• Barack Obama,  economics

    Poll Watch: 67 Per Cent Say They Could Do a Better Job on the Economy Than Congress

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    Political Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

    There has been a “Deal” in the Democrat/Obama Economic Stimulus bill in the House Senate-Conference Committee and the bill with ONLY three Republican Senators supporting it is scheduled to clear the Senate Thursday with the President signing it into law on Friday.

    But, that is contrary to the latest polling that says Americans are more confident in their own ability to affect the economy.

    When it comes to the nation’s economic issues, 67% of U.S. voters have more confidence in their own judgment than they do in the average member of Congress.

    Nineteen percent (19%) trust members of Congress more, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fourteen percent (14%) aren’t sure.

    Republicans and unaffiliated voters by double digits have more confidence in themselves than Democrats do, but even a majority of the party that controls Congress trust themselves more than the average legislator.

    Forty-four percent (44%) voters also think a group of people selected at random from the phone book would do a better job addressing the nation’s problems than the current Congress, but 37% disagree. Twenty percent (20%) are undecided.

    The new Congress fares worse on this question that the previous Congress. Last October, just 33% said a randomly selected group of Americans would do a better job than the Congress then in session.

    Although an $800-billion-plus economic rescue plan has now passed both the House and Senate, the overwhelming majority of voters are not confident that Congress knows what it’s doing with regards to the economy. Fifty-eight percent (58%) agree, too, that “no matter how bad things are, Congress can always find a way to make them worse.”

    Well, the American voting public has what Congress wanted for them – all $789 Billion worth. And, will have the pleasure of paying it back.

    Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, predicted the bill “will be the beginning of the turnaround for the American economy.”

    Reid said the legislation would create 3.5 million jobs.

    The Democrats and President Obama OWN this STIMULUS law because it is their creation. When the economy does not rapidly improve and 1970’s style inflation/stagflation reappears.

    Don’t say the GOP didn’t tell you so.


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  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day,  economics

    Day By Day by Chris Muir February 11, 2009 – President Clouseau

    Day By Day 021109

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    The Democrat/Obama Economic Stimulus Bill, HR.1 or S.1., now in a joint House-Senate Conference Committee will forever be known as the Generational Theft Act as it will encumber future generations with its over $1.2 Trillion in government spending.

    Plus, its health care stealth provisions will lead to rationing of Medicare for Seniors.

    The GOP will be smart to stay far away from this pork-laden (excessive and wasteful government spending) PORKULUS and communicate this is “OWNED” by the Congressional Democrats and President Obama. Since it is doubtful, PORKULUS will have any stimulative effect on the economy, Flap wonders who will Pelosi, Reid and Obama blame?

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    The Day By Day Archive


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  • Barack Obama,  economics

    Obama Economic Stimulus Bill Health Care Scare – Stealth Provisions Will Ration Senior Care Applying a Cost-Effectiveness Standard for Medicare

    health-care-scare

    Flap doubts the three GOP Senators (Specter, Collins and Snowe) that signed off on this “COMPROMISE” even realized these health care provisions were in the bill.

    Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.

    Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.

    Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).

    The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

    But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”

    Keeping doctors informed of the newest medical findings is important, but enforcing uniformity goes too far.

    Read the entire piece and pay particular attention to the cost-effectiveness standard for senior’s Medicare.

    Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).

    The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.

    In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.

    Hidden Provisions

    If the Obama administration’s economic stimulus bill passes the Senate in its current form, seniors in the U.S. will face similar rationing. Defenders of the system say that individuals benefit in younger years and sacrifice later.

    The Democrats slipped into the Democrat/Obama Stimuls Bill a path to UK type socialized medicine standards.

    Surprise.

    Great transparency from the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats – NOT.

    The House and Senate GOP Caucus should insist that these provisions be stricken from the final bill in Conference Committee. If the provisions are NOT removed, the GOP should expel Susan Collins, Olympia Snow and Arlen Specter from the Republican Party IMMEDIATELY.


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  • Barack Obama,  economics

    Is Obama Having HIS Way Over Economic Stimulus Fight?

    Obama and GOP Gallup Poll

    Well, it certainly looks that way in this Gallup Poll, nothwithstanding the Rasmussen and CBS News polls that say otherwise. Mark Blumenthal over at Pollster has an explanation of the poll disparities.

    Flap agrees with Allahpundit that the American public wants to see the government DO SOMETHING and will give President Obama (who, after all, has only been in office a few weeks) the benefit of the doubt.

    However, the GOP has positioned itself well on the fight. Obama, Reid and Pelosi OWN this bill and if the economy does not rapidly improve they will pay the political price.

    Of course, Senator Susan Collins, when the bill returns from a House Conference could vote the behemoth down if there is too much pork.

    But, don’t count on it.


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  • Barack Obama,  economics

    Poll Watch: 62 % Want Economic Stimulus Bill to Have MORE Tax Cuts and Less Spending

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    The latest Rasmussen poll on the Democrat/Obama Economic Stimulus bill says American voters want MORE tax cuts and less government spending – echoing the GOP.

    With the Senate poised to vote Tuesday on an $827-billion version of the economic recovery plan, 62% of U.S. voters want the plan to include more tax cuts and less government spending.

    Just 14% would like to move in the opposite direction with more government spending and fewer tax cuts, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Twenty percent (20%) would be happy to pass it pretty much as is, and five percent (5%) are not sure.

    Republicans and unaffiliated voters overwhelmingly want to see more tax cuts and less government spending. Democrats are more evenly divided: 42% agree with the Republicans, 32% want to pass the plan as is, and 22% would like to see more government spending and fewer tax cuts.

    Most conservative and moderate voters want to see more tax cuts. A plurality of liberals say the plan should be passed pretty much as it is.

    This is not surprising since Americans traditionally support more of their own money to spend the way THEY want.

    Overall, 37% of voters favor the stimulus plan and 43 % are opposed.

    The latest Rasmussen Reports poll – showing that 62% want more tax cuts and less government spending – is similar to a CBS News poll taken last week. That poll found that 62% said that reducing taxes will do more than increased spending to end the recession.


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  • Barack Obama,  economics,  John McCain

    Obama Bait and Switch – PORKULUS: Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Economic Bailouts

    taxpayers-risk

    Flap thought Barack Obama ran on “change”- America from the Borrow-and-Spend ways of the Republican Party that has left America $11 Trillion dollars in debt.

    Bait and switch with a $9.7 Trillion government bailout?

    Here is John McCain on yesterday’s Face the Nation on why he and all Republicans except for Senators Specter, Collins and Snowe will or have voted against the Democrat/Obama Economic Stimulus Bill, S.1 or HR. 1.


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  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day

    Day By Day by Chris Muir February 8, 2009 – And There Was the Word…And It Was No Good

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    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    The Demcorat/Obama Economic Stimulus Bill, S.1., (as reconciled with HR.!) will likely be on the President’s desk by the end of this next week. Obama will have scored a major legislative victory with very little GOP support. In other words, the Democrat President will OWN this massive amount of government spending.

    If the economy does not rapidly improve, there will be NO political cover for the Democrats in 2010.

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  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day,  economics

    Day By Day by Chris Muir February 7, 2009 – Getting in Dutch

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    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    President Obama and Congressional Democrats have seemingly won a legislative victory when two or three GOP moderates sold out their party and agreed to PORKULUS or S.1, the Economic Stimulus bill.

    The bill in the Senate has been cut from $920 billion to $820 billion but once the Senate passes the bill, it must be reconciled with the House passed version, H.R. 1. And House Democrats are not happy about the Senate cuts.

    The GOP has ONLY two or three members (Senators Susan Colins, Arlen Specter and Olympia Snowe) who support the bill. Most Republicans are strongly opposed to the compromised bill and ridicule it as too expensive and an ineffective stimulus to the economy.

    U.S. Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), issued the following statement tonight after the announcement of a compromise on the Senate stimulus bill.

    “While I appreciate the efforts of my colleagues to bring down the price tag of this bill, the fact is we still face a trillion dollar spending bill. Making it worse, the bill is 93% spending and only 7% stimulation. Over the past few days I have fought to include more in the way of real stimulus through higher percentage of infrastructure and defense spending, while working to cut much of the typical government waste often found in a bill of this size. Yet Democrats have blocked these efforts.

    “The good news tonight is that the American people are catching on to the fact that this is the largest spending bill in history and are becoming more and more vocal in their opposition. My offices in Oklahoma and Washington DC have been flooded with emails, phone calls and faxes overwhelmingly opposed to this trillion dollar legislation. They can rest assured that my vote remains an unwavering ‘no.'”

    There is no guarantee that the GOP Senators will support the conferenced bill, should House Democrats not agree to Senate imposed cuts.

    Stay tuned……..


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  • Barack Obama,  economics

    PORKULUS: Tentative Deal With Gang of Two or Three GOP Senators Reached?

    +++++Update+++++

    The U.S. Senate remains in session considering amendments to S.1. at 11:15 PM EST

    Nobody has seen the final bill. Two GOP Senators Arlen Specter and Susan Collins have sold out the Republican Party and now will prevent a filibuster of the bill.

    A final vote is expected sometime this weekend. A cloture vote is now expected on Monday.

    Stay tuned for updates.

    Economic-stimulus-deal-reac

    A tentative deal reached?

    Amid stunning new job losses and yet another bank failure, key senators and the White House reached tentative agreement Friday night on an economic stimulus measure at the heart of President Barack Obama’s recovery plan. Two officials said the emerging agreement was for a bill with a $780 billion price tag, but there was no immediate confirmation.

    The Senate is in recess until 7 PM EST.

    Stay tuned…..

    Follow up to the minute updates on Twitter —————->


  • Barack Obama,  economics

    PORKULUS: A Deal or Not with GOP Senators to Pass the Democrat/Obama Economic Stimulus Bill?

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    Deal or No Deal?

    Unknown but specualtion is running rampant.

    Byron York of National Review says possibly.

    Just got off the phone with an influential Republican senator.  I asked how things stood with the stimulus, and he answered instantly, “They’ve cut a deal with three of our guys.  They’re delaying us from offering amendments.  I suspect that as soon as they’ve got it written, they will offer it as an amendment, vote on it, and that will be it.”  He didn’t have details on what the deal might be, but most Republicans seem to suspect it will involve relatively small cuts — and very little change in the price tag of the bill from the House version — that will be touted as a major bipartisan compromise.  My senator suspects — hopes? — that no more than four Republicans will vote for the bill.

    Jay Newton-Small over at Time’s Swampland says possibly.

    The debate this morning, according to members of the Gang of 18, is about size and scope. The group is meeting in Senate Minority Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office as I type this. Ben Nelson, whom I profiled this morning, and Claire McCaskill both expressed optimism heading into the meeting. As did Reid on the Senate floor this morning, “I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said, though he went on to threaten a weekend “test vote” if an agreement is not hammered out today – a marked retreat from his boast yesterday on the floor that he had the 60 votes and he wouldn’t necessarily wait forever for the Gang of 18 to come to an agreement.

    “Composition and size are still sticking points at this point, but I think we’re getting there on both of them,” McCaskill told reporters in front of Reid’s offices.

    “The hope is we will still be able to pick up two more Republicans and if we’re able to do that then I think we’ll have sufficient numbers to get a vote,” Nelson told reporters. Nelson said they have some Republican support though they are still short a few votes of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster, meaning they may well have lost some moderate Dems since Democrats control 58 seats.

    Maine Senator Susan Collins, who has been the lead Republican negotiator, was less optimistic. “We don’t have a deal,” she barked at press this morning. “We’re still working on it. I can’t talk right now.”

    Stay tuned and watch Flap’s Twitter feed in the right sidebar for up to the minute information or Follow Flap on Twitter here.


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