Archives for August 2012

Obama’s legacy: 107 million government dependents and rising

Aug. 9, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today released the following statement responding to research from Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee Jeff Sessions (R-AL) showing that more than 107 million Americans are on some form of means-tested government welfare:

“Obama’s legacy is an America that is less well off, more impoverished, and increasingly dependent on a government that has dwindling resources and a $16 trillion debt that is too big to be repaid. He will go down in history as the president that put us back on welfare.

“Since Obama has taken office, eligibility for Medicaid, food stamps, the earned income tax credit, the making work pay tax credit, and unemployment benefits have increased by millions—until today when there are more than 107 million Americans dependent on the government for sustenance. That is an increase of roughly 10 million in less than four years.

“To add insult to injury, Obama then unilaterally dismantled the work requirements that were the heart of the 1990’s welfare reform via an arbitrary executive order. This is a man who wants Americans to be dependent on government. What a disgrace.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Federal Housing official resists mortgage bailout, political gimmickry

Aug. 6, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) head Edward DeMarco for refusing to implement a costly bailout for borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth:

“Edward DeMarco is to be credited for acting in the best interests of taxpayers by refusing to engage in political gimmickry that would lead to additional bailouts.

“In his role as the head of the Federal Housing Finance Administration, DeMarco has held the line against an Obama political publicity stunt to bail out underwater borrowers. A bailout would only make the current foreclosure crisis even worse by creating a perverse incentive for borrowers who are current on their payments to become delinquent in a misguided attempt to qualify.

DeMarco’s review of the policy found that if as few as 3,000 borrowers strategically defaulted on their mortgages in an attempt to become eligible for the program, it would offset any taxpayer benefit derived from bailing out those who would currently be eligible — even in the best case scenario. From both the taxpayer and borrowers’ perspectives, there could not be a worse possible outcome than to offer false hope of a bailout that results in even more people losing their homes, leaving taxpayers with the bill.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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ALG applauds Maine challenge to Obamacare coercion

Aug. 3, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson applauds the state of Maine for challenging the Obama Administration on Medicaid funding:

“The state of Maine is taking the right step in boldly challenging the Obama Administration’s threat to cut off all federal Medicaid funding due to the state’s decision to lower their Medicaid liabilities. The Supreme Court got one thing right in the much-maligned Obamacare ruling by Chief Justice Roberts: the states cannot be coerced into accepting escalating Medicaid costs by the federal government.

“Maine Governor Paul LePage is smartly taking the state flexibility that seven Justices affirmed and applying it to other aspects of Obamacare’s Medicaid requirements.

“It is time for every state to join Maine in declaring their right to determine their own Medicaid eligibility requirements without coercion from Obama and his Washington, D.C., cronies.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Jobs report indicates economy continues to sputter

Aug. 3, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today responded to the Department of Labor’s unemployment report for July:

“The economic bad news of Obama’s failed economic plan keeps cascading down on the American people.  Today’s unemployment rate of 8.3 percent is shocking in that it is not higher.  With the nation’s economy staggering as it only grows by .125 percent each month, factory orders down in June for the second month in a row, and only 58.4 percent of the working-age population in the labor force, it is clear the American people are suffering.  Yet, Obama continues a campaign against the very job creators who our nation needs to ramp up hiring to lift our nation back to the heights we used to take for granted.

“It is incredible that after a ‘recovery’ that Obama says has worked, we still have an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent.  I’d hate to see what this president would consider a failure.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Congress must keep $62 billion of sequester savings

Aug.1, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement urging both houses of Congress not to repeal the $62 billion of budget cuts scheduled to take effect in 2013:

“A year ago, the $2.1 trillion increase in the debt ceiling was accepted — the largest in American history — because of the promise of offsetting spending cuts. A supercommittee was formed to find the cuts, but if it failed, $62 billion of cuts were at least guaranteed for the 2013 fiscal year. That was what Congress agreed to, but now members claim they did not even know what they were voting on. Others claim the impact of a 1.6 percent overall cut to the federal budget will be devastating.

“What is devastating is the draining impact that the $15.8 trillion national debt, which will grow to $25 trillion by 2022, is having on the economy. The deeper we go into debt, the more capital is diverted away from the private sector and into the useless paper trade of U.S. treasuries.

“The only way to get a handle on that is to get on the path to balancing the budget, and that must include significant cuts to the budget. The fact is, since 2007, when the deficit was only $160 billion, spending has increased by over $1 trillion, and lo and behold, now we’re running trillion dollar deficits every year. We need to cut at least a trillion, and Congress cannot even handle $62 billion of cuts for a single year?

“Any member who votes to break the sequester cuts without any offsetting cuts in return will be breaking faith with the American people, who have voted time and again for no more debt. Enough is enough. If the Republicans accept the Keynesian premise that spending must always grow for the economy to grow, they will have lost all credibility.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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