Many of us remember last year’s showdown over raising the federal debt limit.

What could be some reasons behind it the line drawn between the Capitol building and the White House?

The debt ceiling increases, as well as federal spending, the staggering national debt and President Obama’s fiscal stewardship are all issues the GOP is campaigning on.

The last debt ceiling standoff in 2011 worked very well for the Republicans.  They got huge spending cuts that slowed the economy and drove the president’s approval rating into the basement.

It also drove Congressional ratings down, but eight months later, everyone has forgotten the particulars of the fight and approval ratings are once again reasonable.  This was such a good political weapon that it will be brought out repeatedly until someone connects responsibility with the crises and makes them accountable.

Mitt Romney will certainly be the Republican standard bearer in the fall of this year.  The post-election battles like managing the debt ceiling and the expiration of the Bush tax cuts at the end of the year as well as their ensuing messy cleanups would not be something a political party wants to leave for an incoming Republican leader.  And they don’t.

My best guess is that the Washington D.C. Republicans believe that Mitt Romney will not win the election.  The Republicans are putting their hopes into taking over Congress by maintaining control of the House and capturing the Senate which will severely weaken the influence of the existing president.

The debt limit position doubtlessly comes from the Tea Party portion of the Republican caucus.  Those members still believe that they have an unwavering mandate from their electorate to reduce the federal budget by a huge chunk, even if it puts the United States into default.

And John Boehner wants to keep his job and survive a GOP vote for the next Speaker of the House.

The sizable Tea Party faction of the GOP caucus, combined with the unruly and nearly uncontrollable members of his party has kept Boehner in a cage since his first day of speakership, releasing him only when they need a bloodthirsty champion.  They are still angry with him for trying to cut a deal with the president last summer.  He will not let that happen again.

It consists of standard Republican proposals to slash taxes, cut spending and cut down on government regulation, as well as repeal the health care law and end the stimulus program.

Republicans listened to some America Speaking Out responders and included promising to change procedures, so every bill must be made public for three days before Congress votes and cite its Constitutional justification.

There ends the specifics and begins the grass-roots vague rhetoric so popular with politicians. 

The pledge promises to “put government on a path to a balanced budget” meaning zero deficits and perhaps no borrowing, but doesn’t offer any plan on how Republicans will approach the issue. 

The pledge makes a vague promise: “We will make the decisions that are necessary to protect our entitlement programs.”  In regards to Medicare and Social Security that account for a giant portion of the soaring deficit, protecting those programs with a balanced budget means slashing benefits.  Seniors will still be protected, but with less.   

“Regarding the policies of the current government, the governed do not consent.  An arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions, issues mandates and enacts laws without accepting or requesting the input of the many.” 

That statement is just a blatant lie, one of several along with many half-truths throughout the manifesto.

The pledge commits House Republicans to repeal Obamacare—not to fix it, not to repair issues, but repeal it.  Republicans are giving Americans a glimpse into their character.  Who cares about people with pre-existing conditions and the more than 11 million children without health care?  Who cares about seniors who might live a little longer with cost covered preventative checkups and without the Medicare “donut hole” of no coverage?  

Apparently Republicans think those people cost too much to live.  Republicans consider them a financial burden, standing in the way of a balanced budget and government spending.  

The document offers a Republican pledge to reduce the debt burden on future generations by cutting government spending.  And if they offload healthcare costs to private companies without government regulation, only the healthy and those who can afford to be sick will survive to have future generations. 

What does a few hundred thousand lives matter when we’re trying to reduce our debt? 

The last time Republicans published a manifesto in 1994 and were swept into office they pledged to cut government spending.  But a November 13, 2000 article by Edward H. Crane, president of the libertarian Cato Institute, stated, “… the combined budgets of the 95 major programs that the Contract with America promised to eliminate have increased by 13%.”   So they spent more. 

I have tried to analyze the document point by point without prejudice.  Republicans are entitled to their point of view, but no one is entitled to promote lies and half-truths to make their point.  It should be realized that Republican priorities are power, reelection, and the organizations that fund their campaigns, and not necessarily the good of the American public.  As a note, this does not make them any different from any other group of politicians. 

Be forewarned that this is a long post.

The Pledge 

“Washington’s heavy-handed approach is not working” (opinion).

“Jobless claims continue to soar, (false) and the only parts of the economy expanding are government and our national debt.” (false)

According to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), the private sector has gained a net total of 763,000 jobs this year.  Backing this figure up, Recovery.gov claims 750,045 Recovery Act funded jobs reported by recipients April 1 – June 30,2010. 

Jobless claims do not continue to soar; in fact they are down eight percent from their worst levels. 

The Republican Pledge to America claims the stimulus bill did not create any jobs, yet the nonpartison CBO (Congressional Budget Office) estimates the stimulus bill created between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs compared to what would have been otherwise.

According to the BLS, the civilian labor force was at 153.9 million in December 2007 with 146.2 million employed.  When the Obama administration took office, there were 142.2 million employed and that number dropped to 137.8 million in December 2009.  At the end of September 2010 the civilian labor force is 154.2 million with 139.4 million employed. 

Using BLS figures, in 2010 employment has grown by 1.6 million. 

“It is time to end this liberal Keynesian experiment and stop the attacks on our employers that prevent them from investing in our economy.”

It is difficult even for economists to understand what they are talking about here.  Keynesian economics is not an experiment; it is the process that ended the Great Depression. 

Keynesian economics relies on the circular flow of money, where what one person spends becomes part of another person’s earnings.  In a recession, the flow of money stops, and it will not end until the flow begins again.  Unemployment causes people to save money rather than spend it.

To begin the flow again, the government must spend on projects that create jobs (defense, infrastructure, etc.) and encourage businesses to spend as well through tax breaks.  But businesses will not spend to hire and expand if demand is not increasing for their goods and services.  

Uncertain demand for goods and services is preventing employers from investing in our economy.  Demand is not improving because people are conserving their money.  People are conserving their money because they fear that tomorrow there will be no job and no money coming in. 

It is neither the Democrats nor the Republicans that are holding economy from fully recovering; it is the fear of a dark and dismal future gripping Americans.  Who can blame them? 

“WHAT WE’RE UP AGAINST”

“The trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending bill has made “where are the jobs?” a national rallying cry after failing to live up to the specific promises made by its architects. Instead of remaining below eight percent, unemployment has been above nine percent for 16 consecutive months.  This is a far cry from the recovery the American people were promised.  Undeterred by dismal results, Washington Democrats continue to double-down on their job-killing policies.”

The stimulus bill was only approved for $814 billion over 10 years (CBO), not $1 trillion; this is a sample of “fish tale” exaggerations common among Republicans. 

Republicans need to be reminded that 4.4 million jobs were lost under their administration.  The employment slide started in June 2007 with a Republican administration.  Within 10 months into the current administration, the employment slide was stopped in October 2009 and employment is starting to gain ground.

Currently, there are 845,000 fewer unemployed than in October.  Historically, return to normal employment takes about twice the time (28 months) unemployment took to reach its peak. 

From Factcheck.org : “the original projections from President Obama’s economic advisers on what would happen with and without the stimulus plan are still off — and significantly so.  But nobody “promised” that unemployment would remain below 8 percent.” 

From Factcheck.org : “for the record, CBO’s experts calculate that the stimulus has had a positive effect on employment. In its most recent report on the measure, the agency estimated that in the second quarter of 2010, stimulus spending lowered the unemployment rate between 0.7 and 1.8 percentage points and increased the number of people working between 1.4 million and 3.3 million.”

The delaying issue is business confidence, that will take some time to restore whatever the makeup of Congress. 

 “President Obama is proposing spending billions more on government “stimulus” projects.”

This no doubt is in response to the president’s new pitch to spend another $50 billion on “roads, railways and runways.” 

The American infrastructure is crumbling, with more than 150,000 structurally deteriorating bridges, and 3,500 unsafe dams.  In the past 18 months, the federal Department of Transportation allocated $38.6 billion to accomplish 14,600 projects.  Most of the money (70%) is going for highway repair and to recondition crumbling dams, dikes, sewer pipes and bridges.  Most of the remainder is for new mass transit projects like rail and buses, with a billion each for airport runways and for Amtrak to repair rail beds. 

This repair effort alone will create thousands of jobs. 

This stimulus funding work has already supported nearly 46,000 jobs in the last year, and many more over the 2010 summer.  Republicans will cancel the stimulus and those 46,000 jobs if they have their way.   

Repair work eases future deficits and backlogs, and according to Smart Growth America, repair projects generate 16% more jobs than new construction work. 

We shouldn’t forget the stimulus has already cut taxes for 95% of working Americans, and distributed record amounts of unemployment benefits (which all Republicans voted against).

By Republican complaints and Congressional votes, we can conclude they are against further unemployment benefits, saving jobs for teachers, improving education for all of our children, and keeping America’s roads, bridges, rails, runways and tunnels safe.   

Republicans and Democrats are both in favor of government accountability, and the stimulus program Race to the Top awards grants to promote accountability in public schools.  So far 35 states and the District of Columbia have enacted reforms to qualify for the program. 

Without getting into the health care issue, the stimulus will greatly improve the current health record system, moving it from pencil-and-paper to a secure computer system, that will at the same time make consistent medical records available to a patient’s medical provider without having to deal with illegible handwriting and duplication of expensive testing.  It will also prevent patients from “doctor shopping” to receive duplicate fills of drugs for their own purposes.  This alone will reduce the costs of health care for employers and Americans and create thousands of jobs in technology and health care. 

The CBO has estimated that health reform will reduce the deficit by $143 billion over the next ten years. 

The stimulus will also make Americans much less dependent on imported oil by promoting energy gathered from sun, wind and earth.  The number of hybrid cars in the government auto fleet will be quadrupled, and smart electric meters in American homes will triple. 

It will help to expand the use of wind turbine and solar products, funding practical research into product improvement.  It will upgrade the nation’s power grid to support the anticipated greatly increased usage of power, protecting against nationwide electrical failure.  Expansion of green technologies will create thousands of jobs to manufacture, install and maintain the products. 

It will also fund the refitting of federal buildings in Washington D.C. to cut energy usage by 55% from their current $24.5 billion annual energy bill. 

Regardless of how the Republicans talk down about the stimulus bill, it has created jobs and will create thousands more.  It will reduce future deficits by affecting repairs now.  It will save money for Americans by reducing their energy bills.  It will improve health records, preventing duplication and mistakes; and it will help our children get a better education.

Read: How the Stimulus Is Changing America

“He also wants to raise taxes on roughly half of small business income in America. Raising taxes on anyone in a struggling economy – especially family owned businesses – is precisely the wrong thing to do. Economists agree, as do the American people.”

This is a pretty safe editorial.  No numbers or survey results.  It could be true with two economists and two Americans. 

Raising taxes on “roughly half the small business income in America,” is a manipulative exaggeration. Much of the income the GOP is counting actually comes from big businesses making over $50 million a year.

Statistics about Business Size (including Small Business) from the U.S. Census Bureau (Compiled by Enterprise Receipt size-U.S. all industries) shows that in 2007 (latest survey) there were 7.7 million single location establishments in the U.S.  Of those, 6.0 million were multi-location in the same state (firms). 

Note: About three quarters of all U.S. business firms have no payroll and account for about 3.4 percent of business receipts. 

There are 1.2 million single-location establishments and 41 thousand firms (multi-location establishments) with income greater than $50 million per year.  They average 54 locations per firm (within the same state), 50 employees per location, account for 51.5% of the workforce and 73.2% of the nation’s business revenue. 

On the other side, there are 6.4 million single-location establishments and 6.0 million firms (multi-location establishments) making less than $50 million per year.  Almost all are single location establishments but some go up to 4 locations.  They average 29 employees per location, account for 48.5% of the workforce and 26.8% of the nation’s business revenue. 

Single location businesses account for 67.2% of employment for firms making less than $50 million per year.  These are the family-owned businesses, not those with revenues excedeeding $50 million per year. 

From Factcheck.org : “This is an exaggeration. Republicans are equating “net positive business income” reported on individual returns with “small business income,” which isn’t correct. They rely on a report from the nonpartisan staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (p. 12), which estimated that about 3 percent of taxpayers who have any business income on their personal returns would see a tax increase under Obama’s proposal, and that those 750,000 taxpayers account for about half of all the business income reported.

But some of that income is from big businesses raking in tens of millions of dollars a year. The JCT stated quite clearly that “These figures for net positive business income do not imply that all of the income is from entities that might be considered ‘small.’” Some in fact are quite large, and those big businesses account for a good chunk of that income.” 

This uses an incorrect source for accusations (in spite of being warned away by the source itself).

My question is, can we trust a party that is so manipulative of numbers?

“In addition to punishing businesses (only the 41,000 firms making more than $50 million), these looming tax hikes will hurt every family in America”

Republicans are connecting the possibility of a tax increase on 0.53% of the businesses in America and the Bush tax cuts that will be continued.  

“During the 1990s, a Republican (-controlled) Congress (there were others there, too) enacted pro-family policies such as marriage penalty relief and the child tax credit.” 

Actually, it was not during the 1990s, it was the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 signed into law on June 7, 2001 to help America recover from the recession of 2001.   

The vote was 58-33 in the Senate and 240-154 in the House.  Among Democrats, 28 voted Yea in the House and 12 voted Yea in the Senate. Evidently, this was before Supermajority,  bloc voting, and bitter animosity came into fashion in our Congress. 

“Rein in the Red Tape Factory in Washington, DC”

“Excessive federal regulation is a de facto tax on employers and consumers that stifles job creation, hampers innovation (??) and postpones investment in the economy.”

Incorrect.  If investment in the economy has been postponed, how did the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which reflects investor value, climb to 11,000? 

Federal regulations prevents sweatshops, employing small children, paying a minimum wage, providing decent working conditions like adequate lighting, clean air and temperature control.  Regulations have been passed because businesses are unable to put their employees before profit.  

“Unless action is taken, a $3.8 trillion tax hike will go into effect on January 1, 2011 that will unravel these policies. A family of four with a household income of $50,000 a year will have to pay $2,900 more in taxes in 2011, according to a new analysis by Deloitte Tax LLP, a tax consulting firm.  The same family making $100,000 a year will see its taxes rise by $4,500. In addition, the marriage penalty will return, the child tax credit will be cut in half, and the Alternative Minimum Tax will ensnare more than 25 million taxpayers.” (scare tactic-boogeyman images) 

From Factcheck.org : “Misleading. What the Pledge fails to note is that Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have consistently promised to extend the Bush tax cuts for all families making less than $250,000 a year, and singles making less than $200,000. It’s true that hasn’t happened yet, but the reason is that several House and Senate Democrats are agitating to extend the cuts for everybody, even those with the highest incomes.”

There is no doubt that the Bush tax cuts will continue.  Both Democrats and Republicans agree on that.  The difference is where the cutoff should be. 

In truth, Congress may possibly come to a stalemate, but regardless of the election outcome, Democrats will still be in the majority until January. 

“Washington-focused economic policies have failed to put people back to work (false) and have pushed our nation to the brink of a fiscal crisis.” (false)

“The American people know that to boost the economy, spending must be slashed, tax increases must be prevented, and small businesses must have certainty that the rules won’t change every few months (every few months?) so they can get back on their feet.” 

I’m curious to know where the survey is that shows the American people know what to do to boost the economy.  Where is the economic basis for these predictions?  These are all half-truths.    

“The constant threat (??) of new taxes and new regulations prevents investors and entrepreneurs from putting capital at risk.” 

Is that why the stock market climbed to 11,000?

“These private sector employers must be given the certainty that if they take a risk to expand their company or hire a new employee, Washington won’t yank the rug from under their feet.” 

Here is something we can agree on.

“Permanent (??) bailouts, government takeovers (??), threats of tax increases (??) and “stimulus” spending sprees (??) have combined to create uncertainty for private investment in our economy and keep employers on the sidelines.  The longer our government refuses to wake up and abandon its job killing agenda, the longer it will take to turn things around and get people working again”

This is faulty logic; wrong reasons and boogeyman scare tactics.  The real reason is uncertain sales of goods and services looking forward. 

“Since the trillion-dollar (there’s that exaggerated amount again) ‘stimulus’ was signed into law in February 2009, the unemployment rate has climbed and is stuck near 10 percent. Despite the ‘stimulus’ and Democrats’ promises the unemployment rate would remain below eight percent, the unemployment rate climbed from 7.7 percent in January 2009 to 9.5 percent in August 2010.” 

As I recall, when the Stimulus bill was passed on February 13, 2009 (with every Republican except 3 Senators voting against it), the current administration had been in office 24 days.  Unemployment growth started in June 2007 with a Republican administration, and peaked in October 2009. 

Republicans need to be reminded that 4.4 million jobs were lost under their administration.  Within 10 months of the current administration, the employment slide was stopped and is starting to grow again. 

Once again, from Factcheck.org : “the original projections from President Obama’s economic advisers on what would happen with and without the stimulus plan are still off — and significantly so.  But nobody “promised” that unemployment would remain below 8 percent.”

“OUR PLAN TO END THE UNCERTAINTY AND CREATE INCENTIVES FOR JOB GROWTH”

“If we’ve learned anything during the recession, it’s that we cannot tax and spend our way to prosperity.”

“The best way to get people working again is to rein in the growth of government and end the uncertainty facing small businesses. By addressing both issues, our plan revives free enterprise and moves America away from a debt-driven economy.”

Rein in the growth of government and allow the certainty of doing whatever business wants.  Repeal the minimum wage and we will have plenty of jobs in poor conditions at less per hour. 

“Permanently Stop All Job-Killing Tax Hikes” 

“We will help the economy by permanently stopping all tax increases, currently scheduled to take effect January 1, 2011.  That means protecting middle-class families, seniors worried about their retirement, and the entrepreneurs and family-owned small businesses on which we depend to create jobs in America.”

Once again, there is no doubt that the Bush tax cuts will continue.  Both Democrats and Republicans agree on that.  The difference is where the cutoff should be. 

From Factcheck.org : “Misleading. What the Pledge fails to note is that Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress have consistently promised to extend the Bush tax cuts for all families making less than $250,000 a year, and singles making less than $200,000.”

A spokesman for Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said, “Democrats believe we must permanently extend tax cuts for the middle-class before they expire at the end of the year, and we will.”  Hopefully, Republicans will join them. 

“Give Small Businesses a Tax Deduction”

“We will allow small business owners to take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their business income. This will provide entrepreneurs with a much-needed infusion of capital for investment and new hiring.”

This is a plan.  Unfortunately, small business owners will not expand until their sales figures give them reason to expand.  Expanding first is “supply-side” economics that doesn’t work under these conditions.

 Federal regulations prevents sweatshops, employing small children, paying a minimum wage, providing decent working conditions like adequate lighting, clean air and temperature control.  Regulations have been passed because businesses are unable to put their employees before profit. 

“When the game is always changing, small businesses cannot properly plan for the future. To provide stability, we will require congressional approval of any new federal regulation that has an annual cost to our economy of $100 million or more. This is the threshold at which the government deems a regulation “economically significant.” If a regulation is so “significant” and costly that it may harm job creation, Congress should vote on it first.”

Sounds OK for government transparency as well. 

“Repeal Job-Killing Small Business Mandates”

“One of the most controversial mandates of the Democrats’ government takeover of health care requires small businesses to report to the Internal Revenue Service any purchases that run more than $600. This 1099 reporting mandate is so overbearing that the IRS ombudsman has determined that the agency is ill-equipped to handle all the resulting paperwork. We will repeal this job-killing small business mandate.”

It sounds a little low for business purchases, when a single desktop computer can cost that much.  The IRS 1099 is used for reporting income to contractors and temporary help that are not employees.  This is nothing new. 

Perhaps the Republicans do not know this.

From Factcheck.org : “It repeats a bogus assertion that the Internal Revenue Service may need to expand by 16,500 positions, an inflated estimate based on false assumptions and guesswork.”

I am reminded that the last time Republicans published a manifesto in 1994 and were swept into office they pledged to cut government spending.  A November 13, 2000 article by Edward H. Crane, president of the libertarian Cato Institute, stated, “… the combined budgets of the 95 major programs that the Contract with America promised to eliminate have increased by 13%.”   So they spent more. 

Read Fact Check.org’s report on The Pledge

The Pledge draws a dismal picture of an economy sputtering toward ruin; with increasing  joblessness (grossly incorrect), and a federal budget wracked by record deficits and ballooning debt.

Many claims are incorrect and exaggerated and any facts that brighten the future picture are omitted.

Previously we looked at the Republican 1994 Contract with America that coincided with the takeover of Congress by Republicans due to dissatisfaction, scandal, and redistricting. 

GOP Pledge—1994 Contract with America

Next, we’ll continue to look at the actual GOP Pledge to America document Republicans published in 2010.  What are the promises they make in the Pledge, what are the truths and the half-truths, and what has already been accomplished?

The latest Associated Press-GfK poll found nearly three-quarters of survey respondents disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job, with 68 percent disapproving of Republicans compared with 60 percent disapproving of Democrats. 

On September 23, 2010, Republicans issued their new manifesto, although they are careful to avoid referring to it as such (negative connotation).   Republicans are calling it their “Pledge to America,” a 21-page document (plus photos) composed to show the American voters that they are listening to an angry public fed up with Congress and both parties.    

Since May, Republican leaders have been asking for input from American voters who logged in to a taxpayer funded Republican web site called America Speaking Out. 

According to the three-month Alexa traffic rankings, the AmericaSpeakingOut.com audience and visitors to the site view an average of 2.5 unique pages per day. Its audience tends to be aged under 25 and over 45; they are also disproportionately childless, moderately educated men earning over $30,000. Almost all its audience is located in the U.S.  

As I looked at the Pledge and the history leading up to it, I realized that covering the subject would be too long for a single blog entry, so it will be divided up into several consecutive parts. 

The America Speaking Out Survey

The number of responders was quite small in relation to the number of voters, but they should be commended for taking the time to respond. 

For the 2008 election, there were 146 million registered voters.  That was 71 percent of voting-age citizens.  131 million people voted (64 percent).  Normally, about 50 percent vote.   

There is no guarantee that the responders to the survey were all voters, or that they were U.S. citizens, or lived in the U.S. or that they were not part of the Republican team loading the survey.  For that we must rely on their honor. 

There was one suggestion under Fiscal Responsibility / Waste that stated the Republican platform almost word for word. 

The counts of people submitting ideas and voting in the subcategories far exceeded the total counts given in the overall categories. 

One responder was identified as the most active, with nearly 100,000 activity points given for submitting ideas, responding to ideas, and voting on ideas.  There were no other profiles mentioned, but a handful of super active participants could have loaded the response balance.  I could elect whomever I wanted if I was allowed to vote an unlimited number of times.

There were a fair amount of opinions from people with incorrect information, such as thinking that public officials get full salary and benefits for life after serving one term, or thinking that candidates don’t want to offend illegal aliens, because they will vote them out of office. 

As a note, most states require a picture ID to register to vote, and in a few years, federal law is expected to require citizenship for licenses.   This may handicap the elderly, the challenged and other citizens who may want to vote, but most have a Social Security card that requires proof of citizenship, and Medicaid recipients must now prove citizenship.  If there are illegal aliens voting, it’s a small percentage that would risk being discovered and deported. 

There were complaints that some ideas that were submitted several times were rejected with an “inappropriate message.”

Survey Summary

Ed.Note: I reviewed the website, and extracted those ideas that had the most votes, as well as the essence of the comments I felt were the responders’ hot buttons.  Some items were relocated from their website category and condensed for reading clarifty.

Job creation and Fiscal responsibility were the top two hands-down winners. 

Job Creation

Responders suggested stopping both the outsourcing and insourcing of jobs.  Tax breaks should be eliminated and taxes increased for companies who outsource to compensate for lost American worker revenue.  Heavily fine companies employing illegal immigrants (estimate 12 million living in the U.S.) and deport the immigrants. 

Responders suggested making unemployment eligibility mean “I can’t find a job I am qualified for” and not “I can’t find the job I want”. If a person is deemed physically fit to work, they should not simply be able to reject a job and get unemployment because it’s not what they want to do.  Too many people have reached a comfort level on unemployment. 

Fiscal Responsibility

Responders targeted members of congress, suggesting they reduce staff, eliminate postal privileges, close office gyms, eliminate travel budgets, sell their limos, and revoke their military aircraft privileges.  Require all Congressional travel expenses to be public within 30 days of travel. 

In other words, these angry citizens want the members of congress to have citizen job benefits like “normal” people. 

Prohibit legislators and their employees and families from receiving money and other gifts from businesses and lobbyists. Our representatives should be accountable to one and only one interest, their constituents.

An example of the anger people have with Congress  is “I think we should quit giving the resigned politicians a pension, Most times they have done nothing to deserve it. Think of the money the government would save. They are not entitled to it.”

Responders suggested reducing the size of our military spending drastically.  It’s currently over 50% of our national budget and doesn’t need to be so gargantuan. Our carrier fleet alone is several times larger than the entire world’s fleets put together. If you cut that by itself you’d save the American taxpayer quite a bit of money and even have some left over for infrastructure improvements, better schools and social programs that will make this nation stronger over all.

Welfare in the United States has been transformed to the point where it’s no longer designed to help people get by during bad times. Instead, welfare is used as a permanent crutch for the recipient and as a political advantage to one political party or another.

Government Reform:

Responders suggested a complete audit of federal agencies and programs, assessing their Constitutionality, and identifying duplication, waste, ineffectiveness, or better left for states or local authorities.  Streamline Government; there are 100 Agencies doing substantially similar things. Government should be managed more like a company.

No unrelated spending amendments should be allowed.  Americans HATE the ‘earmarks’ that Washington pushes through.  Too often spending amendments are attached to unrelated bills. If the spending can’t pass on its own, don’t pass it.  Make a rule that each bill put forth in the house and senate only deal with the bill, no add-ons for pork or other pet projects that don’t deal with the crux of the bill. 

Require each bill to identify the specific provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to do what the bill does.  All legislation must be read in full on the floor of Congress. Everyone voting on a bill must certify having heard the entire reading or that they have read it personally in it’s entirity.

Transparency / Open Government:

Transparency – American taxpayers deserve to see where their tax dollars are going, on the way into the legislative process and on the way out. This means ending the practice of rushing bills through Congress at the speed of light by requiring legislation be posted online for five days before it can be scheduled for a floor vote. This gives taxpayers the opportunity to read bills and offer feedback and potentially devastating legislation.

We also must demand that ALL government expenditures, down to the line-item expense, be put online in a searchable, easily accessible format so taxpayers can track, dollar-for-dollar, where their hard-earned money is going. The only way to stop the spending is to keep representatives accountable – American taxpayers deserve the tools that will empower them to become good fiscal watchdogs of the state.

Require an on-line, instant update website listing what lobbyist’s are courting what politicians and for what reason.  

Tax Reform:

Replace all taxes with a simple flat income tax on all individuals and corporations.  This way every one is taxed at the same rate, no more of the “progressive” tax scale.

ENACT THE FAIR TAX. collect taxes from EVERYONE here (including tourists and illegal aliens), at the point of consumption where it is clear, straight forward and visible, they are obvious every time you purchase something at the retail level.  

American Values / Life:

Abortion is not healthcare. Abortion is a complex, difficult moral issue. It is not the proper role of the government to make our moral decisions for us. Let people make up their own minds and take responsibility for their decisions. If we are to be the party of small government, less government intrusion, and personal liberty, we must stop trying to legislate abortion away. It’s not the government’s place to be a nanny that chooses our morality for us.  The sanctity of life should support whatever a woman wishes to do with her body. Without this right freedom is meaningless

Illegals are giving birth in the USA just to have an American child and stay here illegally (known as ‘anchor babies).  If an illegal gives birth in the USA, the mother and child should be deported back home and the child not recognized as an American citizen. They need to go back to their home country and follow the legal process of becoming an US citizen. Modify the 14th Amendment allowing anyone born in the United States citizenship.

Health Care:

Repeal Obamacare and allow companies and individuals to purchase insurance across State lines.  We need to return to one deductible, maximum deductible per family, and then 80/20 coverage with the exception of 80/20 from the start for prescription drugs.  Make health care and insurance more affordable by enabling a competitive, open, and transparent free-market health care and health insurance system that isn’t restricted by state boundaries. 

The federal government shouldn’t be in the business of forcing you to buy health insurance and taxing you if you don’t.  Make health a right, not a privilege. Treat protection from injury or disease just like protection from crime or fire. Imagine if the police and fire departments were a for profit industries. Wealthy neighborhoods that could afford top quality protection would prosper, middle class neighborhoods would become slums, and poorer neighborhoods would simply deteriorate from crime and burn to the ground. Take the profit out of healthcare. 

InfraStructure:

Building a modern, safe and efficient infrastructure is critical to creating U.S. jobs.

We need to vastly improve our power grid as a part of any new energy initiative. A large percentage of our energy is lost due to an outdated power grid.

Government needs to invest more in mass transit in the cities and develop realistic mass-transit between urban hubs. Stop spending our tax money to create new streets and infrastructure in outlying areas.

There was a small but consistent thread of suggestings regarding term limits for all members of Congress. 

Republicans have said that the America Speaking Out program was about the short term, not about an election, but there is no denying the project bears a strong resemblance to the Contract with America, the 1994 document that laid out what the party would do if it took control of the House. 

Next, we’ll look at the last Contract with America Republicans published in 1994.  Although they swept into control of Congress, was it the contract or were there other reasons? 

GOP Pledge—1994 Contract with America