9/11 - A Day to Remember

9/11 is upon us again.  This is usually the time when I tell you about where I was when theworld stopped turning on that September day in 2001.  I explain that as a Marine, stationed in North Carolina on that day, I was instantly imbued with a sense of duty that I had never felt to that time and I tried to explain something that really, only those who remember Pearl Harbor could appreciate.  Today, I’m not going to go through all of that.  9/11 serves as a reminder to all of us that our world is a dangerous place but it should also serve as a reminder of what America is and who we are as individuals.  There were no divisions on that wretched day as twisted metal and crumbling concrete rained down upon NYC, D.C. and as heroic passengers gave their own lives in the last full measure of devotion to their fellow man and their nation in Shanksville, PA.  The terrible cost gave way to a glorious outpouring of love and service.  There were no divisions on that day.  Race, color, creed, even nationality were discarded as a means of disunity and all of us pitched in together to rescue those stranded, to provide life giving blood to those who needed and to support the first responders who rushed headlong into the fray.  It’s time to stop focusing on the tragedies, remember them, and honor those who suffered, but focus on who we were in a time of chaos and confusion.  We were Americans! 

Again, we are being tested although this time there is no foreign terror organization to blame and no enemy to combat.  Our nation faces serious financial troubles and as we close in on yet another election, we are left to ask, where do we go from here?  Who are we now?  Today, as Delaware’s Primary elections are taking place in the Republican and Democrat parties and in the wake of two of the most watched political conventions in history, instead of focusing on where we’ve been, I’m going to tackle the question, are we better off than we were four years ago.  I won’t look at things so much nationally, although we will cover some things nationally but I’ll focus mostly right here, in Delaware.

Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?  That question was circulated around the Democratic National Convention and Delaware’s elected officials were chomping at the bit to answer it.  To a man, they all said, “Yes”.  (Chris Coons) (Joe Biden) (Jack Markell) (Tom Carper) But I’m not so sure that they are right.  Let’s look at a few economic factors and decide if we are better off today than four years ago.

Gas prices
Nationwide, when President Obama took office, after the worst collapse since the great depression, the average price per gallon of regular gas was $1.86 but today, a gallon of gas nationally will average about $3.86.  Here in Delaware, when President Obama took office, we were paying $1.75 and today, the average is $3.79 per gallon of regular gas (although I just paid $3.95 at a Shell outside of Wilmington).  So clearly, by any standard, the price of gas has risen by $2 in 4 years. 

How Do We Fix It?
There’s no sense in simply tearing someone down.  We need a plan to fix the problems we face or we’re just complaining and there’s no sense in that.  So how do we tackle high gas prices?  We embrace safe and responsible fracking operations, open up drilling and stop burning our food supply as fuel (ethanol).  Despite claims by unscrupulous and biased documentary filmmakers, the fact is that even the Obama EPA has had to admit that when done properly, fracking poses almost no danger to ground water, reservoirs or other water sources.  American natural gas and shale oil energy potentials are estimated to provide more than 200 years of clean, affordable energy and could cut our imports from the Middle east by as much as $200 billion per year.  Furthermore, while the administration rightly points out that there is more drilling in the private sector taking place today, what they fail to mention is that there is less private land on which to drill as the federal government has sucked up much of our resource rich ground and refuses to allow safe and responsible U.S. oil producers to use it.  They do however, allow Brazil and China, nations who do not possess the ecological sense of duty that Americans do, to drill on our lands.  Finally, ethanol is consistently touted as the green fuel of the future and it’s been so deeply embraced that it’s hard to find a station that doesn’t have E85 blended ethanol as the standard.  Unfortunately, while it may be greener on a one to one basis, the reality is that ethanol reduces fuel economy and therefore it takes more ethanol burning to go the same distance as it would with gasoline without ethanol.  At best, ethanol is a wash in terms of pollution and at worst, it unnecessarily drives up the prices of both fuel and food (ethanol is commonly made from corn, soybeans, sugar cane and switch grass).

Jobs
In 2009, when President Obama and Governor Markell took office, the national unemployment rate was 7.8% and Delaware’s unemployment rate was 6.9%.  Today, after 4 years of their economic policies, the national jobless rate stands at 8.3% while Delaware is at 6.8%.  These are the U-3 numbers which is the rosiest picture.  This doesn’t include ‘discouraged workers…persons who are not in the labor force, want and are available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They are not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the prior 4 weeks, for the specific reason that they believed no jobs were available for them.”  Nor does it include people who have had to take part time jobs who would otherwise be working full time jobs.  Those numbers are found in the U-6 database and they are staggering.  The U-6 number today is 15.3% (12.1% in 2009) and in Delaware it’s 13.3% (10.7% in 2009).  Nearly 30 million Americans and nearly 60,000 Delawareans are unemployed or underemployed.  You’re not being told the truth by our government.  4 years ago, Delaware maintained one of its two auto plants, the promise of thousands of green energy jobs and hope for those who were being laid off.  Today we’re crippled by the failures of Fisker, Blue Water Wind and the corruption of the Bloom Energy deal that saps money from Delmarva customers to pay for unproven and unrealized potential.

How Do We Fix It?
Even the rosiest of pictures shows that the Obama/Markell jobs plans are simply falling flat.  At the very best, they are maintaining unemployment at ridiculously high levels.  Unfortunately for Delaware, while tackling our energy problems will create millions of good paying, private sector jobs in the energy rich states nationwide, it won’t help us much here in Delaware where we have little square footage and not much energy potential.  Delaware needs to rebuild itself and rebrand itself.  Gone are many of the banks and large enterprises who previously helped Delaware be the corporate capital of the world, gone are the auto plants who employed our blue collar workforce and going are companies like Astra Zeneca and DuPont who have for so long sustained us in tough times and in good times.  There has to be a two pronged approach to job creation in order to make sure that it sticks.  First, Delaware needs a shot in the arm to stimulate the markets.  We can accomplish this through slashing investment and capital gains taxes, reducing our corporate taxes and cutting regulations that choke businesses.  Opting Delaware out of the Obamacare legislation, reducing the power of the PSC and repealing RGGI and the RPS will immediately create opportunities for manufacturing and enterprise businesses to return to Delaware.  Next, Delaware needs to be able to sustain jobs over the long term through serious regulatory reform, tax breaks for companies who hire Delaware residents, incentives for rehabilitation of targeted growth areas including the reuse of existing structures and targeted incentives for companies who invest in Delaware’s infrastructure.  This approach will create long term growth in our state and help to revitalize and rebuild struggling communities while ensuring a fair and open playing field for all businesses.

General Economy
The fact is that the loss of jobs, the skyrocketing price of energy and the lack of confidence in our leaders to fix these problems has led a national economy that is growing in drips and drabs at best and at worst is only giving the false appearance of life.  Despite massive spending on stimulus, bailouts for big banks, a practical takeover of the American auto industry and the passage of the Obamacare bill that was supposed to entice businesses into hiring, our nations growth is barely stagnant at less than 2% growth.  The future is not much brighter with tax hikes looming and businesses still unsure of what employee costs will be.  Here in Delaware, Governor Markell has placed a heavy burden on corporations that had long sustained us while making crony deals with political friends and party backers in Fisker and Bloom.  In short, our leaders in Dover have put politics over people and cronyism over job creation.  Like the nation, our growth rate is below 2% and more and more Delaware residents are turning to social welfare services to try and make ends meet.

How Do We Fix It?
The first step in the process of getting out of a hole is to stop digging the hole.  Delaware’s partisan political class, a group of people largely made up of a single party, must be reigned in and held to account for their action and inaction.  We must replace the single party rule in Dover with new faces and fresh ideas.  Throwing money at our problems hasn’t solved them yet and it’s not for a lack of trying.  Our nation is a nation built around the idea of individualism and service to our communities and we must tap the potential of our unbridled talent by unleashing the power of our people.  First, common sense tells us that in a time of fiscal turmoil, raising taxes is a bad idea.  When people are already struggling, pressing more burdens on them is both unfair and harmful to any chance of a recovery.  Instead, we should lower individual income taxes to put more money in the hands of consumers to stimulate the local economies.  While we’re on the subject of tax cuts for Delaware’s working families, we must recognize that without the means to create jobs, tax cuts to the middle class are a temporary benefit at best.  We must also cut our investment taxes and make it easier for those who have the means to invest in Delaware companies to do so.  Much ado has been made about the “rich” paying their “fair share” and I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that nationally (even with the “Bush tax cuts” in place), the top 10%, who make over $112,000 per year, pay more than 70% of the entire income tax burden and the top 50%, those making more than $32,000 annual account for almost 98% of our national income tax burden. In Delaware, those with an income of $200,000 or more, the folks that we’ve been told “aren’t paying their fair share” account for just 2.6% of all the tax returns in Delaware.  They also account for 29% of Delaware’s portion of the Federal Income Tax and 33% of Delaware’s State Income Tax revenue.  That means that the other 97.4% of Delaware residents combine to cover 67% of the Delaware State Income Tax.  Any rational view of these numbers would lead one to ask, “What is ‘fair’?”  We can turn our future around but it really requires us to do all of the above.  Address our energy needs by supporting low cost, domestic energy sources that can power us into the next century, creating jobs that are sustainable in the private sector and decreasing the financial burden on our citizens to allow them the opportunity to grow and thrive and lead us out of the recession.   

Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Plan Explained

It's no secret that I am a big supporter of Herman Cain.  If someone were to ask who I was endorsing, I would say Mr. Cain and there are a number of reasons for that.  I think he is the most qualified candidate in the room to fix the economy, get us out of debt and lead us in the right direction.  Fellow blogger Ted Belman over at Israpundit lays out Cain's impressive resume of accomplishments.  To put it simply, he has the educational pedigree of Obama (a Masters in Comp. Sci), better business experience than Romney, the family background of Santorum, the TEA Party fire of Bachmann and dare I say it the gall to say what he means that Ron Paul has!  What he DOESN'T have, are the chains of a lifetime of politics dragging him down.  He doesn't have the baggage of  being a politician.  He's been a citizen, a problem solver, a military man and yes, he's been a rocket scientist!  So while it doesn't take a rocket scientist to solve our problems, I'd feel better having someone who is one working on the solutions!

With that said, Cain's often attacked over his controversial 9-9-9 plan by people who either don't understand it or are misrepresenting it for political gain.  While I don't have the credentials to pretend I know everything, this plan is one that I feel comfortable speaking about because it's just that simple.  For many years now, our government has increasingly tried to make things more complicated than they are in an effort to get us to turn away and "leave it to them to deal with".  The fact is that it's really NOT that complicated.  The economy of the nation is no different than the economy at home.  They've over time convinced us that deficit spending is OK, that we don't need to even have a budget and that our nations credit would never be questioned.  Well that wall of straw came crashing down when America lost her AAA rating with S&P.  While the politicians will demonize S&P for their downgrade, the real fault lies with those politicians who have run up $18 Trillion in debt, treated our Constitution like a wet rag and played fast and loose with the rules.  Cain's plan is not a political plan, but a practical business solution to the problem.  He started by identifying the problem, which we will do below.

In our homes, if the bills come up off and we owe more than we take in, maybe we get away with that for a month or two but eventually the bills come due.  It's no different for government, no matter what they say, the rules of physics, mathematics and accounting are the same.  At home, when you see debt you look for ways to pay it off, either you cut down on spending to even it out or you have to find a way to make more money, either with a second job, a raise or some other increase in "revenue".  For government, "revenue" (what we call "income" at home) is taxes and fees that citizens are charged to ensure that the bills are met.  Government has to take in enough to provide a benefit to the people and cover the cost of the projects.  What's happened over time is that as government has convinced us that deficit spending (a.k.a. running up credit card debt) is OK, we've added another cost to the list, interest.  So now, government has to spend enough to provide a benefit, cover costs AND pay interest on the debt.  Their answer?  Borrow more money.  It's like at home, instead of cutting back on spending or picking up that part time job, you went out and got another credit card with a higher limit.  When it gets really bad, they authorize the Fed to print more money (which we would go to prison for) which really is just borrowing from one hand to pay another, a little like using your rent payment to pay your electric bill.  The rent will still come due, you've just kicked the can down the road except when you print MORE money, you decrease the value of it and so you need more of it to pay your bills.  Fast forward a little and what you have is the equivalent of the government maxing out credit cards at all of the nations banks, the major international banks, local credit unions and now looking for even MORE.  If it sounds insane, it is.  This is what the government has done behind our backs and NOW, when their scheme is finally exposed, they look at the banks (credit card lenders) and say "Why did you give us all this MONEY!?" or they look at big business (which eventually becomes small businesses) and say "HEY!  You're stealing from us because you have money and we need money!"(like demanding a raise from your boss because you're overspending at home).  One day they will look at all of us as taxpayers and demand a raise.  So we know the problem, spending, debt and an inability to make the tough choice due to moral and ethical bankruptcy.  Why is 9-9-9 such a great solution?

The genius is in the simplicity.  The current tax code is more than 60,000 pages of loopholes, legalese and special interest giveaways that confuse, confound and distract from the fact that there are a dozen major federal taxes not to mention the fees charged to people and businesses as a result of our regulatory climate. Cain's plan doesn't tinker around the edges of the code, delete a few loopholes or monkey around with the language.  It throws the old system out (and good riddance!) and replaces it with 3 simple taxes for us to follow.  No more chasing the other hand and looking for the many hands.  It's divided up into 3 parts, a corporate tax of 9% which lowers our current corporate tax from the highest in the world at 35% down to one of the lowest in the world and which will stimulate growth (more on this tax later); an income tax of 9% (currently those making between $0 and $8,500 are taxed at 10% so EVEN those Americans get a tax cut); and finally a 9% national sales tax (this seems to give people the most heartburn but as I'll explain, this is actually far closer to the principles of America's founding than the income tax is).  That's it folks, all other taxes go away, no Capital Gains taxes, dividend taxes, death taxes, payroll taxes, medicare taxes, social security taxes, zip,zilch NADA.  It's GONE!  And we are left with just 3 taxes to keep an eye on.  So let's look at those taxes and how they compare to the current system.

9% Corporate Tax
As I mentioned above, America's corporate tax rate is 35% which makes it the highest in the world.  This is a tax put on businesses of a certain size that basically allows them to do business in America.  It's also the main factor behind these corporations "shipping jobs overseas" (well this and regulations like Obamacare...but I digress) and putting Americans out of work.  So next time Barack Obama starts yapping about the evil corporations, ask him why the country taxes them so high as compared to the rest of the world and what he would do if he were running that business.  Another thing we know about corporate taxes is that they are "regressive" and passed along to consumers in the price of goods and services.  This is a word you'll hear Ron Paul supporters and the left use a lot to frighten the poor (we'll cover regressive taxes later when we talk about the national sales tax).  So we know that 35% corporate tax gets pushed through on the price of everything you buy, which means there is an automatic 35% markup in pretty much everything you buy.  Cain's plan slashes that tax rate from 35% down to 9% which will make it one of the worlds lowest rates and encourage businesses to return to America and employ American workers.  That will strengthen the economy, widen the tax base, put more people back to work and generally create MORE revenue and more prosperity.  It will also lower the cost of goods, no longer will there be a 35% markup on every product, it will be reduced to 9% which will make everything you buy cheaper and lower the threshold for poverty.  These are improvements we can all get behind.

9% National Sales Tax
Now let's talk about he boogieman in the room, the National Sales Tax.  As I said above, the far left AND the far right, the Obama supporters and the Ron Paul supporters are already running around calling this a "regressive tax".  Basically, a regressive tax is one that affects the poor more than the rich and it's usually used to discourage sales taxes.  The idea is that the poor spend a higher percentage of their income on necessities than the rich do.  Perhaps this is true on paper BUT in reality the rich spend far MORE in terms of dollars (and often percentage as well) on products than the poor do.  The rich buy bigger and more expensive houses, cars, boats, etc.  They often spend more on their clothes, eat more expensive food and require more (and higher costing) utilities than the poor.  With that said, keep in mind that the slashing of the corporate tax will also drive down the PRICE of goods and stretch American dollars that much farther.  Now, a national sales tax is a scary proposition, especially with a Congress like we have.  With that said, almost every state in the nation has a state sales tax and have since the beginning of the country so it can't be too bad for the poor or no one would live in a state with a sales tax!  The reality is that the corporate taxes DO get passed on but really a sales tax is fair, not regressive.  It allows each of us to contribute to our nation's future and with the boost to the economy that the corporate tax reduction would grant, the impact would be far less than it might be if say they were to institute it now with no other changes.    Given the savings of all the other taxes that are being dropped completely, this works out in almost every ones favor.  In fact, without loopholes, the only people who might be hurt by this are government and the corporations who rely on loopholes to dodge their tax burden today.


FAQ/Myths
1.) Isn't this just a tax increase? - The answer is no.  This is not a tax increase.  Let's do some simple calculations.  As we discussed, you pay a 35% tax on everything you buy today PLUS your income tax of at least 10% (I know that SOME people pay 0 tax but those are anomalies easily dealt with) so your total tax burden is a minimum of 45% of your total income and expenses.  Under Cain's plan, with the 9% sales tax, 9% income tax and 9% corporate tax, your total tax burden is just 27% which results in at least a net 18% cut for even the lowest paid Americans.
2.) Won't the politicians just increase the taxes from say 9-9-9 to 15-15-15 and drive our burden up? - The answer is maybe.  See, the reason our taxes are so high today is because we have allowed them to get out of control and take more and more and spend more and more without holding them accountable.  Our government is not designed to run on auto pilot.  We MUST be vigilant and while that requires work on our part, the upside is that WE have the power and control to get them OUT of office.  So theoretically, yes they could increase the taxes but with only three to look at, it would be hard to hide an increase and protections in Cain's plan make it harder.  #1 Since this is Cain's plan, he would be President and thus would have to sign any increases.  Veto anyone?  #2 It requires 2/3 majority in both houses to pass and as we've seen in 2011, you try herding these cats to do anything by 2/3rds majority!
3.) How will the poor be protected? - Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry all brought this up during the last CNN debate and quite honestly I think Cain missed an opportunity here.  He talked about the fact that there is no sales tax on used goods and since poor people buy more used goods than new goods (cars, houses, etc.) there is less opportunity for those folks to pay the sales tax.  He also talked about the Empowerment zones which will be areas in which his plan would focus to rebuild struggling communities.  I'm thinking about places like Detroit and other such places devastated throughout the years.  What he missed hitting on was the simplest face of all.  His plan will drive DOWN the price of goods DRAMATICALLY.  Think about this a second, the difference in the cost of an item under his plan in terms of the corporate tax is this, under the current system an item worth $100 ends up being marked up 35% ($35 for every $100) and the total cost to the consumer is $135.  Under Cain's plan, the markup drops to 9% making that same $100 item cost $109.  That's a savings of $16 in this example.  The results are even better in almost every case, when you factor in all of the current taxes vs. Cain's whole plan.
4.) Will this affect Social Security/Medicare revenues? - No, these revenues will be collected from the pool created by the 9-9-9 plan so the only difference will be that they are not going to be separate taxes.  Also, Herman would lock those funds back up and make sure Congress stops spending them on wars, roads and welfare. 
5.) How will this affect underground consumer markets? - It will bring underground markets back into the tax fold.  How?  Consider this, today, an illegal immigrant worker is paid under the table where they pay no taxes on the income.  They can then go to a state with no sales tax and buy a product off the shelf only paying the 35% markup meanwhile, you and I pay10% percent on income, then the additional 35% markup.  Under Cain's plan, the incentive for companies to hire illegal workers under the table is reduced and these illegal workers are then paying into the national tax system via the national sales tax.
6.) What about states who don't have a sales tax like New Hampshire and Delaware? - This is another question that came up in the debate that I think ALL of the other candidates are disingenuous about.  #1 - Cain is right when he says that comparing the national sales tax to the state tax is like comparing apples to oranges.  They are entirely different things and state taxes will ALWAYS exist.  They will exist with the current plan OR with a new plan and so there is no reason to count them.  With the national sales tax or without it, Delaware for instance, will not show a state sales tax on the receipt but Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey all will.  The price of products will STILL be lower.  In fact, there is some talk about not itemizing the national sales tax on the receipt but that will be fleshed out as we go along.
7.) How come no one else has thought of this if it's such a good idea? -These are not necessarily brand new ideas but what Herman has that the others don't is a a lack of political fear.  He is not, as I said earlier, shackled to politics like the others.  He's a business man and a problem solver and he designs programs to solve problems.  9-9-9 is not a perfect end solution and Herman freely admits that he wants to transition to a Fair Tax system, eliminate the corporate and income taxes all together and get America's engine humming again.  This is a stepping stone that takes the best elements from the Flat Tax, the Fair Tax and corporate taxes  (if there are any) and rolls them together in a transitional ball.
8) Can this pass the Congress? - The answer is yes.  Such sweeping changes to the current system have met with opposition from both sides yes, but there is enough support on the right and among moderates that an election mandate would allow Cain's plan some traction.  That's not to say that he would force it through or that he would need a super-majority to pass it the way Obama did to pass his healthcare bill (but it wouldn't hurt to swing the balance of power to the GOP!) but rather that he would be able to present it.  Sure the plan will be argued, debated and potentially modified but the upside to that, with Herman Cain in the White House, if it doesn't make sense, he ain't signing it!  And, if we don't like it, we throw the bums out and move on!

I know this is long and so I won't take up anymore time.  If I haven't convinced you by now, I'm not sure what else I can do BUT if you have a question, drop a comment and I'll get back to you.
*Updates*
10/20/2011 - My good friend Charlie Copeland, who is widely considered one of the smartest guys in Delaware, looks at the 9-9-9 plan from the perspective of economic growth and the drop in prices as a result of the reduced costs on business.  http://resolutedetermination.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/9-9-9-if-taxes-are-higher-but-costs-are-lower-americans-are-happier/

A Broadband Expansion Plan That Works

Delaware is known as “The First State” for its role as the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It could also be known as “The First State” for its position leading the country in access and adoption of broadband internet, with 100 percent of Delaware citizens having access to broadband from at least one provider (National Broadband Map).

Like all advances in communications technology, broadband Internet means faster, wider and cheaper access to information. For individuals this means being able to do research for school from the comfort of your home, and for businesses it can mean reaching new markets with products, tracking shipments and deliveries, and paying bills online. Whether for individuals or businesses, broadband access means being able to work more quickly and efficiently.

Any economist will tell you that with greater efficiency come greater profits, and greater profits means having the capital to grow and create jobs, which is exactly what we need in today’s slumping economy. Broadband access is the single most important investment businesses can make in order to increase revenues and create jobs. Unfortunately, many areas in the country lack any kind of broadband access and are unable to take advantage of its many benefits.

According to the Internet Innovation Alliance, many Americans in rural areas lack access to broadband Internet, or even any Internet at all. For businesses, this means being unable to compete in an ever increasingly global economy, and for individuals, it means starting at a disadvantage to those who have access. Currently in Washington there is a lot of debate about the best way to increase access to broadband through government programs and loans. But, clearly, a private market solution is preferable to an approach that once again taps the American taxpayer.  

A few months ago AT&T announced that it was seeking to merge with T-Mobile USA, a German-owned wireless company. In information provided to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), AT&T has committed to build out its promises to expand 4G broadband wireless network to cover more than 97 percent of the country if allowed to merge with T-Mobile. Additionally, AT&T has announced that with the merger, they would bring 5,000 outsourced call center jobs back to the U.S. as well as maintaining the 25,000 T-Mobile call center jobs here already.

With the benefits of the merger, coupled with the general benefits of broadband for the economy and jobs (10 Facts About Broadband and Jobs) it is hard to see why the Federal government has not already approved the merger and started getting Americans back to work.  The T-Mobile/AT&T merger sounds like common sense to me and Delaware could be a place where AT&T could put those 5,000 new American jobs.  We have the facilities and the infrastructure to facilitate that kind of work and we have people well versed in both technology and customer service.

As a candidate for the Delaware General Assembly, I’m calling on fellow candidates, my opponent, Rep. John Viola and current legislators to join me in supporting this private sector venture and to call on Congress to end its hostility towards business.

Reduce Regulations - Create Jobs

Delaware needs jobs and we need to look no further than Texas to see how to get them, reduce regulations, lower taxes and encourage small businesses to grow and expand. There are two practical ways that the General Assembly and Governor Markell can get Delaware on the fast track to recovery: Pull out of RGGI and Obamacare. Representative Jack Peterman had a bill (H.B. 86) last year that would have accomplished the first part of this and Representative Deborah Hudson submitted a bill, the Delaware Health Freedom Act (identical to H.B. 353 from 2010) that would have allowed Delaware citizens and businesses to opt out of Obamacare.

What stopped these bills? In the case of Rep. Hudson's bill, it was killed in committee two years in a row by the House leadership. The split was along party lines with Democrats objecting and Republicans supporting. In the case of Rep. Peterman's bill, it was tabled by John Kowalko's energy committee which is made up of 5 Democrats and 3 Republicans.

The bottom line here is that in 2011, Delaware Democrats killed two bills that would have immediately ADDED jobs in Delaware and instead relegated us to massive layoffs and barely hanging on to our already too high unemployment rate. The fact is that nothing is going to change until we change it and what needs to change is the leadership in Dover. We've got too many legislators who are really nothing more than glorified lobbyists for unions, state & local governments and special interest groups. It's time to replace double dippers like John Viola (my opponent) with fresh ideas and people who aren't beholden to special interest groups.

If you help me get to Dover, I will cast my first vote for NEW leadership in Dover. I'll vote for fresh ideas and a new approach to job creation and with enough other like-minded representatives from around the state, we'll build a new leadership team and we'll work with our colleagues and with Jack Markell to make sure that these things get done and that Delaware moves forward on job creation and economic growth. Delaware needs us, let's work together to make sure that we put Delaware back to work.


http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis146.nsf/vwLegislation/HB+86/$file/legis.html?open – HB 86

http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis145.nsf/vwLegislation/HB+353/$file/legis.html?open – HB 353

Community Crossfire Welcomes the TEA Party to Wilmington

Stormin' Norman Oliver, a well respected man from Wilmington hosts as 9PM Sunday cable access TV show called "Community Crossfire".  He has had Governor's, Mayor's, Senator's and some of Delaware's most influential people on his show which is heavily watched especially in the city of Wilmington.  His shows are often controversial and always entertaining.  Last night's program was no different and if you missed it, you missed A LOT.

Oliver is not one to shy away from confrontation which is what made him a great Councilman for more than 10 years.  His callers are not afraid to mix it up either.  I joined Lee Tirado, a fellow member of Founders Values, on the show which was already recieiving plenty of attention.  In addition to blog posts asking people to "ask some wingnut related questions", Mr. Oliver recieved a number of emails and phone calls questioning him having on members of the "racist" TEA Party.  Needless to say, we understood what we were up against.  Lee and I were steeled in the fact that most of the people calling us "wingnuts" and "racists" had never met us, knew nothing about us and relied on a heavily biased media for their information.  This is the same media that has constantly and consistently demonized the TEA Party without substantive proof.  And yes, the issues of the "spitting" incident during the healthcare debate passage when Democrats mocked Dr. Martin Luther King's march by nearly skipping through the protestors with glee, which not one media outlet can produce proof of, was brought up. 

Mr. Olivers phone began ringing before the phone number came up on the screen and we knew that we were in for quite a ride.  There were so many calls in fact, to the live pick up show (there's no call screener) that it was difficult to expound on points being made.  We were able to dicuss who the TEA Party is, what it stands for and what it does.  While we were asked to define the number of African-Americans and militia members in our group, there was also thoughtful commentary on education, job creation and limiting the size of government.  Mr. Oliver was fair and in conversation before and after the show there was much common ground between us.  While both Lee and I wish we had a little more time to get our points across, I think that people realized we had a difficult task to overcome months of mainstream media angst. 

In the end we made our case for a voucher system that allows parents to control where their kids go to school and that includes vocational, private and public schools.  We talked about how to create jobs in the city and turn the economy around and we made our case for limited government.  We plugged our website, our meeting and our candidates for school board.  We also asked that people try coming to a meeting before they make a decision.  Response after the fact has been positive by and large and we're looking forward to going back on the show in the near future.  Also, a little bit of interesting information, Mr. Oliver is fair and and he has invited the NAACP on his show as well, to give their side.  They have so far declined or not taken his calls.  Lee and I thought it was interesting that the TEA Party went on a show that broadcasts to a large segment of the African-American community to discuss the media attacks against them and the outrageous claims of racism but the NAACP wouldn't appear.  That alone should prove that these allegations are completely baseless.

We discussed the reality that faith plays an important part in fixing much of what is wrong with our state and our nation. I am proud to be part of this enlightenment that I see happening around the country and I hope that more, across the spectrum, will come to realize that we can disagree on some things, but that there are certain basic truths and basic ideals, like freedom, liberty and opportunity that we all hold dear.  We're thankful for the opportunity to be on Mr. Oliver's show and we recommend that more of us watch Community Crossfire every Sunday night at 9PM to gain perspective.

Job Losses and Toll HIkes: Markell's legacy of pain

Since Jack Markell took office in 2008, following 8 years of the most corrupt administration in Delaware's modern history, Delaware has indeed experienced "change".  Both Governor Markell and President Obama promised a healthy dose of change in their 2008 campaign.  For my money, I'd trade all of the change they gave us for some jobs.

Since Jack Markell took office and named Alan Levin as Secretary of the Delaware Economic Development Office, Delaware has experienced a net loss of 36,000 jobs.  That means that today, there are 36,000 Delawareans who cannot find work.  Meanwhile, as the layoffs keep coming, Markell and Levin do nothing.  Markell just inked a deal with China, the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, to invest in Delaware bio tech.  In reality, this deal doesn't do squat to create jobs.  It provides Markell with a photo op and a favorable news story which gives the appearance of him actually doing something.  If anything does come of it, Markell has just invited China, America's largest debt holder, to purchase their way into the Delaware economy.  Since Markell took office, Delaware's industrial footprint has died.  Some may think that is by design, and while that might seem outrageous, there certainly has been a real and wholesale loss of blue collar jobs in Delaware's private sector.  I find it difficult to believe that Markell and Levin don't WANT to create jobs but I submit to you that GM and Chrysler (closed in 2008 under the Minner Administration where Markell served as Treasurer) left the state which left thousands of Delaware Autoworkers without jobs, Valero closed and shed nearly 1000 jobs, HSBC and Wilmington Trust cut more than 1200 jobs, DuPont and AstraZeneca have laid off more than 1,000 workers and scores of small businesses around the state have closed.  Even with the purchase of the Chrysler plant by U of D, Fisker moving into the GM Plant and the new owner of the Valero plant moving in, Delaware faces a net loss of 36,000 jobs.  In January alone, Delaware shed 700 jobs and the unemployment percentage stayed flat at 8.5%.  Even the News Journal, not known for displaying the failures of Delaware Democrats, has had to admit that the employment picture in Delaware is not good.  The Markell Administration has consistently talked about the budding Delaware bio tech industry, green energy jobs, healthcare and financial services as being Delaware's economic future yet the only thing materializing in those areas is government spending and job cuts.  Healthcare dropped 600 jobs in January while banks and finance companies have been shedding Delaware jobs by the thousands since the passage of the financial regulatory bill. 

Regulations, especially as they pertain to the environment in Delaware have increased and so has Delaware's spending.  In fact, Delaware's personnel costs and the cost of government services are so high that there isn't an opportunity for the state to commit to creating a pro-business climate.  Markell and the General Assembly have been content to focus on social issues like homosexual equality and gimmicks like Markell's bottle bill rather than to address Delaware's problems with job creation and spending.  In 2011, Delaware faces a $377 million budget shortfall that must be closed by the General Assembly and the Markell Administration.  This is the 3rd straight increase in budget gaps under Markell and his accounting gimmicks and tricks will only work for so long before it becomes undeniable that Delaware has a spending problem.  I only hope that enough of us wake up by 2012 to stop this train before it totally derails.

Speaking of shortfalls, DelDOT (whose budget is a mere 8.5% of the entire Delaware budget...dwarfed by education and health and social services) is facing a shortfalls totalling "$1 Billion over the next 5 years and more than $3.7 Billion through 2023" says Jeff Montgomery of the News Journal.  State Senator Robert Venables from Laurel doesn't think the General Assembly understands the severity of the problems (and he's a Democrat by the way) and outgoing DelDOT head Carolann Wicks says that "We're now down to the core programs, primarily,".  Still, the following excerpt from Jeff's story is chilling:

Filling the budget gap without cutting back on projects would require more than $169 million in new revenue just for the budget year that begins July 1, an amount DelDOT officials said could be raised with $85 million in new taxes or fees and an additional $85 million in borrowing.

By 2023, however, the single-year shortfall could grow to nearly $498 million.

Confining DelDOT spending only to "core" maintenance, safety, operating and vehicle replacement spending would still leave a $125 million gap next year that would rise to a cumulative $545 million by 2016 and nearly $1.4 billion by 2023, officials said.

State officials have blamed a combination of rising costs, growing demand for services, inadequate funding and rising debt-service payments for the trust fund's quandary. Payments on past loans and interest alone now amount to about $123 million a year.

Folks, this is STAGGERING.  Even if we ONLY spent money on core services from DelDOT, we're looking at a $125 million gap in 2012.  That's no new roads, no updates that aren't critical, no new bus routes, etc.  The blame from the state officials goes not on poor planning, excessive borrowing and administration failures but on the INTEREST for the debt they ran up.  Folks, the payments for the past debt alone total $123 million per year.  So next time you hear that Delaware's financial situation is better than the federal government and that we have nothing to worry about, remember that DelDOT...who makes up just 8.5% of the state budget pays out an amount equal to about 1/3 of the FY2012 budget shortfall.

There is an interesting sidebar in Jeff's story:

TOP REVENUE-GENERATING OPTIONS

Impose $1 per barrel fee for crude oil barge transfers in Delaware Bay: $100 million

Raise Del. 1 weekday toll to $2, weekend toll to $3: $36.4 million

Raise all I-95 tolls by $1: $24.5 million

Shift DelDOT operating funds from Trust Fund to General Fund: $14.1 million yearly for 10 years
Eliminate trade-in discount for new vehicle document fee: $12.2 million
Charge toll for new Indian River Inlet bridge: $7.6 million
Hike vehicle registration fee by $10: $6.7 million
Raise Del. 1 commercial vehicle toll by $1: $4.5 million
Increase gas tax by 1 cent: $4.5 million
Shift Paratransit service costs to General Fund: $4.3 million yearly for 10 years 

 

HIGHEST-RANKED TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND REVENUE OPTIONS

$1 increase in Del. 1 commercial tolls: $4.5 million

10 percent fee on sale of Delaware tags: $15,000

Illegal sign fees: $9,000

Shift Paratransit service costs to General Fund: $4.3 million yearly for 10 years

Double current $25 fee for driver's license suspension reinstatement: $510,000

$10 additional for driver's license permanent renewal: $87,000

Increase revocation reinstatement to $200 from $143: $230,000

Double late registration renewal fee to $20: $831,000

Double over-size vehicle permits to $40: $903,000

Double fee for paratransit trips outside regular transit corridor: $2.1 million

These are the ways that the special planning board that the Markell Administration created has come up with to "fix" the problems.  You'll notice that there are a lot of fee increases and toll charges but no real cuts.  Oh, and you'll see that they recommend shifting costs...which only hides the costs in the General Fund budget instead of spotlighting it like the rest of the transportation spending.

This is how Delaware Democrats deal with our problems.  They bury them.  We saw it with Chris Coons in New Castle County as we are finding out, his accounting gimmicks masked the fact that our County is bankrupt and in danger of becoming insolvent and we've seen it now at the state level.  The only way we're ever going to fix our problems is to make big changes in the way we do things.  Delaware is in trouble.  We've got to cut spending, cut regulations to bring jobs back to the state immediately and reduce the size and scope of government at all levels.  If we don't make some real changes, face some pain today and get our house in order, we're going to face FAR worse pain in the future. 

Obama Says We Can "Ride Out" Libyan Crisis - Oil Tops $100

Yes you read that right, in an ABC News Report today, as oil prices reached $100 today (before closing down at $97.23 per barrel) President Obama told reporters that “We actually think we'll be able to ride out the Libya situation and it will stabilize,”.  I suppose $100 per barrel is no big deal to Obama:

The ABC News report is chocked full of interesting things from our President.  I thought it would be a good idea to go line by line through some of them:

“We have substantial capacity across the major economies in the strategic reserves of the major economies to deploy those reserves in the event we faced some particular risk of sustained supply disruption," Geithner said.

Across the major economies?  I'll admit Timmy...I'm not from the banking industry...or large corporate leadership...maybe I'm just dumb but this sounds like you don't just mean here in America but in other nations as well.  Are you tying us all together as though we were part of a single worldwide unit?  Which economies did you mean exactly? 

“I expect this to be a working group in which we are coming up with some concrete deliverables,” Obama said, “I don't think that we have to be trying to hit home runs every time. I think if we hit some singles and -- and doubles, if we find some very specific things that this group can help us on and we can work on together, then we can build on that success, and in the aggregate over time this will have really made a difference at a critical juncture in our economy.”

Mr. President, with all due respect.  You're in the 9th inning now.  You're down by 15 runs and you've got no one on base with 2 outs and 2 strikes.  You're going to need a couple of long balls (home runs for those of you who are not baseball fans) to stay in the game there partner.  So far all you've done is commit errors.  WE THE PEOPLE...some of whom have been unemployed for more than 3 years (your whole time in office) are sick of your sports analogies, your REALLY bad jokes and your belief that this is some sort of regular job where you get time off.  I'm not against you taking a vacation now and again, but when you go on 8 of them in just a few months, when your wife and kids eat up millions in taxpayer dollars jaunting around the world like Hollywood starlets, I begin to wonder if you take your job seriously. 

The president said that while the economy is growing in many sectors the biggest challenge is that unemployment is still “way too high” all across the country.

Didn't we hear last year that the economy was growing faster than expected?  Maybe it's growing everywhere but Delaware (that would be consistent with the conservative wave that swept the nation but washed up on the Delaware beaches).  Most of the major reports show markets like the housing and retail markets shrinking or staying flat so it appears that liberals are grasping at any straw they can for "good news".  Listen Mr. President, while you and your bookworm friends like Timmy G. look at statistics from obscure sources and try to dig for any good news you can make up...in the real world we see through it.  We are on to your lies and we can see that there are no jobs.  Where are the jobs Mr. President?  Create private sector jobs, THEN tell us the economy is growing.

“So what we wanted to do was retool,” he said, “It's critical for us to have input from folks who are actually hiring, putting people to work, making payroll, making the products and services that make our economy so powerful.  But we want to make sure that we narrowed the focus to think about how do we ensure, A, that we're putting people to work right now, but also how do we lay the foundation for us to win the future over the long term.”

Soooo, did you NOT think to ask the people who are doing the hiring what they were looking for in the first place?  By the way, any of those folks from Delaware?  I think there are a few thousand people in Delaware looking for work at one of those places that is hiring, putting people to work, etc.  As for narrowing the focus, as I've said before, you sir, are out of time.  We don't have any more time for you to noodle around.  We need jobs and we need them yesterday.  PERIOD.  So have your "Brain Frame" there look into creating private sector jobs immediately and then look into sustaining them.

Wisconsin shows Delaware how it's done

Delaware Governor Jack Markell was acosted by a state worker at a townhall this week who asked "When am I going to get a pay raise?"  Markell answered, "I don't know...I don't know..."  With everything going on in Wisconsin with the public employee unions protesting Gov. Scott Walker's decision to close the state's $1.8 Billion shortfall by asking the public employees to...*GASP* contribute to their retirement plans, healthcare and the bill would " make various changes to limit collective bargaining for most public employees to wages. Total wage increases could not exceed a cap based on the consumer price index (CPI) unless approved by referendum."  In addition, Walker's bill cuts elected official and political appointee retirement calculations down to public employee levels.  Currently, those officials are given higher payouts.  Another contention with the bill is the removal of collective baraining for certain state workers such as family child care workers,  University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinic employees, University of Wisconsin faculty and academic staff.  In short, "This bill limits the right to collectively bargain for all employees who are not public safety employees (general employees) to the subject of base wages. In addition, unless a referendum authorizes a greater increase, any general employee who is part of a collective bargaining unit is limited to bargaining over a percentage of total base wages increase that is no greater than the percentage change in the consumer price index."

You can read the bill summary here and the full bill here.

The bill calls on public sector employees to up their healthcare contribution from 6% to 12% (the average private sector employee contributes 24% to their plan) and it calls on them to contribute 5% to their pensions while the average private sector worker contributes just over 50% to their plans.

Walker's bill has led to teachers unions and other employees unions staging walkouts, using CHILDREN as protest tools (despite the fact that most of the children have NO IDEA why they are protesting).  It has led to teachers and other union members carrying signs depicting Scott Walker as Hitler, placing bullseye targets on him and even calling Gov. Walker, a dictator.  The video below depicts some of the scenes from the Wisconsin protests and the rhetoric (that I remember the left BLASTING the TEA Party for after a left leaning psychopath shot a Democrat Congresswoman):

So what does this have to do with Delaware?  Well, as I mentioned, state workers (and their union leaders) right here in Delaware are beginning to call for pay raises and they have been resistent to any changes in their current compensation package.  Delaware is facing a $280 million budget shortfall and since Delaware has a balanced budget amendment that gap must be closed.  Delaware's largest employer is the state of Delaware which is followed by New Castle County government and therefore, government workers are one of the greatest costs to the state.  This includes police, EMS, teachers, inspectors, clerks, mechanics, electricians, construction workers, drivers, office managers, etc. and is not limited to public safety employees despite the fact that the left will point to teachers, police and EMS technicians as the only people affected.

I want the people at the top to take the cuts first like everyone else.  I want to see our politicians and public servants sacrificing FIRST.  Governor Markell likes to talk about the 20% paycut he took but he fails to mention that the office of the Governor had an 18% pay INCREASE when he was elected.  He then took a 10% pay cut right off the top, meaning that the office of the Governor actually got an 8% pay INCREASE when he took office.  Now he has taken another 20% pay cut after his 8% raise.  So he has now finally taken a 15% pay CUT from where he SHOULD have been when he was elected.  So while I would like the cuts to come from the top, there comes a point where we have to realize that cutting the pay at the top will not solve all of the budget problems.  There also comes a point where the state has to recognize that it is living beyond its means and needs to change the way it does business. It’s time to make cuts and these unions and state workers with these incredible compensation plans to recognize that they have been living beyond their means: http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Delaware_state_government_salary

State workers and their union leadership are beginning to spend time and money pointing out that the state workers are being punished for planning for their retirement and that they are the scapegoats for the economic disaster.  They are saying that state workers make less in pay than those int he private sector in exhcange for better benefits.  I decided to look into these "facts" and what I've found is a bit disturbing.  The average salary for FT state workers in Delaware is $50,124.  The average Delaware worker’s salary (including public AND private sector employees is $46,270. Some simple math helps you find out that the average private sector worker makes $42,416 which is almost $8,000 LESS than state workers. Not to mention, we private sector workers pay for our medical plans…which the state workers don't.  State workers (as illustrated below) pay nothing for their healthcare or their family's healthcare unless they want the ultra-high end plan with little to no office co-pays and other "perks" that many private sector employees don't even have the option to purchase. The chart below details the payouts from the state and from the state employees per month in order to receieve the plans.  You will also notice that they pay a whopping $193 per mth for the highest end plan.  The average private sector worker pays around $250 per mth for a MUCH less comprehensive plan.  In fact, the avg private sector worker pays $250 per month for the same plan that the Delaware state workers pay $82.44 per month for.

Oh and their definied benefit package which they call "prudent planning"?  They contribute 3%. jus like the average private sector employee.  So what is the difference?  The state contributes 7.5% MORE to that plan but in the private sector you MIGHT get the 3% matched by your employer if you are lucky.  The real problem is that the average private sector employee contributes to a defined CONTRIBUTION plan that grows as you contribute which is called a 401(k) whereas the state workers contribute to a defined benefit package that grows at an ASSUMED rate (meaning it could grow less or more) of 8% per year.  NOTHING is growing at 8% per year right now and that is why these plans are rarely offered in the private sector.  These plans are usually only seen in industries where unions control the collective bargaining and negotiations.  Unions have such a stranglehold on political candidates and wield so much power today that they often have a TREMENDOUS advantage over corporations and even governments.  Let's remember here that While that doesn't mean we shouldn't honor the committments we've made in the past, these are CLEAR reasons why we should follow the example of Gov. Walker in Wisconsin and restructure the deals going forward.  A final look over the pension funding shows that Delaware has about $700 million in unfunded liabilities.

It's pretty clear from our look over the FACTS that the union leaders and their spokespersons are at best misleading Delaware citizens and at worst, out right lying to the people.  I will leave it to you to decide which it is but the facts are unmistakeable.  State workers make more than private sector workers on average, they pay less for their healthcare benefits and they contribute far less than the average state worker to a pension plan that most people couldn't even dream of.  It's time to fix our fiscal house and it's time to decrease the size and scope of our government.  Noone wants to see people unemployed but unfortunately, that means we have to look into how to make government more efficient and how to transition public employees to private sector employment.  Of course, that means that the government will have to actually help the private sector create jobs, something Alan Levin and Jack Markell can't seem to wrap their arms around...but that's for another post.