The Stafford Voice

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economy

Mike Lee on How Conservatives Can Fight Obama’s Crony Economy

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Sen. Mike Lee has an agenda on fighting Obama’s crony economy and how conservatives can do it.

At Heritage.org, Lee first addressed the fact that America and her economy is the ‘envy of the world’ and how many people are starting to ‘believe our system is rigged.’

It’s easy to side with people when Obama and his cronies step in with endless stimulus packages and bailouts, to continuing the false narrative of Global Warming/Cooling, to the takeover of 1/6th of the economy with Obamacare. These, and many more are hurting the economy and the American worker.

Mike Lee also brings to light something that should be on your radar in the form of the Export-Import Bank. Don’t know, or have never heard of the Ex-Im Bank?

In short, Ex-Im Bank exists to dole out taxpayer-backed loan guarantees to help American exporters. Most of the benefits go to large corporations that are perfectly capable of securing private financing anywhere in the world. That is to say, Congress allows Ex-Im Bank to risk taxpayer money unnecessarily to subsidize well-connected private companies.

So, what are Lee’s three principles on why we should fight Obama’s crony economy?

  1. We should do this to fix the economy, and fight against those who make it virtually impossible to create new jobs and competition.
  2. It’s a matter of basic justice, that the people have a ‘fundamental right to equal opportunity under the law.’
  3. Conservatives must make a stand and bear the burden of reform.

He also proposes policy reforms that:

  • force Congress to periodically reevaluate expensive regulations,
  • level the playing field for all energy producers,
  • open our higher education system to new students, teachers, and competition,
  • give Americans the right to choose whether or not to join a union,
  • cut out the bureaucrats who waste critical infrastructure funding,
  • and, yes, eliminate taxpayer subsidies to organizations like the Ex-Im Bank.

Fighting against Obama’s crony economy is something we will hear more of leading up to the 2014 elections and into 2016.

Arizona: Free Markets vs. Religious Protection

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Arizona wants to protect business owners who want to deny a product or service because of their religious beliefs.

This should be a pretty open and shut deal as long as you look at it from a free market standpoint. Take a second and think about it. That would be the only reason a business would want to be able to protect themselves from anyone in the LGBT community who would be refused service.

In one sense, the table has shifted against the LGBT community. Instead of LGBT’s going on the offence, they are now on the defense. And, of course you’ll get those extremists on either side who are shouting YES or NO.

But take a second and take a second to look at this in the eyes of the free market system. Because, that’s how things work in the real world.

When the free market is allowed to work, there are real winners and losers. If someone wants to purchase a good or service from you and you deny them because of your religious beliefs, the real winner is the person who was denied.

And here’s why:

You are offering either a good or a service, you aren’t selling your personal beliefs. The only one’s that are out doing that are churches. But, then again they aren’t selling anything.

The free market allows for you to be a winner as long as you continue to sell your good or service. If not, you’ll close up and go broke! If you make the best cake in the town, but you won’t sell that cake then it’s time to consider yourself done.

Denying your good or service to the LGBT community is no different than telling a non-white to use a certain water fountain. This is a giant step backwards.

The National Debt In One Infographic

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The national debt has been out of control for a long time. But, do you really get how bad it is?

Washington continues to spend as if they can just print more money. Oh wait . . . Nevermind on that one!

This infographic put out by Heritage does a great job of showing you how out of control Washington is with spending.

If only they were as good as cutting spending as they are at actually spending.

$17 trillion breakdown infographic
via Heritage

Katie Pavlich: Fewer Than 50K Enrolled in Obamacare

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Katie Pavlich joined FNC’s America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer to talk about the latest report issued on the Obamacare enrollment numbers.

Fewer than 50K have enrolled, but there’s more to these numbers than the Obama administration wants you to know.

Katie explains that the number reported isn’t all that accurate. You see, it works a lot like when you are shopping online. If you put something in your cart, according to the administration, you are considered enrolled.

It doesn’t matter if you ever plan on coming back to your cart either. They count it as someone has enrolled.

Watch the report below:

Cost of Obamacare Much Higher Than Previously Thought

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Taxpayers will be shocked when they learn just how much higher the cost of Obamacare will be than previously thought.

We’ve all heard numbers of how much just the website has cost.

But did you know that each state had to do a study to determine whether they wanted to take part?

What about the BILLIONS being sent to states for tier 1 funding? Or tier 2 funding?

Take a look at these numbers with Tom Foreman of CNN:

Sebelius Testifies That ‘The Website Has Never Crashed’ While Website Is Down

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Today, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had to testify on the rollout of the Obamacare website.

One of the questions she was faced with was why the website kept crashing.

In the video below she answers by saying: “The website has never crashed.”

Obviously she wasn’t aware that while she was testifying and making that statement, the website was down.

Go ahead and watch for yourself:

Insurers Oppose Obamacare Extension

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Healthcare.gov Website
photo credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Allowing Americans more time to enroll for health coverage under Obamacare may raise premiums and cut into profits, insurers are telling members of Congress in a bid to stop such a move.

Extending the enrollment period would have a “destabilizing effect on insurance markets,” saidRobert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the Washington-based lobbyist group American’s Health Insurance Plans. Allowing younger, healthy Americans to sign up later, as they probably would, means less revenue for insurers counting on those premiums to help defray the cost of sicker customers, threatening industry profits.

“If you can enroll at any point in the year, then you can just wait until you get sick,” Brian Wright, an analyst with Monness Crespi Hardt in New York, said in a telephone interview. “This isn’t the industry crying foul and exaggerating the issue, this is actually one of those issues where there is a well-grounded reason for the concerns.”

It’s a message the industry is taking to Congress after Republicans there, along with at least 10 Democrats, have suggested enrollment be extended beyond its current March 31 deadline because of issues with healthcare.gov, the federal health insurance website that’s been plagued by software miscues.

Consumers who don’t have coverage through their employers or government health programs are being encourage to sign up by mid-December for plans that take effect Jan. 1. After March 31, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act imposes penalties on Americans without coverage.

Read more: Insurers Oppose Obamacare Extension as Danger to Profits – Bloomberg.

Cost of Obamacare Hurts: GOP Weekly Address by Gov. Mike Pence

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This week, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence addresses the impending costs of Obamacare and how much it hurts jobs and the economy.

He also discusses what state Governors are doing to help. He talks about when Washington is spending more money, states are cutting costs. As Washington tries to grow, states are working more toward a small and limited government.

It can be best summed up when Pence says, “By letting freedom and personal responsibly work together, you reduce the need for government.”

Watch the video below: