The 2012 Check List for America’s Survival

Many people make resolutions to start the year, but I think a list of things that must be done to protect and preserve the Republic should be tallied…

1. President Obama must be defeated in 2012 and the obstructionist Democratic Party must lose power in the Senate to ensure both houses of Congress will be Republican and in a position to initiate real change.
2. The Environmental Protection Agency must be reined in with increased Congressional oversight and legislative limits on its rule-making capacity. Having fulfilled its 1970 mandate to clean the nation’s air and water, it should be scaled back to the maintenance of these functions.
3. Americans, despite the administration’s efforts to redefine and distract us, must keep clearly in mind the threat of Islam to the nation and the world. A Middle East in turmoil lays ahead for 2012.
4. To jump-start the economy, taxes and spending must be reduced across the board. A tax on consumption, rather than income would be a good start. Only 49% of Americans currently pay income taxes, the lowest in decades.
5. Obamacare must be repealed should the Supreme Court fail to rule that the Commerce Clause takes precedence over its requirement that Americans must purchase health insurance or be fined for not doing so.
6. A serious restructuring of Social Security and Medicare must be undertaken. Older Americans who have paid into the system—it is involuntary—must be ensured their benefits will be paid, but younger citizens should have the freedom and responsibility to structure their own retirement and health plans.
7. Access to the nation’s vast reserves of coal, natural gas, and oil should be increased and encouraged. Oil companies should be encouraged to build more refineries via tax credits and removal of “environmental” obstacles.
8. Congress needs to identify and fund the repair to the nation’s aging infrastructure.
9. Utilities should be encouraged via tax credits and other incentives to expand the national “grid” for the distribution of electricity.
10. Term limits for Senators and Representatives should be added to the U.S. Constitution in the same fashion the presidency is limited. Salaries, pensions, and perks should be capped. A permanent political class is a danger to citizens.
11. The Federal government should be downsized with the elimination of the Departments of Education, Labor, and Energy, along with the Environmental Protection Agency. These powers should be returned to the individual States. (10th Amendment)
12. The nation’s military which has been significantly reduced in size and structure should be expanded with attention to the upgrade and increase of its naval fleet and aircraft.
13. Congress should reject and rescind all legislation based on “global warming” or “climate change” as the former has been demonstrated to be a hoax and the latter is meaningless insofar as the climate is beyond the control of humans.
14. The United States should significantly reduce its contribution to the United Nations and refuse to ratify any of its treaties.
15. Tort reform should be instituted to reduce the costs of health care.
16. The corporate tax rate should be significantly reduced from its present rate, one of the highest in the world, to increase expansion, new jobs, and competitiveness.
17. Public service unions should be illegal. The federal government does not permit such unionization and neither should states.
18. National Public Radio should no longer be funded. The “government entities” of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be eliminated.
19. The federal government should be restricted or significantly limited from the acquisition of more of the nation’s landmass.
20. Strenuous efforts must be undertaken to reduce the national debt and deficit. A devalued dollar impoverishes everyone.

These are just a few changes which, if implemented, would go a long way to reducing the ills associated with a federal government grown too large, subject to crony capitalism, and corruption.

As John Adams said, “Let us disappoint the men who are raising themselves upon the ruin of this Country.”

© Alan Caruba, 2012

Alan Caruba  -  Most recent columns

Alan has a daily blog called Warning Signs. His latest book is Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy.

Alan can be reached at acaruba@aol.com  -  Canada Free Press
Older articles by Alan Caruba

And prepare yourself for the worst and to help others!! – Preparedness and Survival

GOP Contenders Debate: Fix the U.S. Economy or Go the Way of Europe

We’re getting there! It was the sixth debate of the fall season Wednesday night series.  CNBC’s debate was tag-lined “Your money. Your vote.” And yet by the time most of us had sat down and found a comfortable position for our legs, they were talking about Cain’s sexual harassment allegations. But while Cain isn’t off the hook for the accusations, he did very well for himself and it was the beginning of what could be a strong comeback. And in last night’s debate whenever the liberal media started to ask Cain about the on-going sexual harassment allegations the people in the audience booed.  When the media went back to questions on the economy, they cheered.  Hurray for everyone in that audience!

Cain said that the American people “deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations.”

He also said that since the allegations surfaced more than a week ago, “voters have voted with their dollars,” and supported his campaign.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was asked about the allegations against Cain. Romney said Cain has responded to the questions and “people can make their own assessment.”

The questions about the Cain allegations generated boos from the audience at Oakland University.

The Media has been focused on “all “Herman Cain scandal, all the time. No Solyndra Solar scandal, no Fast and Furious Guns scandal... just Cain without end.  How convenient… another created diversion? 

ROCHESTER, Mich. (The Blaze/AP) — United in agreement for once, Republican presidential rivals warned forcefully Wednesday night the United States could be doomed to the same sort of financial crisis that is afflicting Europe unless federal deficits are drastically cut and the economy somehow revived.

Though sexual harassment allegations facing Herman Cain have dominated the GOP campaign for more than a week, the debate in economically ailing Michigan focused almost entirely on financial worries and proposed solutions in the U.S.

The candidates generally stuck to practiced speech lines – with a late exception…

Let’s not count Perry out quite yet, even though it looked like he clocked out two weeks ago. He had another one of those awkward moments… In the middle of one answer, Texas Gov. Rick Perry found himself unable to recall the names of the 3rd Cabinet-level government agency he plans to get rid of if elected, even leaning over to Rep. Ron Paul for help at one point.  That couldn’t have been more uncomfortable had Herman Cain passed Perry a reminder of the third agency’s name engraved on a rock.

“The third agency of government I would do away with – the Education, the Commerce. And let’s see. I can’t. The third one I can’t. Oops,” he said, forgetting for a moment that he wants to abolish the Department of Energy.

On one specific issue that Congress must address soon, the candidates generally backed an extension of the Social Security payroll tax cut scheduled to expire at the end of the year. That was a rare moment of accord with President Barack Obama and many congressional Democrats, who have been warning that consumers could be hurt if the reduction is not renewed.

“I‘m not prepared to raise taxes on working Americans in the middle of a recession that’s this bad,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a sentiment quickly seconded by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Perry disagreed, and Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota said she opposed the one-year reduction when it was approved late last year. She said it had so far “blown a hole of $100 billion in the Social Security trust fund.”

Asked about Europe’s financial troubles, the candidates seemed to speak with one voice in saying Italy and other European countries should rise or fall on their own without any American bailout. And several of the White House hopefuls warned that unless U.S. deficits are cut and the economy invigorated, America is headed for the same type of downward spiral.

“Europe is able to take care of their own problems. We don’t want to step in and bail out their banks and their economies,” former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said as he and GOP rivals met for the first time in three weeks in campaign debate.

Video: GOP Debate: Let Europe Solve Its Own Problems

Even so, he said the United States should continue contributing to organizations like the International Monetary Fund that are working to prevent a meltdown in troubled economies overseas.

Paul was more emphatic about the debt. “You have to let it liquidate. We took 40 years to build up this worldwide debt,” he added.

Cain said there wasn’t much the United States could do to directly to help Italy at present because the economy there is in such difficult shape. “We need to focus on the economy or we will fail,” he said, referring to the U.S. and calling for spending cuts, a strong dollar and measures to stimulate growth.

The Cain accusations did come up, though briefly.

“The American people deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion due to unfounded accusations,” he said when the question came up early in the debate. “I value my character and my integrity more than anything else. And for every one person that comes forward with an unfair accusation there are probably, there are thousands who come forward and say none of that ever happened with Herman Cain.”

Romney, a former venture capitalist, was asked if he would keep Cain on the job as a CEO given the accusations. He responded, “Herman Cain is the person to respond to these questions. He just did.”

On another point, Cain felt it necessary to make a post-debate apology to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, whom he had called “Princess Nancy” for sidetracking Republican legislation when she was speaker.

The announced topic for the evening was the economy, a subject that produced few if any early sparks among rivals who often spar energetically.

Perry, Gingrich, Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum joined Romney, Cain, Paul and Huntsman on stage at Oakland University in Michigan, a state where unemployment is 11.1 percent and well above the national 9 percent jobless rate.

The debate took place less than two months before Iowa’s kickoff caucuses, as the pace of campaign activity accelerates and public opinion polls suggest the race remains quite fluid. Romney and Cain currently share co-front-runner status in most surveys, with Perry and Gingrich roughly tied for third, within striking distance.

Not surprisingly, none of the contenders found much to like in Obama’s economic stewardship.

Perry said the next president should systematically judge all of the government regulations enacted since Obama took office on a standard of whether they created jobs. Any that failed should be repealed, he said.

Bachmann sharply criticized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. She said the latter had recently given multimillion-dollar bonuses to executives even though it was seeking a new federal bailout.

Gingrich, who last held public office more than a decade ago, bristled when asked what advice his company had given Freddie Mac for a $300,000 fee. “Advice on precisely what they didn’t do,” he shot back – stop backing mortgages to applicants who aren’t credit-worthy.

The government rescued mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008 to cover their losses on soured mortgage loans. Since then, a federal regulator has controlled their financial decisions.

The cost to taxpayers so far has been about $169 billion, the most expensive bailout of the financial crisis.

There was only scant mention of the Michigan auto industry, which benefited in 2008 and 2009 from a federal bailout that both President George W. Bush and Obama backed.

All eight Republicans on the debate stage say they wouldn’t have offered government assistance.

Not so Obama, who stood outside a factory not far from the debate site recently and said government bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler were a success that saved thousands of American jobs.

 

Side notes:

And then there was Mitt Romney‘s hair. It was actually a little messy. Granted, “messy” by Romney’s standard is like being “feminine” by Janet Napolitano‘s standards stated one of the event bloggers. But those five hairs haven’t seen this much freedom since birth and actually made him look ‘more real’ commented more than one viewer.

The things they can do with technology. It‘s a miracle there wasn’t a mic blowout for Jim Cramer, one of the moderator’s, who yelled every question like he was day trading on NASDAQ. Not even a little audio feedback when he said his “P”s or “B”s.

Video: Herman Cain and Jim Cramer

Related:

AP: Some Candidates ‘ Drifted from Reality’ During Last Night’s GOP Debate

Perry Not Worried About Debating Obama

CNN Spins Tuesday’s Elections as Republican Setback

(h/t the Blaze/AP)

To be updated later…

Marco Rubio: America Can’t Survive Another Obama Term

Video:  Marco Rubio:  America Can’t Survive Another Obama Term 

Exclusive On Hannity:  Marco Rubio Lays Out What Needs to Be Done to Save America

Why I Won’t Vote to Raise the Debt Limit by Marco Rubio

Below is a write up from Liberty Action Report about Marco and his stand.

Today, ALG ( Americans for Limited Government ) President Bill Wilson praised Senator Marco Rubio for his "courageous stand" against increasing the $14.294 trillion federal debt ceiling

Senator Rubio outlined his conditions for approving any increase in the ceiling, which will be hit between April 15th and May 31st according to U.S. Treasury estimates.

"I will vote to defeat an increase in the debt limit unless it is the last one we ever authorize and is accompanied by a plan for fundamental tax reform, an overhaul of our regulatory structure, a cut to discretionary spending, a balanced-budget amendment, and reforms to save Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," wrote Senator Rubio.

Wilson said Rubio's conditions were "reasonable." He explained, "Look, with a national debt that has already soared above $14 trillion that will become larger than the entire economy, soon the debt will become too large to even refinance, let alone ever be repaid." By 2021, the Office of Management and Budget projects the national debt will soar to over $25 trillion.

"If Senate Republicans cannot use their leverage on the debt ceiling vote to achieve significant concessions, including a Balanced Budget Amendment, to turn the Ship of State around now, will assuredly sink into the Abyss in the not-so-distant future," Wilson warned.

Currently, the $14.2 trillion national debt already stands at 95.5 percent of the nation's $14.8 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Wilson said it was unclear at what percentage of debt-to-GDP that the debt becomes too large to refinance, but that "the warning signs are already there that we cannot even meet our current obligations honestly."

"Right now, we're currently meeting our financing obligations by having the Federal Reserve simply print money to buy debt. Anyone ever heard of the Weimar Republic? How'd that work out for them?" Wilson asked.

The Weimar Republic experienced hyperinflation in 1920's as it attempted to print money to honor its war debts and reparations, destabilizing the country and leading directly to its fall.

Pimco reports that in 2009, 80 percent of treasuries were purchased by the Federal Reserve, and in 2010, it had to buy 70 percent, bringing its current U.S. debt holdings to $1.3 trillion. "The Fed is the largest lender to the U.S. government in the world, more than China or Japan. When the Fed ends QE2 in June, it will likely keep a high water mark of $1.5 trillion in treasuries holdings. That means it will still be buying U.S. debt to aid in refinancing," Wilson explained.

"Republicans need to do a better job of explaining the fiscal catastrophe we face, and what will happen if the debt is allowed to become too large to even refinance," Wilson noted.

"If the GOP cannot articulate what will happen to this country, specifically, if Congress fails to act and the debt soars to over $25 trillion in a decade, it will undercut their case for real fiscal reform," Wilson explained. "Either the debt will become too large to service, or it can continue to grow forever with no danger. If members truly believe that indeed it can get too large, then Senate Republicans' time to act is now."

Wilson concluded, "This is not just about getting an up-or-down vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment. This is about actually making certain that the debt ceiling never needs to be increased again. Senator Rubio's stand is an example all members should emulate. He's trying to save his country before it's too late, and we applaud him for that."

Related:

Despite Tea Party (and others) ‘Screaming in GOP Ears,’  Boehner Signals Compromise on Budget Cuts  -  Contact him today plus your congressperson and tell them time to take a stand!!  “No compromise and No raising the debt ceiling!!

Boehner: ‘Democrats Are Rooting for a Government Shutdown’

Outrage:  Freddie and Fannie Execs Pocketed $35 Million in Taxpayer Money