Archives for February 2013

February 25, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned Virginia Republican Governor Bob McDonnell and General Assembly Republicans for their budget that implements a 3.5 percent gasoline tax indexed to rise with inflation, paves the way for a local 1 percent sales tax, expands Medicaid, and implements Obamacare:

“In 2011, when Virginia voters gave Republicans a solid majority in the House of Delegates and picked up two seats in the Senate, they were probably expecting lower taxes and scaled back spending. Instead, they got a $3.1 billion tax hike to fund a dramatic increase in transportation spending, and to get the Democrat votes needed to pass their tax increase, they agreed to expand Medicaid rolls by 372,000 by 2019.

“The budget appropriates the money for Medicaid expansion and then, adding insult to injury, unconstitutionally leaves the final decision to a 10-member legislative panel. This is a sellout of the first order and something Republicans swore they would never do. They’re implementing Obamacare.

“Billions of dollars taken from the private economy and an expansion of the welfare state; these are the legacies of Bob McDonnell’s time in office. It is a stain on the both the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Republican Party.”

Attachments:

“Republicans raise taxes in Virginia in return for… expanding Medicaid?” By Robert Romano, Feb. 25, 2013 at http://netrightdaily.com/2013/02/republicans-raise-taxes-in-virginia-in-return-for-expanding-medicaid/

Interview Availability: Please contact Robert Romano at (703) 383-0880 ext. 106 or at robert@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Feb. 19, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to veto legislation that would require Hurricane Sandy reconstruction projects costing $5 million or more to utilize project labor agreements (PLAs).

Wilson’s letter cited two studies that found PLAs cost taxpayers considerably more than non-PLA projects that had been highlighted in a Wall Street Journal editorial.

A Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University study found comparing the period when PLAs were prohibited under federal law to when they were not that “PLAs increase the cost of construction by 12% to 18%.”

“That will mean less bang for the buck — anywhere from 10.7% to 15.2% less reconstruction would occur in New Jersey as a result,” Wilson wrote in his letter.

Another study from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development found that public school construction utilizing PLAs in New Jersey cost 30.5% more than non-PLA construction projects.

“If accurate, that would mean an even worse 23.3% less reconstruction would occur if PLAs are utilized, hardly a responsible use of limited resources,” Wilson noted.

S2425 has passed the New Jersey legislature and awaits Gov. Christie’s signature to become law.  Wilson said “this simple math shows that PLAs are not in the public interest, nor that of taxpayers’. They are solely in the interest of labor organizations that will make more money if they are utilized.”

“This leaves you with the choice of favoring spending more money to achieve less as a result in terms of reconstruction, or to veto this legislation, achieving more for the taxpayers at a lower cost,” Wilson concluded.

Interview Availability: Please contact Adam Bitely at (703) 383-0880 ext. 126 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Feb. 12, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in anticipation of tonight’s State of the Union Address:

“Obama is arguing that slashing budget authority by $85 billion — just 2.4 percent of the overall $3.5 trillion budget — will somehow ‘do unnecessary damage to our economy.’ Government statistics agencies reflect this Keynesian bias in their estimates of the Gross Domestic Product, which includes government spending as a component.  But even when government spending is excluded from the measure, the private sector only grew by a real rate of 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter, in spite of borrowing an extra $1 trillion a year and the Federal Reserve’s expanded quantitative easing programs.

“This failure of the private sector to grow is a direct result of our massive $16.5 trillion national debt which several independent studies have shown is creating a real drag on our economy. Contrary to Keynesian assumptions, excess government spending and borrowing is robbing the private sector of resources necessary to create the conditions for robust growth.

 “Of course, when one measures prosperity by how much money the government spends, the only conclusion that can be arrived at is that spending must always increase — even if we cannot afford it. The national debt is increasing at an annual rate of $1 trillion such that by 2022, it will total at least $24 trillion. By then, the budget will total $5.7 trillion. There is no question we have a spending problem. Tax revenues cannot increase fast enough to keep up with the level of spending and borrowing that is anticipated over the next ten years.

“Yet Obama wants to replace the modest cuts that will occur under sequestration with tax hikes. Despite getting what he wanted — the so-called ‘balanced approach’ that includes tax increases on those making more than $400,000, and cuts to national defense set to occur on March 1 — Obama is not yet satisfied. He is single mindedly focused on his class warfare agenda of even higher taxes, which he knows full well will have next to zero impact on moving our nation toward a balanced budget.

 “Obama and the left have revealed, now that he doesn’t have to pretend to voters anymore, that the deficit doesn’t matter to him at all, and that he believes that the government has a right to each of our earnings in order to award them to other politically favored constituencies. This is nothing more than vintage Marxist economics: ‘from each according to his ability to each according to his needs.’ Except as Margaret Thatcher famously noted, ‘socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess, they always run out of other people’s money.’

“Now that Congress knows that Obama is not an honest broker who wants the debt crisis to be tamed, those who care about our nation’s economic future need to act by taking whatever steps are necessary to force Obama to accept real and meaningful cuts, which is the only way to put us on a path to a balanced budget before it is too late.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Adam Bitely at (703) 383-0880 ext. 126 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Feb. 7, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising both houses of the Virginia General Assembly for passing legislation that would place a two-year moratorium on the use of drones in the Commonwealth except in emergency circumstances:

“There is no reason that Virginia law enforcement or that of any other state should be spying on the American people with drones. We call on the House and Senate to resolve minor differences between their two bills and get the legislation on Governor McDonnell’s desk as soon as possible so that he can sign it into law.

“There is no justification for handing the government the broad power to presume guilt over the entire populace, which is what regular drone surveillance flying over people’s houses for no reason constitutes.

“We thank Delegate Cline and Senator McEachin for their work on getting these drones out of our skies, and we applaud the bipartisan, overwhelming majorities with which these bills were passed. Now let’s get it across the finish line. A police state must never be allowed in Mr. Jefferson’s Commonwealth.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Adam Bitely at (703) 383-0880 ext. 126 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Feb. 6, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement urging the House of Representatives not to reduce what remains of the $85 billion of sequestration cuts to budgeting authority for Fiscal Year 2013 due to take effect March 1 in light of the White House’s calls to repeal it:

“To secure the votes needed to suspend the $16.394 trillion debt ceiling until May 19, House leaders had to promise members they would stick to the $85 billion sequestration due to take effect on March 1. In fact, the $1 trillion sequester over ten years was the price for increasing the debt ceiling by $2.1 trillion in August 2011. These are cuts that have been promised the American people.

“Sequester was originally supposed to be for $109 billion, but since then these cuts to budget authority have already been reduced to $85 billion during the fiscal cliff negotiations.

“Now some members of the House appear to be accepting Obama’s false premise that these cuts will be ‘economically damaging,’ and others still who would rather raise taxes on millions of Americans instead of nipping defense spending for a single year. House Republicans need to stand strong on the sequester. This is no to time go all wobbly.

“If the House caves on sequester, members’ promises of cuts down the road will forever ring hollow and empty to the American people. If the Republican Party does not stand for getting our fiscal house in order and keeping the tax burden low, what does it stand for?”

Interview Availability: Please contact Adam Bitely at (703) 383-0880 ext. 126 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Feb. 6, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett for pledging to block Medicaid expansion under the new federal health care law:

“Thanks to Governor Corbett, Pennsylvania taxpayers will save $1 billion from 2014 through 2019, and federal taxpayers another $17 billion over the same period, according to a Kaiser estimate. He is protecting taxpayers across the country from what will ultimately prove to be an unsustainable expansion of the entitlement state. While some governors have caved on this issue, Tom Corbett has stood on principle, and for that, he deserves the thanks of every taxpayer in the nation.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Robert Romano at (703) 383-0880 ext. 106 or at robert@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Feb. 6, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement condemning Ohio Governor John Kasich for pledging to expand Medicaid under the new federal health care law:

“Governor Kasich has pledged to expand Medicaid under the Obamacare statute, which lures states into the program with promises of federal assistance. Despite that federal spending, the expansion will still cost states at least $12 billion a year once the program is fully implemented, and billions more over the long-term.

“Ohio’s expansion alone will cost federal taxpayers $17 billion from 2014-2019, according to a Kaiser estimate. Except there is not enough revenue to pay for Medicaid expansion. So it will have to be borrowed. Thanks to Governor Kasich, the American people will be paying interest on Ohio’s Medicaid expansion for posterity.

“Overall, the burden being created by this massive expansion will add trillions of dollars to the national debt, as coverage will now be provided up to 133 percent of the poverty level. That means 23.8 million potential new enrollees. Which, at a current cost of about $4,950 per Medicaid recipient, will be a $117.8 billion annual, additional cost. And Governor Kasich is doing nothing to stop it.

“Compare that with Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, who leads much more of a blue state than Ohio. Yet Governor Corbett is standing on principle, while Kasich is cutting and running. In Ohio alone, if Medicaid is expanded, there will be 667,000 new enrollees. That’s more than a half million new government dependents being created in one of the most pivotal presidential electoral states in the union.

“By implementing the Medicaid expansion, Kasich is forcing federal taxpayers to pay for what will ultimately prove to be an unsustainable expansion of the entitlement state. We call on the Ohio legislature to have the courage to correct his mistake, and refuse to go along with it.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Robert Romano at (703) 383-0880 ext. 106 or at robert@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Feb. 5, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement responding to pleas by the Obama Administration for Congress to delay the $53.8 billion automatic sequestration cuts to outlays, or the $85 billion to budgeting authority, due to take effect March 1:

“It is convenient that just two days after the New York Times publishes an editorial calling for sequestration to be eliminated, the Obama Administration is dutifully responding with calls for it to again be delayed.

“The fact is, sequestration has already been delayed in the fiscal cliff deal, costing taxpayers $24 billion. No more delays. Taxpayers were promised these cuts in return for increasing the debt ceiling by $2.1 trillion in August 2011. In the meantime, if the total $53.4 billion of new spending for 2013 from the fiscal cliff and Sandy relief are factored in, the $53.8 billion of actual sequester cuts due this year has already been pretty much offset.

“The Administration argues that cuts to government spending somehow hurt the economy, when in reality including spending as a component of GDP is a gross distortion of economic reports. When spending increases, GDP increases, and when spending decreases, GDP decreases, reflecting a Keynesian bias of the first order in favor of government spending. The fact that it has been done for decades by the Bureau of Economic Analysis does not justify the practice when its only use is for elected officials like Obama to justify more ‘stimulus.’

“After World War II, when defense spending was ramped down, GDP contracted by 1.1 percent in 1945, by a whopping 10.9 percent 1946, and then again in 1947 by 0.9 percent. Meanwhile, personal consumption and private investment was increasing substantially after the war ended. Was the economy contracting, or was spending simply cut? The fact is, the war ending and the substantial decrease of government spending were both boons for the global economy, which after the war the economy grew dramatically.

“Even if government spending is excluded as a component of GDP, in the fourth quarter of 2012 the private sector only grew by a 1.3 percent real rate. That is nothing to write home about. It is slow, tepid, and proves that record deficit-spending by the Administration every year is doing nothing to benefit the private sector, which employs 85 percent of the nation’s workforce.

“To truly help the private sector, the budget should be balanced, freeing up resources for the private sector. Health, labor, and environmental regulations restricting business expansion ought to be rolled back.  And sound money must be restored, bringing an end to the Fed’s quantitative easing programs. Sadly, the Obama Administration is interested in none of the above.”

Attachments:

“Government spending’s misleading impact on GDP,” By ALG President Bill Wilson, Oct. 28, 2012 at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/10/government-spendings-big-impact-on-gdp/

“The Fed can’t print growth,” By ALG President Bill Wilson, Feb. 1, 2013 at http://netrightdaily.com/2013/01/the-fed-cant-print-growth/

“Cautious hope keeping $85 billion sequester,” By ALG President Bill Wilson, Jan. 30, 2013 at http://netrightdaily.com/2013/01/cautious-hope-on-keeping-85-billion-sequester/

“Does the national debt matter?” By ALG VP of Communications and Public Policy Rick Manning, Feb. 1, 2013 at http://netrightdaily.com/2013/02/does-the-national-debt-matter/

“Is Hurricane Sandy funding subject to sequestration?” By ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, Feb. 5, 2013, at http://netrightdaily.com/2013/02/is-hurricane-sandy-funding-subject-to-sequestration/

Interview Availability: Please contact Adam Bitely at (703) 383-0880 ext. 126 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Feb. 5, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement demanding a correction for the New York Times for a Sunday, Feb. 3 editorial, “A million jobs at stake,” that claimed the $50.5 billion of “aid just approved for victims of Hurricane Sandy will fall under the sequester’s ax”:

“At Americans for Limited Government, we were quite shocked to ‘learn’ in a New York Times editorial that Congress had subjected the entire $50.5 billion of hurricane disaster relief that just passed Congress to sequestration. That, somehow, this spending was paid for with offsetting cuts elsewhere in the budget. But upon undertaking a thorough analysis of the legislation, in section after section, these appropriations were specifically exempted from sequestration under the Budget Control Act. If it were otherwise, it would be one of the greatest oversights by an elected body in recent memory.

“This either was pure propaganda, a willful, purposeful distortion, using hurricane victims as human shields yet again — this time to rail against sequestration cuts — or it was just shoddy journalism by the New York Times editorial board. Neither is worthy of the so-called paper of record. They should issue a correction, and apologize to the millions of victims who were affected by Hurricane Sandy in their readership area.

“This just confirms what others have said, such as Investor’s Business Daily, that the mainstream media has become little more than mouthpieces for the political left, the establishment in Washington, D.C., and the Obama Administration. Using hurricane victims as props to achieve an unrelated policy objective is just the newest low in a long line of demagoguery by the media, with Republicans in Congress set up as useful scapegoats. This is simply shameless.

“The fact is, amendments were offered by Rep. Mick Mulvaney in the House and Sen. Mike Lee in the Senate that would have paid for hurricane disaster relief, and they were both soundly defeated in Congress. These amendments should have been passed to help pay for the disaster relief — not to cut the disaster relief funding itself — which was simply another distortion by the Times editorial. The fact is, these amendments were not passed, and the spending not paid for. The Times needs to correct the record.”

Attachments:

“Is Hurricane Sandy funding subject to sequestration?” By ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, Feb. 5, 2013, at http://netrightdaily.com/2013/02/is-hurricane-sandy-funding-subject-to-sequestration/

Interview Availability: Please contact Adam Bitely at (703) 383-0880 ext. 126 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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