Personal Freedom and Power VIII:  Freedom in Decline

But back in the 1960’s when I began, it seemed to me that we’d begun reversing the order of things - that through more and more rules and regulations and confiscatory taxes, the Government was taking more of our freedom. I went into politics in part to put up my hand and say, “Stop!” I was a citizen-politician, and it seemed the right thing for a citizen to do. 

I think we have stopped a lot of what needed stopping. And I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There’s a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts.

President Ronald Reagan

Unfortunately, the United States Government in the 20th and 21st Centuries has greatly increased taxes, government debt and bureaucratic control, which decreases the power and opportunity of all Americans.  Freedom and the economic benefits of a free society are in decline and in peril.

 

Federal Spending Expands Governance by Bureaucracy

Jay Ambrose, in Real Clear Politics, proclaims government spending enlarges the bureaucratic state, which diminishes personal freedom.  He is correct.  From America’s founding attempts have been made to control spending.  Ambrose writes:  First in the Constitution, then in various laws and such devices as a debt ceiling, we Americans keep trying to keep the federal government from disastrous excess.

President Obama’s budget increases the debt by a trillion dollars for each of the next 10 years.  The debt and this gigantic increase threaten peace and prosperity in America.  Ambrose cites an equally dangerous by-product, the administrative state – governance by bureaucracy.

It is the growth of an immensely powerful, anti-democratic administrative state that tethers our freedoms through never-ending regulation while vastly diminishing … a very real and crucial part of much of the best to be found in us.

The administrative-state has enacted over 163,000 pages of rules and regulations controlling “We the People.”  Recently, the Obamacare legislation granted immense authority to Health and Human Services to write rules, grant waivers and impose fines.  In effect, Health and Human Services controls the health care of every American.  Ambrose writes that Congress:

 …  passes laws that leave details to bureaucrats, including thousands of new regulation-pages already drawn up for Obamacare.

The administrative-state confiscates our property (income) and rules how we live.  America is no longer the free, inventive and self-sufficient society created by our Founders and admired by Alexis de Tocqueville in his great book, Democracy in America.   

As President Reagan observed   … back in the 1960’s when I began, it seemed to me that we’d begun reversing the order of things - that through more and more rules and regulations and confiscatory taxes, the Government was taking more of our freedom. I went into politics in part to put up my hand and say, “Stop!” I was a citizen-politician, and it seemed the right thing for a citizen to do.

Only a consistent and strong citizen outcry against excessive taxation and oppressive rules will restore limited government and freedom.

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested in the first-class cabin of an Air France jet bound for Paris on Saturday. The French socialist who is nicknamed the “le grand séducteur” or Great Seducer was charged with attempted rape, unlawful imprisonment and a criminal sex act. A New York grand jury formally indicted him yesterday on seven counts related to the alleged sexual assault of a maid in a fancy $3,000-a-night Midtown Manhattan hotel over the weekend. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and Strauss-Kahn does have at least two other women accusing the married socialist of previous sexual misconduct. But what he is clearly guilty of is working to advance the political interests of the power elite at the expense of everyone else as head of the IMF.

The good news is that DSK (as he is known to his supporters) resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday. Unfortunately, we’re still forced to foot the bill for the international bureaucracy. Dominique Strauss-Kahn and other privileged IMF bureaucrats have lived large on the U.S. taxpayer’s dime. U.S. taxpayers subsidize the IMF to the tune of billions of dollars annually. We have the largest stake in the IMF contributing roughly 17.09 percent of its total funding. Despite our payments to the IMF, our elected representatives in Congress have no authority to directly control the actions of the international organization. Unelected bureaucrats at the IMF have the ultimate power to dictate fiscal and monetary policy on a global scale.

As a self-proclaimed socialist, Strauss-Kahn claims to support wealth redistribution . He has said that "gaping income gaps threaten social and economic stability." Dominique Strauss-Kahn seems to never let anything get in the way of his privileged lifestyle. He earned $420,000 a year in salary plus pension contributions and generous benefits. These job benefits included $75,000 annually to solely pay for his house in Washington, D.C. The European media has dubbed him to be a “champagne socialist ” since he’s been known to ride around in lavish Porsches. Dominique Strauss-Kahn has a special arrangement to always fly first class. His IMF contract stated that "your travel on official Fund business…shall be in first class." Strauss-Kahn was known to jet-set around the world in style while violating our national sovereignty.

How then can the American people trust the IMF with their hard earned money? As Congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex.) stated "these are the kinds of people who are running the IMF and we want to turn the world's finances and the control of the money supply [over] to them?" The problems with the IMF go far beyond Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s lack of character. The international bureaucracy itself is an immoral and unconstitutional organization. It no longer serves its original purpose under the Bretton Woods system which ended in 1971. Instead of shutting down, it found a new role as an international bailout fund. The IMF regularly puts taxpayers on the hook to bailout powerful banks and profligate foreign nations. According to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, “IMF loans are used to rescue wealthy, politically connected bankers, investors, and financiers at the expense of domestic taxpayers.”

Even worse, the IMF has a long history of fueling third-world dictators. IMF loans and bailouts are government to government transfers. A Joint Economic Committee study says that, “evidence suggests that the IMF knowingly makes loans to corrupt governments while recognizing that some of its loan conditions and procedures can create circumstances promoting additional corruption.” The IMF has given taxpayer funds to the Mubarak regime in Egypt and the Khadafi regime in Libya. It’s clear that these IMF loans have hurt the average citizen in these authoritarian nations.

The recent arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn is just another reminder of the corruption present at the IMF. The alleged behavior of Strauss-Kahn has diverted much needed public attention to the unethical international bureaucracy. Rumors are swirling that the Former Prime Minster of Britain Gordon Brown may seek to fill the vacant position. The IMF will remain a dangerous institution no matter who becomes the new head. With the U.S. federal government facing a record national debt, it’s time to stop sending money to this international bailout fund.
 
Click here to sign FreedomWorks’ petition to stop the International Monetary Fund’s bailouts.

"A candidate who is timid on entitlement reform is not qualified to lead the country." -- Dick Armey & Matt Kibbe

Read more here .

Geo-targeted social networking platform continues to connect grassroots activists in all 50 states

Washington, DC- FreedomWorks is proud to announce that its new social networking platform, FreedomConnector, passed over 100,000 active members last night. FreedomConnector is a revolutionary social networking platform intended to unite grassroots activists nationwide who share the values of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and individual liberty. 

“For too long online activism has been dominated by the political Left,” said Matt Kibbe, President of FreedomWorks. “FreedomConnector is changing that dynamic by giving freedom-loving activists the tools to fight back.”  

FreedomConnector is a hub for Tea Partiers to communicate with each other, taking existing connections between people dispersed throughout multiple social networking sites and opening one platform for grassroots collaboration. FreedomConnector also pinpoints others in your area using geo-location technology, allowing grassroots activists to find others, create groups and host events right in their own community. 

“Since 1984, FreedomWorks has been dedicated to the belief that government goes to those who show up,” commented Matt Kibbe, President of FreedomWorks. “Our aim is to support grassroots activists in all 50 states who are sick of business as usual in Washington, and will work to advance the principles of lower taxes, less government, and more freedom. FreedomConnector is a game-changing tool that empowers local activists to create their own ground game that will win elections and transform conservative ideas into lasting political change.”

FreedomConnector is constantly making improvements to the site that will maximize its effectiveness, and improve the user experience. The latest feature on the site allows members to invite all of their like-minded Facebook friends to join them on FreedomConnector to participate in planning and attending local Tea Party events. By inviting their entire Facebook network, users can conveniently keep their existing groups of friends, while expanding their local community with like-minded individuals that they didn’t even know existed.

As a service center, FreedomWorks seeks to maximize—not control—the efforts of the Tea Party movement, 9/12 groups, and other grassroots activists nationwide committed to limited government principles. Kibbe added, “The wave of limited-government conservatives who have signed onto FreedomConnector in the past few months is further proof that the Tea Party movement is a strong, sustaining movement that is not going away. This is just the beginning for us.”

I just wanted to take a minute to update you on our school choice campaign in Pennsylvania. We have made enormous progress over the past few months. FreedomWorks members have delivered more than 10,000 letters to state lawmakers and have made more than 10,000 phone calls! We have distributed more than 15,000 yard signs around the state of Pennsylvania, which are making their way into neighborhoods from Pittsburgh to Scranton.

We have held quite a few events around the state, including stops in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Doylestown, Allentown, Harrisburg, State College, Shippensburg and many other places. Here are some upcoming events that you should try to attend:

May 26th - Wilkes-Barre
7pm to 9pm
East Mountain Inn and Suites
2400 East End Blvd
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
RSVP
Speakers - Matt Kibbe of FreedomWorks, Matt Brouillette of the Commonwealth Foundation and Otto Banks of the Reach Foundation

May 31st - Beaver County, PA
7pm to 9pm
The Club at Shadow Lakes
2000 Beaver Lakes Blvd
Hopewell, PA 15001
RSVP
Speakers - Representative Jim Christiana (R-15), Cheryl Boise of The Commonwealth Education Organization, and Senator Mike Folmer (R-48)

June 6th - Shippensburg, PA
7pm to 9pm
Shippensburg University - Tuscarora Room
1871 Old Main Dr
Shippensburg, PA 17257
RSVP
Speakers - TBD

The school choice bill, SB1, has made its way out of two key committees in the state senate. But now we need to pressure lawmakers to bring it to a vote in the full senate. Please visit our action center to help persuade legislative leaders to do the right thing and move SB1 through both the Senate and the House now. We cannot wait until later in the legislative session to get this done. Pennsylvania's children cannot wait that long and the teachers unions are already attacking this bill with millions of dollars in ads. Please TAKE ACTION NOW and then pass this email along to your own network.

Together we can move real education reform through the Pennsylvania General Assembly and ensure that we deliver a big victory for limited government while showing that we can beat the teachers unions at their own game.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO, FreedomWorks

  America is feeling the pinch on our energy supply; from expensive water bills to cringe-worthy prices at the gas pump. That pinch may well be turned into a crushing squeeze, due to the Obama administration’s increased restrictions on oil importation, its moratorium on deep-water offshore drilling, and a host of strict regulations on energy companies. Now, the administration is targeting one more practice that has the potential to revitalize Americas sagging energy sector: natural gas obtained through “hydraulic fracturing”, or “fracking” . The administration and environmentalists are pushing for strict new fracking regulations, morphing natural gas from a clean, reliable, and affordable energy source into a bank-breaking one, pushing us again to foreign hydrocarbons, despite the White House’s promises to decrease foreign energy dependence. 

Fracking allows the production of natural gas and oil from rock formations, typically between 5,000 to 20,000 feet underground . The operator drills deep into the ground and injects a high pressure fluid to create fractures in the rocks . To keep the fractures open in order to release and collect the natural gas, “proppant” is mixed into the injection flow. Proppant is a “particulate material,“  meaning the fluid is mixed with particles like sand or ceramic grains . The fractures remain open and the natural gas is harvested.  

  Environmentalists and Democrats have severely criticized fracking, claiming it results in toxic waste and water contamination. After the process is completed, the injection fluid is removed from the natural gas well, and some fear that this will contaminate drinking water . The post-fracking fluid contains a high salt level, dissolved solids, oil, chemicals, and added materials (such as sand or ceramic grains) . Many worry that the waste fluid will contaminate the water table. Many also worry that methane gas, found in the water supply in areas close to rock formations that hold natural gas, will leak into the water table.

Toxic waste and water contamination are not the results of fracking, as Democrats and environmentalists claim. According to a Pennsylvania State University study, waste water will not contaminate its surroundings when it is drawn out of the well because the cement casing prevents contamination . The fluids used are composed of water, grains of sand or ceramic, and some chemicals . The same chemicals can be found in household goods , such as emulsifiers in ice cream . The argument for water contamination appears feasible, as high pressure fluid mixed with chemicals is injected deep into the gas wells. But as the wells are thousands of feet beneath the earths crust, the fluid is injected into an area well below the water table . Unless the chemicals climb up towards the water table, violating the law of gravity, fears of water contamination from injection can be laid to rest. 

  Allegations that fracking is a dangerous process that turns drinking water into flammable liquids are overblown. The EPA in a 2004 report declared the process safe, and that further study was unnecessary as “no unequivocal evidence” of a health risk was found . It is normal for some level of methane to be found in drinking water in areas near shale beds . Matthew Broullete, of the Pennsylvania think tank the Commonwealth Foundation, reported that roughly 40% of Pennsylvania wells have some level of naturally occurring methane gas . Methane-laced water is a “pretty easy” issue to treat via a ventilator well cap or an aerator system, according to water reserve specialist Brian Swistock of Penn State University .  

  Increased regulation of fracking is not only bad for American consumer, but wholly unnecessary. A 2009 Energy Department report stated that chemicals used in fracking had been adequately disclosed and were available on the OSHA website . The only purpose more regulation and governmental oversight would have is to make fracking difficult and more expensive to carry out, decreasing the supply of natural gas in the marketplace while simultaneously raising its price. The FRAC Act, pushed by the Democrats in 2009, would allow natural gas wells to possibly be re-classified as injection wells, thereby putting them under Federal jurisdiction in states without approved regulations. The bill never came up for debate and was cleared from the books, but it may be reintroduced . Federal regulation will only enlarge the power, size, and budget of the central government while raising costs for consumers. The extra regulation will add around $100,000 to the cost of each new gas well dug. The American Natural Gas Association has already declared that states have sufficient expertise to oversee fracking operations, which they have done for over 50 years ,  so why require federal regulations? Are state agencies not educated well enough to form appropriate fracking policies themselves? Do they lack brain power, while federal agencies do not? 

  Fracking technology is providing us with a way to divert our path away from an energy famine by safely and cheaply harvesting clean and abundant natural gas. It can heat our houses and power our buses. Arguments of toxic waste, too little regulation, and contaminated water ring hollow. Domestic energy is overregulated and foreign imports are being severely curtailed, while wind, solar, and hydro power are all costly, unreliable, and difficult to store. Why should we throw away our last chance at a cost-effective and clean energy source through excessive regulation, simply because of misinformation?

The debt ceiling has been reached and Washington is scrambling for answers, yet a deal in Congress and with the President on preventing a default is no where on the horizon. FreedomWork's  Debt Ceiling Scorecard  displays just how far apart the key players in this debate are.  President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and others are insisting that a clean increase of the debt ceiling occur without any effort to cut spending being attached.  Yet the White House recently released this map of Federal Government properties across the United States that are either abandoned or no longer serve any purpose:

This is billions of dollars worth of property on top of billions of dollars worth of maintenance costs being incurred by the tax payer.  These are easily liquidatable assets that are benefiting no one and are draining the Treasury and increasing the debt.  Over 12,000 properties across the United States, some acres upon acres in size, some valuable office space, that no longer serve any purpose; yet Democrats still can't find any room to cut before a ceiling increase occurs?

Learn more about the excess properties across the country here.

Mandatory online sales tax threatened to hike online purchase costs, kill jobs

Washington, DC- FreedomWorks applauds the wise decision of the Tennessee State Legislature to reject SB 0529, legislation that would have increased taxes and put job growth and investment in jeopardy by forcing the online company Amazon to collect sales tax.  Stopping this over-reaching legislation will save nearly 3,000 full-time jobs and 4,000 seasonal jobs in Tennessee, and allow consumers to make online purchases from Amazon without higher taxes. 

“From the beginning, this online sales tax hike was an ill-fated idea,” commented Matt Kibbe, President of FreedomWorks. “Given Tennessee's unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, losing such a massive number of new jobs and the ripple economic effect would have been devastating to a state economy that has been badly hurting. We commend Governor Haslam and the Tennessee State Legislature for recognizing a rotten egg of a bill when they saw it.”

Now the prospects are brighter for Tennesseans who have worked hard to garner a positive image when it comes to enticing new companies to locate in the Volunteer State.  Governor Haslam was right to insist that Tennessee keep its word to Amazon and send a strong, positive message to other businesses considering Tennessee as a place to locate and grow. This can only bode well for future economic growth and better opportunities for the people of Tennessee.

          Claude Frédéric Bastiat was a nineteenth century French political and economic philosopher.  In his famous work titled That Which is Seen and That Which is Unseen, Bastiat sets up the parable of the broken window.  The lesson of the parable is that the destruction of capital only hurts economic growth instead of helping it.  This is due to the fact that money is only spent replacing the destroyed capital instead of purchasing newer capital.  However, those who supported the Cash for Clunkers program have clearly never learned this important economic lesson because now we are seeing the repercussions of that program.  
           In 2009 the government spent $3 billion tax payer dollars in order to destroy “clunkers” to incentivize citizens to purchase new cars, in the hopes of jumpstarting the failing American car companies.  In these troubled economic times people are holding on to their clunkers or simply buying used cars because they can’t afford to purchase a new one.  This combined with the governments destruction of approximately 680,000 used cars has caused the price of fuel efficient used cars to go up 20% since January reports Kelly Blue Book.com.  This senseless destruction of used cars has also caused the price of a 3 year old used car to go up 4.5%, used premium compact cars to increase by 20%, and has caused price increases in every other used car type with the exception of SUV’s according to Edmunds.com.  
           These types of government sponsored destruction programs are the cause of failed Keynesian economics.  Those who support these Keynesian policies believe that the government can save us from all of our economic worries.  However, what history has shown us is that when the government gets involved in the economy resources get misplaced or misused and the end result is further economic troubles.  In this case when the government sought to “stimulate” the new car market, the end result so many of us are finding out is a scarcity of used cars and an increased price tag on the ones we can find. 

The Great Debt Ceiling Debate of 2011 has begun, and FreedomWorks has published this handy scorecard to help you follow the action and weigh in. Here, on one page, is where all the key players stand: 

FreedomWorks - Debt Ceiling Debate Scorecard.pdf

Background

Uncle Sam's credit card is maxed out. On May 16th, the US officially hit its $14.3 trillion national debt limit, set by Congress. Things have reached a crisis.   
The feds are currently borrowing 40 cents of every dollar they spend. Washington has doubled  the national debt in just the past 5 years. 
To avert national bankruptcy, this incredible spending binge has got to stop.

Now comes President Obama, claiming that failure to raise the national borrowing limit by August 2nd will result in the US Government defaulting on its debts, and thus causing global bond markets to lose faith in the U.S. Government's ability to repay its creditors, and thus setting off a panic that results in higher borrowing costs for Uncle Sam, and thus a Greece-style economic crisis and perhaps political turmoil.

Sigh.  Where to begin?  The truth is, the IRS collects 10 times the amount needed to pay all the interest we owe to all our creditors indefinitely, and more than enough to pay the principle as well.  It's true, to be sure, that we don't collect enough to pay both principle and interest on our debts and  all of the myriad other obligations our government currently has.

If we don't raise the debt limit at all, eventually the Treasury Secretary will run out of sufficient funds and have to decide which bills to postpone paying.  He is legally free to prioritize among obligations until Congress provides him with the money to pay them (or extinguishes them).  Any Treasury Secretary worth his salt will always pay our creditors first, in order to avert a panic. The Secretary could borrow from government trust funds, with a promise to pay them back later, and he would likely to do so. But since he probably would not touch the two biggest and most politically sacrosanct trust funds, Social Security and Medicare, this device might not buy him all that much time.  At some point, he will run out of options and be forced to postpone payments to individuals and reimbursements to contractors.  That will precipitate a political crisis, forcing Congress to make some tough fiscal choices. 

The President is demanding a "clean" debt ceiling increase.  That is, he wants to increase the national credit limit without any spending reductions or reforms (except tax hikes). Congressional Republicans -- and many grassroots Americans of all political parties -- have been responding: "NO! No debt ceiling increase without substantial spending cuts and reforms. " High-stakes negotiations are now underway at Blair House near the White House. FreedomWorks's position is simple:

√ First, any measure to raise the debt ceiling must include real spending cuts.   A good start would cut spending by at least $300 billion next year  and include a full repeal of ObamaCare . Longer term, Congress must cut and eliminate programs to shrink government by at least 25% within five years, or no more than 18% of GDP.

√ Second, spending reductions should be guaranteed by budget controls with teeth  in the form of a law that would implement automatic, across-the-board cuts if Congress fails to enact a responsible budget. Automatic cuts must cover all programs, including Social Security.

√ Finally, Congress must send to the states for ratification a real Balanced Budget Amendment that caps federal spending and makes it much harder to increase taxes or debt . Six in 10 likely voters believe a Balanced Budget Amendment is long overdue. Because Congress has proven incapable of getting spending and borrowing under control on its own, it’s time for the Constitution to force them to live within our means by making it much harder to raise taxes or pile more debt on our children.

Without these kinds of serious cuts and reforms -- no deal. 

This debate is important for our country's future. Please take a moment to weigh in.  We all need to put serious pressure on the President and congressional leaders to do the right thing.  

P.S. Get some popcorn and settle in. Keep your scorecard handy. This debate will keep us all on the edge of our seats.

Dean Clancy is FreedomWorks's Legislative Counsel and Vice President, Health Care Policy.  

Graphic by FreedomWorks intern Patrick Hedger. 

 

Additional Information

Matt Kibbe: Debt Ceiling Vote Is Republican Leverage for Budget Reform

Matt Kibbe: We Simply Cannot Increase the Debt Without Significant Cuts   

Matt Kibbe: Tell Your Representatives to Sign RSC Letter on Debt Ceiling  

Dean Clancy: The Great Debt Ceiling Debate Begins (Get Your Scorecard Here)

Patrick Hedger: Drunk at the Wheel: Congress Is Over the Limit  

Patrick Hedger: Cracks in the Ceiling: The Real Issue Behind the Debt Limit

Ted Abram: Boehner's Debt Limit Marker

File Attachments

FreedomWorks_-_Debt_Ceiling_Debate_Scorecard.pdf
288.94 KB

          There is an old saying, “too many cooks spoil the broth.”  That very well could be true but an even truer statement is that too many Keynesians ruins the currency.  Once again Peter Diamond is expected to be considered to fill a vacate spot on the Federal Reserve Board.  Peter Diamond is a strong supporter of Keynesian economic policies that expand the government and devalues our currency.  
           Diamond’s Keynesian stance is most evident in his support for the president’s stimulus package.  He has even gone so far as to advocate for more stimulus, and even for the Federal government to bail out state governments.  In the past Diamond has supported raising taxes in order to extend unemployment benefits.  As if his Keynesian credentials were not “impressive” enough he is also on record supporting QE2, the raising of taxes in order to fund Social Security, and the bail outs given to big banks during the financial crisis.  In his praise of the Stimulus Diamond has said , "was unquestionably extremely valuable.”
           All of these policies that Diamond supports would decrease the value of our currency because they all encourage the government to spend more money, which it doesn’t have.  This would then force the government to print more money, which would cause higher rates of inflation and hasten the destruction of the U.S. dollar.  Senators Shelby and Toomey have expressed similar fears over the nomination of Diamond.  Senator Shelby has described Diamond as, “In short, Dr. Diamond is an old-fashioned, big government Keynesian.”  These Keynesian economic policies Diamond advocates seeks to increase the size of government and further interfere with the business cycle, which will only make future economic downturns worse while increasing our dependence on the government for economic salvation.   

          Do you trust the government’s bureaucrats in the Food and Drug Administration more than yourself to judge what is safe to eat?  This question goes straight to the heart of the bill HR 1830 introduced on May 11 by Congressman Ron Paul.  This bill will allow the shipment and distribution of unpasteurized milk and milk products for human consumption across state lines.  With the passage of HR 1830 the bill would remove the unconstitutional restraints placed on farmers by the FDA and return more freedom to the citizens of this nation. 
          This issue goes even further than simply wrestling power from the FDA and restoring back to the people.  It asks the question do you own your body or does the government?  We do not need to have a nanny state telling its citizens what they can or cannot eat.  As citizens of this republic we should be able to have the freedom to determine if we want to drink unpasteurized milk or consume unpasteurized milk products.  Congressman and now presidential candidate Ron Paul said it best when he asked the question, “How much freedom do we have if we can't even drink unpasteurized milk?”  Well America, how much freedom do we have?  If you are a supporter of limited government, free markets, and freedom then I urge you to contact your congressman and urge them to support HR 1830.

New Jersey State Senator Joe Kyrillos (R- Monmouth) has introduced “The School Children First Act ,” (S-2881 ) which intends to reform teacher pay and tenure in the Garden State.  The bill is another attempt by the New Jersey Legislature to overhaul a public education system that for years has been hijacked by the leadership of the New Jersey Education Association.  Currently teachers in New Jersey are given tenure after three years and a day of teaching, after which it becomes almost impossible to fire bad teachers.  In addition, New Jersey Public school teachers are consistently granted benefits and pay increases based on seniority with little regard for effectiveness and student achievement.

 These are the key education changes in the Kyrillos bill:
Teachers will be rated on four levels of effectiveness. Highly effective, effective, partially ineffective and ineffective. Half of this will be based on objective measures of student learning. Tenure is earned only after three annual evaluations of “effective” or “highly effective." It will no longer be distributed based on length of employment. Teachers who already have tenure and receive an “ineffective” rating for one year, or an annual rating of “partially effective” for two consecutive years, will revert to non-tenure status and could be subject to dismissal by the board of education or the school principal. Teachers will not be able to be transferred from one school to another without mutual consent between the teacher and the proposed school’s principal.  This will stop bad teachers from being moved from one school to another without the school’s approval. A board of education will create a compensation policy based on teacher effectiveness, the teaching staff member’s assignment to a failing school and the difficulty of their subject.

The changes proposed in this bill will help weed out poor teachers, energize mediocre teachers and reward great teachers for their consistent hard work.  The bill effectively eliminates salary guides based on the amount of years you have been a teacher and institutes a merit system.  All students deserve the best teachers possible, whether that teacher has been in education for a year or 20.  Compensation in schools should be granted based on skill not age just like any other job.  This is merely the beginning of education reform in New Jersey, but a good first step in putting students before NJEA executives.

Tennessee lawmakers are pushing SB 0529, which would force Internet retail giant Amazon to collect state sales taxes that would be passed along to consumers. Amazon has threatened not to build planned distribution centers in Tennessee if the measures are put in place; they have already left Illinois, South Carolina and are threatening to leave Texas for similar legislation. The proponents of the legislation include Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Sears in a group called the Alliance for Main Street Fairness. Together they are lobbying states across the country and even Congress to impose these burdensome taxes on Internet shoppers and retailers.

Last month South Carolina passed legislation levying a sales tax on Internet retailers, three companies have since left the state citing the new regulations forced them to leave and take much-needed jobs with them.  The same will happen in Tennessee if SB 0529 is passed. Taxing and regulating is bad economics; the revenue lawmakers hope to gain from these new regulations and taxes will hurt taxpayers and business alike.  

Contact your elected officials and tell them to vote NO on SB 0529 . It is bad for business and bad for Tennessee taxpayers. Click below to write to your legislator.

We must hold our elected representatives accountable. Here is how your lawmakers voted on key legislation. The good news is that all of these great bills passed!

Key Vote YES on H.R. 1229 Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act
See our key vote notice here .
Passed: 263-163. See roll call .

Key Vote YES on H.R. 1213 to End ObamaCare Slush Fund
See our key vote notice here .
Passed: 283-183. See roll call .

 

Click to listen!
Our campaigns department was on the ground again in Pennsylvania this weekend fighting for school choice. David Spielman sits down with me to update us on the battle!

Top two targets getting in the way of passage are:

Senator Kim L. Ward (R-39) (717) 787-6063
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai: (412) 369-2230

  
The full list of targets includes:

Kim L. Ward (R-39) (717) 787-6063
John R. Gordner (R-27) (717) 787-8928
Robert M. Tomlinson (R-6) (717) 787-5072
Patricia H. Vance (R-31) (717) 787-8524
Charles T. McIlhinney Jr. (R-10) (717) 787-7305
Jane M. Earll (R-49) (717) 787-8927
Mary Jo White (R-21) (717) 787-9684
Gene Yaw (R-23) (717) 787-3280
Elder A. Vogel Jr. (R-47) (717) 787-3076

Please call and keep the pressure on! This is a battle that can be won, and the children of Pennsylvania deserve it! Listen to our brief conversation for more info.

 
Click to listen!

Democracy and Power:  104 Future Debt Burden

A government debt is a government claim against personal income and private property – an unpaid tax bill. – Hans F. Sennholz,

  All democracies institute programs for current voters and shift the debt to future workers, even the unborn.  Social Security, Medicare, prescriptions drug benefits for seniors are prime examples in America.
  “That money is not going to be there,” Stanley Druckenmiller People aren't going to wonder whether 20 years ago we delayed an interest payment for six days. They're going to wonder whether we got our house in order.'
 

'A financial crisis is surely going to happen as big or bigger than the one we had in 2008 if we continue to behave the way we're behaving," says Stanley Druckenmiller.

  Druckenmiller is referring to the excessive spending of the federal government.  James Freeman of The Wall Street Journal quotes Druckenmiller:  What's going to be catastrophic is if we don't solve the real problem," meaning Washington's spending addiction.

  Druckenmiller has made a fortune knowing and investing in government bonds, and adroitly analyzes the American debt crisis.  First, he presents cuts in government spending, and good fiscal stewardship.

"Here are your two options: piece of paper number one—let's just call it a 10-year Treasury. So I own this piece of paper. I get an income stream obviously over 10 years . . . and one of my interest payments is going to be delayed, I don't know, six days, eight days, 15 days, but I know I'm going to get it. There's not a doubt in my mind that it's not going to pay, but it's going to be delayed. But in exchange for that, let's suppose I know I'm going to get massive cuts in entitlements and the government is going to get their house in order so my payments seven, eight, nine, 10 years out are much more assured," he says.

Next, he presents the position of President Obama, Treasure Secretary Geithner and the America’s political elites – more spending:

Then there's "piece of paper number two," he says, under a scenario in which the debt limit is quickly raised to avoid any possible disruption in payments. "I don't have to wait six, eight, or 10 days for one of my many payments over 10 years. I get it on time. But we're going to continue to pile up trillions of dollars of debt and I may have a Greek situation on my hands in six or seven years. Now as an owner, which piece of paper do I want to own? To me it's a no-brainer. It's piece of paper number one."

Druckenmiller is very critical of Federal Reserve's printing of money and low-interest rate, which facilitates Congress’ and Obama’s reckless spending:  "When do you generally get action from governments? When their bond market blows up." But that isn't happening now, he says, because the Fed is "aiding and abetting" the politicians' "reckless behavior."

Dangerously, President Obama, Treasury Secretary Geithner and Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve are spending America into a financial disaster. However, Druckenmiller is encouraged by Representative Paul Ryan’s budget proposal.   Druckenmiller is blunt: "We don't have a choice between Paul Ryan's plan and the current plan, because the current plan is a mirage. . . . That money is not going to be there."

Last week, the Texas Legislature passed HB 2403, a bill aimed at taxing your internet purchases.  Currently, purchases made over the Internet are tax-free if the company does not have a physical presence within the state.  The bill expands the definition of a “nexus” or physical presence to include warehouses and distribution centers where online retailers distribute goods. Four other states have passed a similar measure, and Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) seek to create a quasi-federalized internet sales tax under the Main Street Fairness Act of 2011 . 

The bill increases your taxes and seeks to limit your online shopping.  It also expands the role of government and creates burdensome regulations on Internet retailers. Internet retailers have already threatened to leave Texas because of these regulations and taxes, leaving hundreds of Texans unemployed .  

Tell Governor Rick Perry NOT to sign HB 2403.

 

Congress is drunk at the wheel.  Today the United States has officially hit the debt ceiling of about $14.3 trillion dollars, triggering the Treasury Department to implement emergency budgetary measures to avoid a government default.  This is all a result of runaway, irresponsible, and flat out wasteful spending by Congress and the bureaucracies.  In the United States we have laws that establish limits.  Congress establishes limits to the amount of debt the government can accrue and state and local governments set a limit of blood alcohol content someone can have while operating a motor vehicle.  If someone is pulled over by the police, and is over the .08 legal limit, they are arrested and go to jail and are charged with a crime.  That person simply cannot tell the officer that they are going to go ahead and set a new limit at .143 BAC, crack another beer, and keep on driving.  The officer must arrest that person when the .08 limit is broken.  No ifs, ands, or buts.  That person must be arrested and prevented from driving because they present a danger to the society.

So how come we allow Congress and the government to just keep driving? Today the government is, as it has been countless times in the past, over the limit set by law.  This means Congress should pull over and stop the car and think about the damage they could cause by continuing to ignore the limit and drive up spending and the debt.  Instead the Obama administration is asking Congress to do what no one else can: ignore the rules and create new ones that better suit their reckless behavior.   Legal limits are in place to prevent the unthinkable, and when they are ignored the unthinkable becomes the inevitable.  It’s time to sober up and cut spending.

Dear FreedomWorks member,

As one of our million-plus FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to sign onto a Republican Study Committee letter which is addressed to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) regarding the upcoming debt ceiling vote. The letter clearly states that any signer will not vote for a “clean” debt ceiling increase. It would be fiscally irresponsible to raise the debt limit without reining in excessive spending. The letter specifically lays out three bold solutions to reduce the national debt: immediate spending cuts, enforceable total-spending caps and a balanced budget amendment.

The debt held by the public has more than doubled in just the past five years. Interest paid on the national debt is expected to more than triple over the next ten years. Raising the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts is simply a tax increase on future generations. The declining value of the U.S. dollar is directly due to the Federal Reserve buying more government debt. The federal government has hit the $14.292 trillion debt limit set in February 2010. A recent FreedomWorks poll conducted by Frank Luntz confirmed that 69 percent of Americans oppose a “clean” debt ceiling increase.

The upcoming debt ceiling vote provides a great opportunity to enact immediate spending cuts. In the FreedomWorks poll, the support for raising the debt ceiling increases (17 percent to 31 percent) if provisions are included to cut spending and reduce future debt such as binding spending caps and/or passage of a serious balanced budget. The Republican Study Committee letter calls for mandatory spending reduction that would cut the deficit in half next year. It also calls for statutory, enforceable total-spending caps to reduce federal spending to 18% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Lastly, the letter asks for a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) with strong protections against federal tax increases and including a Spending Limitation Amendment (SLA).

The upcoming vote on the debt ceiling will be an interesting litmus test to see who is truly serious about reining in the federal government. With the national debt approaching $14.3 trillion, the time for significant spending cuts is now. Please call your representative and ask him or her to sign onto the Republican Study Committee’s letter today.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks
[Click here for a pdf version of this letter.]