Tuesday, 20 June 2006
Democrats are for a New Direction
« Courier Journal Jumps on Global Warming Bandwagon | Main | Arena Project to Boost Economy »The latest press release from the Democrats is hilarious. First off, they name the plan a "New Direction". If you say it fast enough it sounds like nude erection. Did Bill Clinton pick the name of the plan? Sophomoric humor aside the details of the plan are just plain dumb. Here is the ground breaking plan that we have been waiting from the Dems broken into six themes.
Make Health Care More Affordable: Fix the prescription drug program by putting people ahead of drug companies and HMO���s, eliminating wasteful subsidies, negotiating lower drug prices and ensuring the program works for all seniors; invest in stem cell and other medical research.
I have no idea what step 1 is. They are going to put people ahead of drug companies. What by price fixing? By undercutting American companies? And then they are going to spend more money on "medical research". That is a "sound" plan if ever I heard one.
Lower Gas Prices and Achieve Energy Independence: Crack down on price gouging; eliminate billions in subsidies for oil and gas companies and use the savings to provide consumer relief and develop American alternatives, including biofuels; promote energy efficient technology.
Crack down on price gouging? Who is price gouging? That is the price of oil on the free market. If the Democrats hadn't stood in the way of increasing our oil production by drilling in Alaska, maybe we could have kept the prices lower. On top of that they are going to "stick it" to big oil companies. Yeah, that sounds like a good way to get them to expand R&D and increase production. And of course we are going to develop American alternatives which aren't developed on the free market and which will not work. Brilliant strategy!
Help Working Families: Raise the minimum wage; repeal tax giveaways that encourage companies to move jobs overseas.
Yeah, here is a good idea. Let's help working families by destroying jobs. The natural effect of raising the minimum wage. Artificial wages drives up costs which lead to two things. A loss of jobs and an increase in prices. That definitely helps the working family.
Cut College Costs: Make college tuition deductible from taxes; expand Pell grants and slash student loan costs.
Another brilliant idea that will cost the taxpayers needlessly. Yeah, let's give out more risky loans that will never be paid back. If a student wants to go to school, they should have to get a loan like everyone else. That way the taxpayers don't have to shoulder the burden of bad loans.
Ensure Dignified Retirement: Prevent the privatization of Social Security; expand savings incentives; and ensure pension fairness.
Yeah, I think they mean "Ensure Poverty in Retirement". By denying people privatized social security they are damning people to horrendous rates of return on their money. Yeah we all want to earn 2% when we could have earned 10%!
Require Fiscal Responsibility: Restore the budget discipline of the 1990s that helped eliminate deficits and spur record economic growth.
There was no fiscal discipline in the 90's. Spending was as outrageous then as it is now. They just had a dot.com boom that brought record amounts of new taxes into the treasury. Once the dot.com busted revenue fell of significantly.
"Our new direction will advance a common agenda, seek common ground, and apply common sense in the service of the common good," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "We know that with a new direction, we can meet our national challenges in a way that makes our nation stronger, our economy more vibrant, and our families more secure. Instead of record deficits, we will go in this new direction in a fiscally sound way. We will make America more competitive and not heap mountains of debt on future generations."
That is precious. They are going to make our economy stronger by socializing medicine, destroying jobs by raising the minimum wage, and divert good capital to bad student loans, and then deny people the right to save for their future. That is a great plan!
But what I want to now is how they are going to make our families more secure? What is their plan to defeat terrorism? What are they going to do after they cut and run from Iraq? How are we going to stop terrorists in the U.S.? How can you be serious about running this country if you don't have a plan to fight terrorism? The number one risk to national security! The Dems have become a joke, and I think it is really funny. Demented and sad, but funny.
