owning a home. By seeking to disallow charitable contributions as a legitimate deduction, people’s taxes will not only rise, but charitable contributions will fall as a result. This in turn diminishes the ability of charities to help those in the direst of need, thus forcing them to seek increased government assistance, ultimately costing the taxpayers more money.

If not raising taxes on 95 percent of Americans is an Obama goal that he believes will help jumpstart the economy, taxes should not be raised on 100 percent of Americans for the same reason. To do otherwise defies logic, but then, so too does the notion of government making things better for the American people by running them. Instead, government takes hold of something and runs it into the ground. All one needs to do is examine the DMV, US Postal Service and the dilapidated state of public education in this country. But public education is a topic for another column.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and political consultant living in Alexandria, VA.

"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt." – Thomas Jefferson, letter to Samuel Kercheval, 12 July 1816

RINO Virus Striking the Senate

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

February 8, 2009

With the potential, even likely, defections of Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe (RINO-ME) along with Arlen Specter (RINO-PA), Barack Obama’s scare tactics may succeed in garnering enough so-called Republican votes in order to secure passage of the heinous alleged stimulus proposal.

No Republican in his or her right mind should support such a pork-laden insult to the American people. Quite frankly, the Democrats should also be ashamed for supporting such an excuse for political posturing, but this is typical. Note recent comments made by Dick Durbin (D-IL) when he accused the GOP of not playing ball or being team players and for depriving poor children of the necessities of life that this bill would supposedly provide. Does anyone recall Durbin being a team player during the Bush administration?

And then there’s Obama himself taking to the bully pulpit on an almost daily basis reminding the American people that “a failure to act, and act now, will turn [this] crisis into a catastrophe,” something he said on February 4. Adding to his own audacity, Obama also suggested that to even have this debate is both “inexcusable and irresponsible.” What is irresponsible is a government that bails out the banking industry and has no idea what happened to more than $80 billion. What is also irresponsible is the role the RINOs are playing as enablers.

Well, to paraphrase Franklin Roosevelt, a man with whom Obama has been oft compared, the only thing we have to fear, is Obama’s fear mongering. His doom and gloomism is frighteningly reminiscent of the Carter years. With each passing day of debate and discovery of the actual components of this revolting pack of sewage, there is less and less support for the so-called stimulus package by the American populous themselves. As more and more pork projects are unearthed and made public it is the public that is becoming more and more outraged. Outrage over projects like redecorating the Commerce Department building, water slides, and planting grass seed around the Jefferson Memorial for example. Telephone calls have flooded senate offices in Washington, DC as well as locally across the country by concerned citizens not wanting their great-grandchildren to be the unfortunate recipients of the bills for this institutional largesse.

As we approach the bicentennial of the birth of a great leader, Abraham Lincoln, it is another Lincoln that deserves praise. Senator Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat, yes, a Democrat, said on February 7 during an impassioned speech from the Senate floor that “we have to be patient… We have to deal with this crisis and put ourselves back on track. We can do it with timely and temporary measures.”

These measures ought to be temporary, not a permanent, perpetual boondoggle of priming the pump that will lead to almost certain permanent and perpetual dependence upon government instead of personal and corporate responsibility. This kind of behavior will ultimately manifest itself until the United States no longer is a free market economy, but one where the government runs every aspect of our lives; and judging by how they have done thus far, that is something to truly fear.

What people should not be afraid of, is failure. Thomas Edison failed hundreds of times before he achieved success. When business fails, there are reasons – poor management, poor product design, poor salesmanship – whatever the reasons, go back to the drawing board – that’s the purpose of the research and development teams. Government did not bail out the makers of the Nash, Packer or Oldsmobile – my first car, by the way. No, they went the way of the flashbulb, typewriter and dinosaur.

The problem with this bill potentially failing is that the government doesn’t have brains enough to go back to the drawing board. Instead, the party in power, the Democrats, attempts to cajole the leading team of RINOS – Collins, Snowe and Specter to stray from the rest of their pack. The Dems almost nabbed Senators George Voinovich of Ohio and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – but not this time.

The CEOs and CFOs harping over the possibility of a “mere” $500,000 salary should be thankful they have jobs. Quite frankly, any company going to the government with hands out should relieve the CEO/CFO and the entire board of directors from duty. Clearly they have not managed their ship safely to shore. Stockholders ought to determine the salaries of those who will run the companies, after all the stockholders are the real owners of the companies. Offer a reasonable salary with bonus options relative to the success or lack of same. Salesmen work on commission, why not corporate bigwigs. If they don’t like that plan, go back to work, roll up your sleeves and don’t come to Washington hat in hand.

Democrat Congressman Gene Taylor of Mississippi, who wisely voted against the House bill said, “The nation borrowed $800 billion between the Revolutionary War through Gerald Ford’s presidency. In one vote, the nation is going to borrow another $800 billion. This is nuts.”

What Democrats like Taylor and Republicans ought to be doing is trying to convince those who wish to shove this bill down the throats of the American people how wrong it is and scrap it. Trying to nickel and dime it down is akin to the old, but applicable, adage of the bandage on the bullet hole. Have the patience implored by Blanche Lincoln and invest the taxpayers money prudently and penuriously, if at all. What’s needed are more senators like Dr. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and South Carolina’s Jim De Mint – they are the cream of the Republican crop.

Lincoln also reminded her colleagues something that all elected officials should remember – “It is our responsibility, it is our duty, and it should be our honor to come together and work these problems out.” Responsibility, duty and honor. Elected officials best remember who put them in their positions in the first place. And the voters would do well to remember how those elected officials voted to spend the taxpayers’ money. For those who don’t approve, and the mounting objections speak volumes, the vote cast in November 2010 will speak louder yet when those elected officials are fired. We hired you and we can damn well fire you.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and political consultant living in Alexandria, VA.

Not Your Father’s Stock Market – Does Anyone Really Miss Oldsmobile?

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

November 19, 2008

During Independence Day weekend in 2005 I bought a brand new Chevy Malibu. It’s such a nice automobile that General Motors now wants me to buy another one, except they won’t actually let me have the car. They, along with Ford and Chrysler want my money, but have nothing to offer in return. The same is true for the rest of American automobile owners and even those who do not currently own a vehicle of any kind.

Yes, my friends, welcome to the great American Automobile Bailout. The big three American auto makers in the United States flew into Washington, DC – on private jets, no less – obviously not learning anything from the piggish largesse demonstrated by AIG – hats in hand – upturned – begging Congress for a $25 billion “loan” to keep them afloat.

Remembering former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s anti-drug mantra of the 1980s, advice to Congress, “Just say no.” First the banking and financial industry, now the automobile industry, where does it end? Who will come calling next? Textile workers? The newspaper industry? Of course their failings are their own fault for all the pulp fiction the alleged mainstream media disguises as journalism. Well, as Harry Truman so eloquently noted on his Oval Office desk, “The buck stops here,” and here is with the American taxpayers. After all, the money Congress would “loan” the big three comes from the revenue provided by the American taxpayer.

And what do the taxpayers get in return?

Supporters of the bailout say it is necessary to prevent the auto industry from going bankrupt and eventually out of business causing the elimination of over one million jobs related directly and indirectly to the auto industry. US Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) never met a bailout he didn’t like – starting with the initial $700 billion and the $100 billion dumped in the laps of the AIG weasels who continued living high off the hog on the backs of the taxpayers while the AIG executives were getting cushy massages. If Frank is for it, it must be the wrong thing to do.

On the other hand, Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) was right on target when he called for Edward Liddy, AIG’s beleaguered CEO, to resign as a condition of the bailout. Why keep the same leaders at the helm to continue running the ship aground.

The automobile industry is to blame for their current failings. Obviously they are not producing the vehicles that the American motorist wants to drive or if they are, the cost is too prohibitive. And just why is the cost too prohibitive? It begins and ends with labor costs. The labor costs of the big three auto makers in the United States is roughly $73 to $74 per hour, while the labor cost of the average American worker not a part of the big three is about $28 to $29 per hour. By the way, in Japan, the labor cost of the auto worker is about $45 an hour.

Reorganization ought to include a panel of “civilians” to advise the big three what will drive customers back into the showrooms. Perhaps the big three simply need to make better vehicles. Although to be fair, I have only owned American cars and have had success with them, including my current Malibu, which I really enjoy, but then, I have low expectations – get me where I need to go safely and in a timely fashion. I probably would not be a good candidate for the civilian panel.

In fact my first car was a 1973 Delta 88 Oldsmobile – a big ole honking four door, dare I say, Carolina blue, behemoth of a car that had crank windows, AM-only radio and took regular leaded gasoline. Oldsmobile has gone the way of the dinosaur and America has survived. Perhaps if GM, Ford or Chrysler faded away or merged with one another and streamlined themselves, they could once again be the strong, solid American automobile manufacturer people remember from yesteryear. Sometimes a thinning of the herd strengthens the herd. Probably something of which Darwin would approve.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R), himself a Michigan native, has come out against the bailout. He suggests that bankruptcy is the appropriate way to go as well, because why should the American taxpayer be forced to pay for something they obviously did not want in the first place. Romney’s father, George Romney headed up American Motors starting in 1954. Anyone miss American Motors? They came into this world as a result of a merger between the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company in 1954. They foolishly merged with the French company Renault in the 1970s and finally exited stage left when Chrysler bought out AMC. (Renault after all produced the hideous Le Car in the early to mid ‘70s. What a piece of crap.)

Lead, follow or get out of the way is the advice for the big three. If they can’t make it on their own, it just wasn’t meant to be. If bankruptcy will shake loose the cobwebs and give people something worth buying at a price worth paying, consumers will be back. If not, perhaps one of the big three needs to fade into the sunset.

Some who support the bailout have suggested it would be bad for the economy if the bailout does not occur. Well, let’s look at the tumbling stock market. When the Democratic-led Congress approved the initial $700 billion bailout did the market suddenly turn around and enjoy an upswing? No. And with continued talks of more government handouts with taxpayer dollars, the market continues sliding into the mire and muck.

When the Dow Jones Industrial Average, first published on May 26, 1896 in Customer’s Afternoon Letter, the original Dow Industrials featured but 12 companies from America’s important industries. In 1916 the Dow expanded to 20 companies and finally in 1928 settled on 30 companies – the number used to this day. Of the original 12, General Electric is the last man standing – and barely at that. They have enough of their own problems.

So, what happened to the US Leather Company? Dissolved in 1952. What about North American Company? Broken up in the ‘40s. How about the National Lead Company? Today they are NL Industries, but they were tossed off the Dow in 1916. And the American Sugar Company? Today, they are Domino Foods, Inc. – sugar, not pizza. Companies come and companies go – like the Bible says, a time to be born and a time to die.

And what about the original Dow 30? Sure, Chrysler and GM are still standing, but did the country fold when Bethlehem Steel, founded in 1857, went bankrupt in 2001 and dissolved two years later? No, other businesses pick up the pace. Anyone miss Woolworth? OK, it was an American institution, but now there is Wal-Mart. Potsum Inc. became General Foods, while American Can became Primerica. Standard Oil of New Jersey became Exxon while Texas Corp. became Texaco and is now Chevron – just a hair of a different color. All part of the original 30. In business there are no sacred cows.

It may not be necessary to reinvent the wheel, but reinventing the American automobile industry sure seems like a prudent idea.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and political consultant living in Alexandria, VA.

Statistics via WABE (Washington Area Boards of Education) as well as school superintendent offices.