October 25, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement condemning an Obama Administration proposal to allow underwater borrowers of government-backed mortgages to refinance:

“By some estimates, a massive refinancing program for underwater borrowers of government-backed mortgages could cost as much as $85 billion a year. That would mean $85 billion less is collected in interest payments, resulting in those losses being imposed on Fannie and Freddie — on an annual basis. And since taxpayers are backing the GSEs, that will mean $85 billion added to the national debt every year. Assuming an average maturity of 15 years, that means the total cost of Obama’s new program could be more than $1.27 trillion.

“Moreover, this will do nothing about the more-than $700 billion of negative equity that is out there. Those who qualify will still owe more on their homes than they are worth. They will just have a slightly lower interest rate. It’s a bribe. The Obama Administration is attempting to shore up its wilting reelection prospects by throwing money at favored constituencies. It’s nothing more than a $1.27 trillion slush fund to reelect Obama.”

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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Oct. 21, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising 47 Senate Republicans, and Democrat Senators Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, and Mark Pryor for rejecting a $35 billion states bailout:

“Every single Senate Republican, as well Senators Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, and Mark Pryor deserve the thanks of the American people for blocking a $35 billion bailout of bankrupt states that refuse to get their fiscal houses in order. It is apparent Obama, with enthusiasm dying for his reelection, needs to discard his ‘pass it now’ speech when he cannot even get a simple majority with his own party in power in the Senate.

“Moreover, this was no jobs bill. It was legislation simply meant to prop up Democrat Party constituencies, with $30 billion specifically earmarked for public school teachers. $95 million of that would have wound up in the teachers union coffers to be given to help reelect Democrats.

“Now that states know there are no more bailouts coming, they will finally have to make the cuts necessary to balance their budgets. This idea that spending needs to remain at levels of the unsustainable bubble years is just insane. No more bailouts.”

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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October 20, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) today released a response by the Office of Management and Budget to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by ALG in 2010 revealing the close involvement of unions in drafting Barack Obama’s executive order 13522. ALG President Bill Wilson commented:

“The level of corruption revealed in these documents, wherein union bosses are openly being thanked by White House employees for their role in developing pro-labor executive orders is contemptible, and warrants congressional investigations by the House and Senate. Hearings should be held to get to the bottom of this outrageous conduct. This is rule by special interests.

“The executive order, which created management-labor forums for federal government civil service workers, favored unions by telling managers to discuss all workplace decisions with unions to reach joint decisions, even if the subject was not an allowed bargaining item. Therefore the order vastly enhanced union influence over the operation of the federal government. Every function in the civil service became a bargaining chip for the unions, which has had the contrary effect of making government more inefficient and costly.”

Attachments:

“Unions: Creating A Place At the Table,” By Mark Wohschlegel, Americans for Limited Government athttp://netrightdaily.com/2011/10/unions-creating-a-place-at-the-table/

FOIA Request to Office of Management and Budget, Americans for Limited Government, August 12, 2010 athttp://netrightdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/OMB-Labor-XO-FOIA-Letter.pdf 

FOIA Responsive Documents, Office of Management and Budget, September 30, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/09.30.11-OMB-responsive-docs1.pdf

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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October 19, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement responding to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s who recently said “it’s very clear that private sector jobs are doing just fine. It’s the public sector jobs where we’ve lost huge numbers, and that’s what this legislation’s all about” while promoting his plan to bail out states with another $35 billion from the federal government:

“It seems Harry Reid is forgetting who it is that pays for all these government jobs, and that is the private sector and individuals via taxation. Moreover, if he thinks losing 1.5 million private sector jobs since 2009 means the private sector is ‘doing just fine,’ he needs to get his head examined. While the national unemployment rate sits at 9.1 percent, the rate of workers unemployed in the government sector is only 4.7 percent.

“It is the private sector that has been getting crushed in the Obama-Reid economy. Meanwhile, it is the government sector that was protected by the Democrat-controlled Congress in 2009 and 2010.

“The fact is, since the housing bubble popped in 2007, states have been attempting to keep spending at unsustainably high levels, and for the past two years have been dependent on federal ‘stimulus’ monies. Bankrupt states like California, New York, Illinois, and others have gotten a combined $171 billion from Congress over the past two years to prop up public sector unions. These states refuse to get their fiscal houses in order, and that’s what Reid’s legislation is really about: kicking the can one more year from making the difficult decisions.”

Attachments:

“Harry Reid: Government jobs need to take priority over private sector jobs,” NetRightDaily.com, Americans for Limited Government, October 19, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/10/harry-reid-government-jobs-need-to-take-priority-over-private-sector-jobs/

“Democrats Push for $35 Billion States Bailout Which Will Funnel $95 Million to Help Elect Democrats,” NetRightDaily.com, Americans for Limited Government, October 18, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/10/democrats-push-for-35-billion-states-bailout-which-will-funnel-95-million-to-help-elect-democrats/

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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October 18, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement blasting a Senate Democrat plan to spend $35 billion to bail out state and local governments:

“This is like a horror story with endless sequels: ‘The Return of the States Bailout’. States already got $145 billion in the original Obama ‘stimulus’ in 2009, and another $26.1 billion in August 2010. Now, the Obama economic recovery has been so weak that states that refuse to clean their fiscal houses are still facing a $103 billion shortfall for this fiscal year as revenues fail to recover, and so Senate Democrats want another $35 billion.

“Senate Democrats project their plan will prop up 400,000 teachers’ jobs with $30 billion of the funding for that purpose. When you do the math, if you conservatively assumed only half them were unionized, with average contributions to state, local, and national unions combined about $475, it works out to a $95 million political slush fund to help Democrats, including Barack Obama, get elected.

“This plan to borrow-print-and-spend another $35 billion for the states is not about creating jobs. It won’t create jobs. It’s about propping up government worker unions, and funneling $95 million to help Democrats’ ailing campaign to get reelected. It is hard to think of a greater waste of taxpayer resources.”

Attachments:

“Democrats Push for $35 Billion States Bailout Which Will Funnel $95 Million to Help Elect Democrats,” NetRightDaily.com, Americans for Limited Government, October 18, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/10/democrats-push-for-35-billion-states-bailout-which-will-funnel-95-million-to-help-elect-democrats/

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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October 13, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement on the failure of Congress to cut spending at all this year, as reported by Investor’s Business Daily citing U.S. Treasury data:

“U.S. Treasury data shows that despite promises to cut spending by at least $100 billion this year, spending in Washington, D.C. has increased in 2011 by $120 billion. That is simply unacceptable to the American people, who in 2010 voted to bring an end to Congress’ out-of-control spending.

“With the national debt set this year to become larger than the entire economy, there is no time for mere window dressing to address the government’s spiraling borrowing binge. In the midst of a credit crisis that is sinking the global economy, the last thing we need is more debt. Yet borrow-print-and-spend is all Washington, D.C. seems to offer right now.”

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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October 13, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement blasting the Obama Administration’s decision to impose its will over the economy in response to its failure to enact a $35 billion states bailout:

“The New York Times is reporting that the Administration, in response to the bi-partisan rejection by the U.S. Senate of its latest economic stimulus bill, will be announcing a series of regulatory actions designed to help the economy. What is ironic is that Obama’s EPA, Department of Interior, Labor Department and National Labor Relations Board, along with his support for ObamaCare and the Financial Services Reform legislation have been prime culprits in crippling an already weak economy.

“If Obama truly wants to get the economy moving in 2012, and save his job, he will roll back the job killing regulations and rulings created under his watch over the past three years and support repeal of ObamaCare. Unfortunately, that is highly unlikely as it would require taking responsibility for his failures and acknowledging that his Big Government agenda has failed.

“As Obama begins his rule-by-decree tour around the western United States, it will be important for watchdogs in Congress to ensure that this wild attempt to gain votes doesn’t overstep his Constitutional authority.”

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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October 11, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement warning of a potential Federal Reserve bailout for European and U.S. banks that bet poorly on European sovereign debt:

“With Belgian bank Dexia being nationalized, Spain and Italy having its ratings cut by Fitch, public opposition to bailouts mounting in Germany, Slovakia, and elsewhere, and a Greek default all but inevitable, it is becoming increasingly likely that Europe will be unable to contain the sovereign debt crisis to its shores.

“When it fails, U.S. financial institutions are said by the Congressional Research Service to be on the hook for over $640 billion in exposure to the European crisis. Without question the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and others will be called in to once again prop up financial institutions here in the U.S. and around the world. Already, the Fed is intervening by providing dollar liquidity to European banks. In 2009, the Fed propped up banks with $1.25 trillion of printed money to buy bad mortgage paper, $442.7 billion of which went to foreign banks.

“This must not be allowed to happen again. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke must not be allowed to fire up the printing presses once again to prop up the financial institutions responsible for the crisis we are in. Congressional committees should haul in Fed governors to testify and ask them point blank what the central bank is doing to prop up creditors in Europe that bet poorly on the debt of socialist governments like Greece — and secure a commitment of no more bailouts. The bankers made the bad bets. They should pay. Not the taxpayers.”

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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October 7, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement onthe latest unemployment numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing a 9.1 percent rate of joblessness:

“If not for 45,000 telecommunications workers coming off a strike, the Bureau of Labor Statistics would only be reporting a gain of 57,000 new jobs, hardly a cause for joyous celebration. The bottom line is that the amount of people unemployed again increased by 25,000, this time to nearly 14 million, and no amount of funny numbers can obfuscate that fact. The underemployment number — those looking for full-time work but can’t find it — was even worse, rising to 25.4 million.

“This marks the longest period of sustained high unemployment since the Great Depression, which marks a catastrophic failure of the Obama and Bernanke ‘stimulus’ programs. They cannot print and borrow enough money to turn this ship around when the problem is that government has rendered the nation uncompetitive globally with some of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, the most regulations, and whose inflationary policies have increased the cost of doing business.

“To get out of this ditch and create jobs, we must restore America’s global competitiveness by decreasing the cost of doing business, reducing the tax and regulatory burdens, and restoring sound money based on price stability. Until then, we will continue to bleed mercilessly.”

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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