Thursday, September 29, 2011

Poverty versus Politics in Tennessee

I am ANGRY!  I read and hear about politicians “drawing lines in the sand” about the American Jobs Act of 2011 that the President has proposed to eradicate some of the ills of society and boost our economy by getting America on the right track economically.  Some politicians provide bogus rationales for not passing this bill.  Hidden tax hikes or that they disagree with the proposer.  READ THE BILL!   I have read it and there are no hidden tax hikes.  It doesn’t matter who proposed this legislation as long as it is beneficial to the American people it should be passed.  There are people that are impoverished and living below the poverty line (see the article entitled Poverty in Rural America:  2009). The United States is considered the wealthiest nation in the world.  Our rural citizens live as if they were in a third world country.  They deserve better.  Let me define Poverty for you.  Poverty can be defined as a depravation of essential assets and opportunities to which every human should be allowed.  How can poverty be reduced?  Poverty can be reduced by promoting opportunity (access to resources, services and productive employment) and facilitating empowerment of the individual (increasing the participation of all people (including the rural poor) in decision making).  The rural poor suffer due to a lack of opportunity.  This lack of opportunity exists because of a disconnection, often geographical, from the broader economy and society.  The provision of infrastructure and services is critical in overcoming rural poverty.  It is apparent that transportation investments will have the greatest impact on poor people coupled with other intervention programs (education, health care services etc.).  In order to decrease the poverty level, expansion of public transportation is vital.  It is only when housing, employment, and transportation are considered equally in planning decisions that the further isolation of the poor from job opportunities can be avoided.  Policymakers, service providers, and other stake holders must adapt their strategies to address the needs of the rural poor.  Tennessee’s rural poor emphasizes the need for policies that foster growth across the state and labor markets, and that link up affordable housing, transportation, workforce, and economic development strategies to help reduce the mismatch between low-income residents and job opportunities.  In the past, transportation planning has not taken adequate account of needs and requirements of the rural poor.  To insure that transportation policies are responsive to the needs of the poor, it is necessary to provide for their participation at various stages of planning, decision making, and implementation. 
According to the daily yonder, many of the counties in Tennessee have poverty rates of 20.1 percent to 62 percent.  With the President’s Proposed Bill (American Jobs Act of 2011) Tennessee lawmakers could put into action a plan that would take a “bite” out of poverty in rural Tennessee.  If you are poor, you are out of sight and out of mind.  How cruel our elected officials actually are, will be revealed on their stance for the poor. 

“The American Jobs Act of 2011 plan includes $50 billion in immediate investments for highways, transit, rail and aviation, helping to modernize a transit system that now receives a grade of “D” from the American Society of Civil Engineers and putting hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job. Of the investments for highway and transit modernization projects, the plan will make immediate investments of at least $619,000,000 in Tennessee that could support a minimum of approximately 8,000 local jobs. “ 
  
A D is below average.  If nothing is done an F will be assigned next. It’s ridiculous that our state has a poverty rate that rivals third world countries.  WAKE UP!   
Enough is enough.  Tennessee’s elected officials should put the states citizenry first and pass this bill. 

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Saturday, September 24, 2011

I have Officially Decided to Support President Obama in His Bid to be Re-elected

As some of you may know I am conservative but not religious (hence the name of this blog).  Being a conservative agnostic gives me a somewhat different set of opinions and values than the typical conservative religious person (Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim etc.).  I decided to support President Obama because it is easier to ascertain where he stands on the issues.  Which is very important to me because I value integrity.  When deciding who we should support in the upcoming election I think all the arguments should boil down to 5 words: Who has the most integrity?  President Obama's legal background gives him a thorough appreciation for the ideals of our Constitution and the role of the people.  During his first term I have yet to see one time where he did not uphold our most important document "The Constitution of the United States".  I also agree with him on most issues that I prioritize.  President Obama has proven during his first term his ability to create jobs.  The first stimulus package created somewhere from 1.6 million to 3.6 million jobs.  He passed this legislation despite it's unpopularity among the American people.  Passing the first stimulus package was not about getting re-elected or giving his contributors money to outsource.  The stimulus befitted the American people and not the American politicians.  The person I want to run my country is the person who has the courage to do what's best for America, and not to compromise because it will make other politicians and their biggest contributors happy.  I support the American Jobs Act of 2011, so why shouldn't I support the person who proposed this ingenious legislation.


"Show me the person that will risk losing the election because (s)he won't compromise his/her values, and I'll show you the person that deserves the right to be called the President of the United States of America."

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Some Presidential Candidates Could Be Inadvertently Funding Forced Abortions

Currently approximately 42 million unborn babies are killed per year throughout the world approximately 31% or 13 million (this number does not include the approx. 10 million abortion pills sold in china per year) of those abortions were performed in China.  Yet many of America’s so called pro-life Presidential candidates inadvertently fund abortions in China.  Back in April of 2007 dozens of women in southwest China were forced to have abortions even as late as nine months into the pregnancy, according to evidence uncovered by National Public Radio.  The following are excerpts from an article describing a forced abortion in China:  Liang Yage and his wife Wei Linrong had one child and believed that — like many other couples — they could pay a fine and keep their second baby. Wei was 7 months pregnant when 10 family planning officials visited her at home on April 16.
Liang describes how they told her that she would have to have an abortion, "You don't have any more room for maneuver," he says they told her. "If you don't go [to the hospital], we'll carry you." The couple was then driven to Youjiang district maternity hospital in Baise city.
"I was scared," Wei told NPR. "The hospital was full of women who'd been brought in forcibly. There wasn't a single spare bed. The family planning people said forced abortions and forced sterilizations were both being carried out. We saw women being pulled in one by one."
The officials gave Wei three injections in the lower abdomen. Contractions started the next afternoon, and continued for almost 16 hours. Her child was stillborn.
"The nurses dealt with the body like it was rubbish," Wei said. "They wrapped it up in a black plastic bag and threw it in the trash."
Abortions in China are government funded.  When our elected official’s votes on legislation to help corporations to outsource our jobs to China they are by proxy funding abortions in China. 
Presidential candidates Michelle Bachmann and Ron Paul both vote in favor of sending our jobs to foreign countries.  Both voted Nay on the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act (H.R. 2378) to clarify that fundamental exchange-rate misalignment by any foreign nation is actionable under United States countervailing and antidumping duty laws, and for other purposes and to clarify that countervailing duties may be imposed to address subsidies relating to a fundamentally undervalued currency of any foreign country.  In layman’s terms, H.R. 2378 provides our government with effective tools to address unfair currency manipulation by countries like China, which could help create 1 million American manufacturing jobs by leveling the international playing field for American workers and businesses.  Since the passing of this bill, no thanks to Michelle Bachmann and Ron Paul, Chinese wages and shipping costs have risen sharply causing some US manufacturers to bring our jobs back home (Several of these jobs will not be brought back to US plants until 2012(Please be patient).  Rep. Ron Paul also voted Aye in favor of H.R. 2587 a bill that protects employers that outsource by stripping the National Labor Relations Board of much of it’s powers.  In conclusion both of these Congress people who vote in favor of shipping US jobs overseas are by proxy funding abortion.  If either were elected to be President of the United States the number of abortions overseas could increase as more money is pumped into a foreign government who funds forced abortions.  Why don’t Ron Paul and Michelle Bachmann care about all 42 million of the worlds aborted babies?  

Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman said in a statement "I am proud of my private-sector experience, helping to grow our family business into a successful, global enterprise that has created thousands of high-paying American jobs,”  The amount of American workers his family’s business employs is only about 18% (2,174) of the total 12,000 employees.  Jon Huntsman said the following during the CNN/Tea Party debate: “We've got to remember, that to beat President Obama, we have to have somebody who's been in the private sector, understands the fragility of the free market system, has been a successful governor as it relates to job creation, and knows something about this world. ”  But as the President of the United States one cannot run the country as just a business, the President also has to take into consideration where a majority of Americans stand on social issues.  Chief Executive Officer Peter Huntsman, 48, a younger brother of the candidate, told an industry conference "We now employ more people between China and India than we do in North America, which is really quite phenomenal when you consider that about 90 percent of our associates 10 years ago were in North America”.  Jon Huntsman whom supports a right to life amendment is obviously oblivious to the 13 million government funded forced abortions performed in China on a yearly basis.  If America is supposed to be run like a business and shouldn’t take social issues going on in other countries seriously we would have free trade with Cuba and North Korea.  Huntsman has also said that there should be no truce on abortion when it comes to balancing social and economic issues. "I do not believe the Republican Party should focus only on our economic life--to the neglect of our human life,” he said. "That is a trade we should not make. If Republicans ignore life, the deficit we will face is one that is much more destructive. It will be a deficit of the heart and of the soul."  I’m confused as to where he stands and I think he is confused also.

Presidential candidate Rick Perry’s courtship of Chinese investment in Texas is by proxy supporting the millions of abortions per year in China.  When Chinese companies generate revenue from selling goods to America the money goes back to the Chinese government.  For instance, the Chinese government-owned Tianjin Pipe Group built the $1 billion Tianjin Pipe Factory in coastal Corpus Christi, Texas. And only last year, The New American reported that the government-run China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), in an agreement with Chesapeake Energy in Oklahoma City, acquired an approximate one-third interest in the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas, not far from Corpus Christi. The investment in both a pipe factory and a large oil play signals that China is turning to Texas to fuel its enormous need for oil.  



“Pro-life is not a matter of campaign convenience, it is a core conviction,” Texas Gov. Rick Perry told the crowd as he listed the anti-abortion rights legislation he signed into law in the state of Texas.
“It is a liberal canard to say I am personally pro-life but government should stay out of that decision,” Perry said, without naming Cain. “If that is your view, you are not pro-life, you are pro having your cake and eating it too.  We respect life, we respect life as a gift of God and what God has created, we should always work to protect.”  

How can a so called pro-life Governor seek to do business with a communist regime which clearly holds life to be of little value?  It seem Rick Perry is pro having his cake and eating it too.




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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Was H.R. 2587 Really Just About Boeing?

H.R.2587 - Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act is legislation that prohibits the National Labor Relations Board from ordering any employer to close, relocate, or transfer employment under any circumstance.  Some are discussing this legislation as if it is only about Boeing.  But the legislation actually affects “any employer” “under any circumstance” which in turn affects any employee.  If our Congress people were really just interested in protecting just Boeing and American jobs the bill would have been named “Protecting   American Multinational Aerospace and Defense Corporations from Government Interference Act” or “Protecting American Jobs From Government Interference Act”   The NLRB is an independent agency of the United States government charged with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices and with conducting elections for labor union representation.  H.R. 2587 basically strips the board of all its authority to prevent outsourcing.  Why didn’t Congress divide NLRB into 2 boards one to deal with unfair labor practices and outsourcing and another to deal with union representation?  Without a board charged with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices many Americans could be subject to unfair labor practices or having their jobs outsourced.
Rep. Timothy Bishop [D, NY-1] filed a motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment prohibiting the Act from limiting the National Labor Relations Board's authority to order an employer to maintain or restore jobs within the United States that have been or will otherwise be outsourced to a foreign country in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
The motion to recommit with instructions failed by the Yeas and Nays: 189 – 235.  235 House Representatives voted against an amendment that would have kept our jobs from being outsourced to a foreign country.  Wait, wasn’t all this supposed to be just because of Boeing opening a facility in South Carolina (not in a foreign country)?   If H.R. 2587 was really just about Boeing this amendment would not have failed.  Americans deserve to know the real reason behind H.R. 258.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Are Our Tennessee Representatives Really Against Outsourcing?

H.R.2587 - Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act is legislation that prohibits the National Labor Relations Board from ordering any employer to close, relocate, or transfer employment under any circumstance.  That sounds great… until you read the actual document.  The legislation includes wording that protects employers who outsource and is so vague that an employer could potentially send our jobs to a communist country.  The following is from the bill:  “…Board shall have no power to order an employer (or seek an order against an employer) to restore or reinstate any work, product, production line, or equipment, to rescind any relocation, transfer, subcontracting, outsourcing, or other change regarding location…”

Fortunately the following motion to recommit with instructions was filed:  “The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Bishop (NY) motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment prohibiting the Act from limiting the National Labor Relations Board's authority to order an employer to maintain or restore jobs within the United States that have been or will otherwise be outsourced to a foreign country in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.”  Too bad the motion failed that would have made this an excellent bill that would have protected employers and employees at the exact same time.

Rep. Diane Black [R, TN-6] voted Aye in favor of this legislation.  She voted Nay against the amendment to this legislation that would keep jobs in America.  In a statement on her website she said “In fact, the U.S. currently has the second-highest corporate tax rate among the developed nations of the world. Our tax rate is nearly 10 percentage points higher than the average of our international competitors.  A small business owner I visited in Portland told me he constantly feels pressure to move overseas because of the lower tax rates and the better business environment in places like China.”  While it is true that the United States has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, at 35 percent (not including any state levies), the actual amount in corporate taxes that the government collects (“the effective tax rate”) is lower than those of Germany, Canada, Japan and China, among others.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn [R, TN-7] voted Aye in favor of this legislation. Yet she voted Nay against the amendment that could potentially prevent billions of dollars from leaving the U.S. economy.  She and three other Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote in a letter to the heads of the Interior Department, Justice Department and Fish and Wildlife Service the following:  “It is hard to conclude anything other than the fact that your agencies and this Administration are actively pursuing regulatory and legal policies that discourage job growth in the United States and encourage shipping those very same jobs overseas,”  Wow that is so hypocritical considering she voted for H.R. 2587 just a week later.  She is being completely prejudicial and inciting animosity. 

Rep. Scott DesJarlais [R, TN-4] also voted Aye in favor of this legislation. And again just like the aforementioned Congresswomen he voted Nay against the amendment to this legislation that would keep jobs in America.   Due to his lack of leadership and regard for the average working American this legislation could pass in the Senate and trigger countless jobs being shipped overseasRep. DesJarlais also seems to follow in the footsteps of the previously mentioned Congresswomen by being hypocritical about other lawmaker’s leadership skills.  Why does he look at the speck of sawdust in another’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in his own?  The following are his own words:  "Tennesseans are fed up with the way Democrats in Washington have forced their big-government agenda on us. We are tired of the spending, the taxes and the fact countless jobs have been shipped overseas due to their reckless leadership." 

A total of 238 (54%) of U.S. House Representatives voted Aye in favor of H.R. 2587 and 235 (57%) voted Nay on the motion to recommit with instructions.  Which means, a majority of the Nations U.S. House representatives did not vote in favor of keeping American jobs from being shipped abroad which could lead to…dare I say it…a welfare state.  It is common sense that if most of our jobs are outsourced all of us will be on welfare and the rich will have to foot the bill.

But, not all hope is lost, Rep. Steve Cohen [D, TN-9 ], Rep. Jim Cooper [D, TN-5], and Rep. John Duncan [R, TN-2] voted Aye in favor of the amendment that would prevent billions of dollars from leaving the U.S. economy. 
I did not list every Tennessee Representative’s votes on H.R. 2587 in my post but they can be found here.


How the American Jobs Act of 2011 Affect Transportation in Tennessee

The American Jobs Act of 2011 will benefit Nashville’s public transportation system (MTA) in many ways.  According to the Brookings Institute, Nashville is experiencing a “crabgrass recession” – an economic downturn that has hit many suburbs and rural areas even harder than the cities.  Counties surrounding Davidson County have been tremendously hit by the recession.  An increase in transportation revenues will allow the MTA to expand into the suburbs and/or rural areas.  By expanding into these areas, citizens will be afforded reasonably priced transportation in order to commute to available jobs. Maybe the transit system will include light rail, commuter rail and bus rapid transit lines.  This will foster the opportunity for the working class to participate fully in Nashville’s economy.
The President of the United States is calling for $8 billion to go towards high-speed rail, as part of a six-year, $53-billion plan. The administration is hoping that the program will create jobs and boost American competitiveness in the long run. But on a smaller scale, an effective public transportation system can simply increase the quality of life in a city. By transporting people to work, school, local attractions, and healthcare facilities, public transit can reach into nearly every area of city life, from public health to tourism. Statistics show that public transit has experienced rapid growth, providing economic benefits to individuals and municipalities alike.
The American Jobs Act of 2011 includes $50 billion in immediate investments for highways, transits, rail and aviation, for the State of Tennessee an infrastructure that received a grade of “C” from the American Society of Civil Engineers.  This legislation will put hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job.  Of the investments for highway and transit modernization projects, the American Jobs Act of 2011 will make immediate investments of at least $619 million in Tennessee that could support a minimum of approximately 8,000 local jobs.
   

Friday, September 16, 2011

Please Buy American and Help Stimulate the U.S. Economy

Our elected officials are doing the best they can to stimulate the economy.  But truth be told there is only so much that they can do in a free market economy.  The real stimulus and boost to the economy will come quickly once Americans start purchasing American goods.  I am going to focus on shoes but this can be applied to other tangible goods purchases.

In the 1960s, the United States made 98 percent of its shoes. It now imports more than 90 percent of its footwear. The iconic red Radio Flyer wagons for children are now made in China. Even the Apple iPod comes in a box that says it was made in China but "designed in California."  Men Own an Average of 12 Pairs of Shoes; Women Own an Average of 27 Pairs.  The average man owns 0.4 pairs of shoes made in the US approximately 0 pairs of shoes.  It also means the average woman owns approximately 1 pair of shoes made in the US.   Footwear retailers in the U.S. generated approximately $25.3 billion in revenue in 2009 (excluding internet and catalog sales), representing roughly half of the U.S. $53 billion footwear industry.  U.S. footwear manufacturers represented a much smaller portion of the industry in 2009 generating an estimated $1.9 billion in revenue.  Which means the actual number of US manufactured shoes sold is only 3.6%.  If Americans were to purchase 10% percent of their shoes from US manufacturers (on average 1.2 pairs of shoes for men and 2.7 pairs of shoes for women) the US manufactured shoe sales would nearly triple generating an estimated $5.7 billion in revenue in one year.  

Employment in the footwear manufacturing industry has dropped dramatically in the United States in only 5 years. By 2002, there were less than 20,000 workers employed in U.S. footwear manufacturing.  US footwear manufacturers could potentially hire nearly an additional 40,000 workers if 10% of shoes purchased by Americans were US made.  In addition, any good business responds to market signals and if businesses begin seeing a trend of purchasing US made footwear they will make more available.  This could potentially pump several billions back into the US economy in the long term.  Our government can only give us short term stimulus.  The American consumer is a very powerful force to be reckoned with and can change the entire economy in a short amount of time by simply buying or not buying.  The market signals the American consumer is currently sending is that name brand is more important than American made.  The market responded by giving us more name brands.  Because the consumer did not care where the shoes were manufacture the businesses did not either.  If the consumer were to suddenly care whether or not their shoes were made in the US, companies would respond likewise.  

If Americans were to purchase 10% percent of all their tangible goods from US manufacturers not just shoes for one year the US economy would have a 10% increase (that's obvious).  Americans generate about $17,580,635,232,096.38 in income annually.  That could be increased to about $19 trillion.  I got the idea that Americans could stimulate the economy simultaneously with the US Government after reading an email I received from Made in the USA Forever's Todd Libscomb.  The email discussed that the Real Stimulus is for Americans to Buy American.  You can read it here.  Made in the USA Forever sells all American made products.  This is their website

I will be editing in more American made products and retailers in the future.  I hope next year many Americans decide to buy at least 10% American and I want to provide you with as many resources to do so as possible.  Buying American coupled with the American Jobs Act of 2011 should have our economy better than ever by January of 2013.


"Buy American Possible Resource List"
Panty Hose
Sneakers
Men Dress Shoes
Natural Body & Household products
Toys
NEW BALANCE Women's 790 Running Shoes $84
New Balance USA Collection
Buddy's Jeans $29.95-$40.00
Kids Jeans Made in Tennessee $10
Men's Jeans and shorts starting at $26.99
Women's Jeans $35.95
Continued Here...


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American Jobs Act of 2011 = Buy American

After reading the America Jobs Act of 2011 legislative proposal the words that resonated to me the most were “BUY AMERICAN”.
 SEC.4. BUY AMERICAN – USE OF AMERICAN IRON, STEEL, AND MANUFACTURED GOODS
(a)    None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States.

President Obama did not use the words “Buy American” in his speech because to many the phrase rings of protectionism.  President Obama throughout his political career has favored companies at home.  President Obama has applied a previously unused part of the trade law known as Section 421. This allows U.S. industries or unions to seek protection from "surges" of imports. President Bush nixed the four Section 421 petitions that reached his desk, citing the national economic interest.  Many Americans disapprove of protectionism and the President wisely chose not to use the words “Buy American” in his speech.  The American Jobs Act of 2011 will give American businesses an economic surge at the time when they need it most…NOW.  Politicians that do not support SEC. 4 of this legislative proposal are not pro American businesses and should not be re-elected.  SEC. 4 is located on pages 5 and 6 of the American Jobs Act of 2011.  You can read it for yourself here.  Call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to your representative and let them know you support SEC. 4 BUY AMERICAN.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Congresswoman Blackburn May Be Suffering Memory Loss

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn may be a backer of Gibson Guitar and its CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, but she voted for — after initially opposing — the 2008 bill that led to last month’s raids on the company.

Blackburn sided with the majority in overriding a veto from then President George W. Bush of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, a massive agriculture bill that mainly dealt with farm subsidies but also expanded the trade law that Gibson is alleged to have violated. Blackburn has criticized the Obama administration for upholding and enforcing the law by raiding Gibson’s facilities in Memphis and Nashville in search of rare imported woods.
It seems as though she may have caved into peer pressure when she blocked the veto.  But, to change her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms does not show good leadership qualities.  Also, how can the Obama administration be at fault for laws that were enacted under the previous administration?  As a member of Congress, she should know the procedures for repealing a law.   I am assuming complaining to the media and blaming the President are part of the process (I am feeling very sarcastic today).

Blackburn did oppose the farm bill when it first went through the House of Representatives. But her stated reasons for doing so did not include the bill’s expansions of the Lacey Act, which bans the importation of endangered species.  The Lacey Act also led to last month’s raids on Gibson Guitar.