CRAIGforCONGRESS
Missouri's 7th District, U.S. House of Representatives

 

 

 

Bringing LIBERTY to Capitol Hill -- 2008
OZARKS VIRTUAL TOWN HALL
Saturday Morning, January 19, 2008, 10:30am

A Discussion of The President's Saturday Morning Radio Address

Click here to listen to a replay of the January 19, 2008 Ozarks Virtual Town Hall

Notes and Summary of the President's Address -- "Economic Growth Package"

THE PRESIDENT:  My advisors and many outside experts expect that our economy will continue to grow over the coming year, but at a slower rate than we have enjoyed for the past few years. And there's a risk of a downturn. After careful consideration, and discussion with members of Congress, I have concluded that additional action is needed to keep our economy growing and creating jobs. Congress and my Administration need to work together to enact an economic growth package as soon as possible.

How the President Differs from the American vision of "Liberty Under God":

The Government does not create "economic growth" -- it is a parasite on economic growth

  1. The President is proposing the very thing proposed by the Democrats in their radio address last week.
  2. The only true alternative to the Democrats and Republicans is a libertarian alternative.
  3. Government does not produce, it taxes production.
  4. All money taken by the Government from the Free Market is mis-allocated, by definition (nobody voluntarily allocates their money to the government).
  5. All money taken by the Government from the Free Market is mis-allocated to special interests who resort to government force when persuasion fails them.
  6. This misallocation is rationalized by promises which are illusions; faith in government is like faith in Santa Claus.
  7. President Bush thus promises to be our Savior, and Taxes are our offerings to a false god.
    1. America is, on the one hand, a nation "under God."
    2. America is, on the other hand, a nation that ignores God and commits idolatry.
    3. Idolatry is when we fail to trust God (our national motto is "In God We Trust") and trust the Government to bring us "salvation."
  8. Americans must think about these issues, not just in terms of the Constitution, but in terms of the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence -- the philosophy of "Liberty Under God."
President's Radio Address Liberty Under God
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Yesterday, I visited Wright Manufacturing -- a business in Frederick, Maryland that makes commercial lawn mowers. Businesses like Wright are the driving force behind our economic success. They create jobs and opportunities for millions of workers. And entrepreneurs like those at Wright Manufacturing keep our economy growing. This is true. The Government does not keep our economy growing. But this is exactly what the President is proposing: a government program to "keep the economy growing."
This is a challenging period for our economy, and I know many of you listening are concerned about the future. My advisors and many outside experts expect that our economy will continue to grow over the coming year, but at a slower rate than we have enjoyed for the past few years. And there's a risk of a downturn. Continued instability in the housing market, for example, could cause additional harm to the overall economy, and put our growth and job creation in jeopardy. All of these problems are created by government programs.
In recent months, we have taken steps to shore up the housing sector -- including measures to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure and keep their homes. I have also asked Congress to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration and enable it to provide more assistance to struggling homeowners. Congress needs to send me a bill with these reforms right away. The FHA is
  • unconstitutional
  • socialistic, and therefore harmful to the economy

It should be abolished for these two reasons.
After careful consideration, and discussion with members of Congress, I have concluded that additional action is needed to keep our economy growing and creating jobs. Congress and my Administration need to work together to enact an economic growth package as soon as possible.  
As Congress considers such a plan, there are certain principles that should guide their deliberations: This growth package must be big enough to make a difference in an economy as large and dynamic as ours -- which means it should be about one percent of GDP. This growth package must be built on broad-based tax relief that will directly affect economic growth -- not the kind of spending projects that would have little immediate impact on our economy. This growth package must be temporary and take effect right away -- so we can get help to our economy when it is needed most. And this growth package must not include any tax increases. Tax relief is good.
But only if it is accompanied by cuts in government programs.
Otherwise government programs will be funded by debasing the currency ("monetization of debt"), making the money left in taxpayers' pockets worth less.
Specifically, this growth package should bolster both business investment and consumer spending, which are critical to economic growth. This requires two key provisions: To be effective, a growth package must include tax incentives for American businesses -- including small businesses -- to make investments in their enterprises this year. And it must also include direct and rapid income tax relief for Americans like you. So far, all we've heard about is tax cuts, which is good, but it seems as though the door is being left open for increased spending to "stimulate" the economy.
Passing a new growth package is our most pressing economic priority. And when that is done, Congress must turn to the most important economic priority for our country -- making sure the tax relief now in place is not taken away from you. Unless Congress acts, the marriage penalty will make a comeback, the child tax credit will be cut in half, the death tax will come back to life, and tax rates will go up on regular income, capital gains, and dividends. This tax increase would put jobs and economic growth at risk. So it is critical that Congress make this tax relief permanent. There is a fundamental conflict in government planning: on the one hand, Bush here says "growth" is good. On the other hand, the government wants to curtail growth because it's bad for the environment and causes "Global Warming."

You should be permitted to spend your money and invest it the way you see fit.
I am optimistic about our economy, because people like you have shown time and again that Americans are the most industrious, creative, and enterprising people in the world. That is what has made our economy strong. And that is what will make it stronger in the challenging times ahead. This is nice rhetoric.

Nobody in Washington really believes it.
Thank you for listening.  

Neal Boortz has suggested attaching "The Boortz Addendum" to every appropriation bill offered in Congress. This addendum would read something like this:

Every sponsor or co-sponsor of this legislation hereby affirms his or her belief that the need for the federal government of the United States to spend taxpayer funds on the purposes outlined herein is of greater importance and urgency than any spending needs which the party or parties who actually earned these funds may have; such needs being, but not necessarily limited to, spending for medical care, child care, housing, food, clothing, transportation, education, insurance, savings and retirement planning, and religious tithes or conscientious charity. 

It became common during the Clinton Administration to speak of government spending as an "investment." Congress might also therefore attach the following to each spending bill:

By voting for this legislation I hereby affirm my belief that the information and knowledge possessed by me and 434 other Congressman-"investors" is greater than the collective knowledge and information possessed by a Free Market of 150 million individual investors, pension fund managers, insurance company executives, mutual fund administrators, and brokers, all of whom do not have the luxury of obtaining investment funds by passing a law, but must earn their investment dollars.

Additional Resources:

Kevin Craig's platform:

Libertarian Resources

Communicating with Government and Media

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John Adams once wrote that the American Revolution began in 1761, when Massachusetts attorney James Otis began legal challenges to the Writs of Assistance. He lost the case, but "American independence," Adams wrote, "was then and there born." Now do the math. That means it took 15 years to convince the rest of America to declare Independence (1776). Then another seven years of war was required before a Peace Treaty was signed (1783), and then six years before the Constitution was finally ratified (1789). That's almost 30 years. (And Jefferson said we shouldn't go 20 years without another rebellion!) How can we hope to convince Americans to fight for principles they were never taught in government schools? We need to be in this battle for the long term. "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."

The Democrat Party Radio Address:

Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank delivered the Democratic Radio Address.

"Get the economy moving."

As we work on the details of a proposal, we are also guided by the need for increased assistance to those who are unemployed, to those hit hardest by the increases in food and energy costs, and, importantly, to those who have lost their homes or are struggling to avoid foreclosure. We should also address the problems faced by state and local governments who may be forced to reduce vital services as their tax receipts decline.

Democrats believe that an active government role is needed to maintain confidence in the integrity and fairness of markets for consumers, homeowners, workers, and investors.

The free market system is the foundation of our prosperity, but as we confront the damaging consequences of irresponsible mortgage lending, all but a few zealots now understand that enforcement of standards of honesty, openness, and responsibility is necessary to prevent the sort of abuses that have brought us to the present crisis.

It appears that this anti-regulatory tide may, at long last, be turning. In 1994, a Democratic Congress passed the Homeowners Equity Protection Act, giving the Federal Reserve the power to regulate all home mortgage loans. Alan Greenspan, a staunch advocate of deregulation and then Chairman of the Federal Reserve, flatly refused to use any of that authority. In contrast, today's Federal Reserve will soon issue the rules called for in that legislation. While they are not as strong as many of us would like, this still represents an important repudiation of the hands off view that has dominated in recent years.

While some continue to argue that government efforts to address problems in the marketplace will damage the economy, the evidence is quite clear that growth in the private sector is consistent with a great variation in many aspects of public policy, such as taxation and regulation. In fact, appropriate intervention not only promotes economic growth, its absence - as we have learned - can slow it.

Today our nation faces a test. We must cooperate to enact immediately aggressive measures that respond to the economic downturn, while we simultaneously continue a healthy debate about the role of government in a modern economy. I am confident we will succeed.

This is Congressman Barney Frank. Thank you for listening.

Nothing new here.

Note the progression: Last week the Democrats demand a "stimulus package" to "help the economy." This week Bush complies. Now the Democrats are turning the screws, demanding a repudiation of the philosophy of a Free Market. Bush will tone down his anti-tax rhetoric, and sign a bill with massive new government spending and a few tax cuts.

Click here for a replay of this edition of the Ozarks Virtual Town Hall