Government – Page 2 – www.exkalibur.com

Taxachusetts? Not this time!

As you know, Scott Brown, a Republican, defeated the Democratic candidate to fill Sen. Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat, a stunning reversal of Massachusetts trends of the last 50 years, for a seat that the Dems thought they couldn’t lose.
While there is certain to be a lot of political fallout and spin doctors massaging the message, it’s hard to argue that the health care reform razzle-dazzle isn’t part of it. As I’ve said before, I doubt that there’s a single American, let alone a U.S. Senator, who could even tell you, clearly and plainly, what the bill looks like today.
You can find other articles in Sword Tips discussing some of these provisions, and the lack of cost-saving provisions. I think what Americans resent is the enormous resources devoted to an omnibus bill of gargantuan proportions, unread by virtually all, that has jumped ahead of job creation and economic stability for so many Americans. (more…)

White House Jabbing about Jobs

As I’ve said here before, I don’t think our elected servants in D.C. know much about creating jobs. Let’s remember that the stimulus program was always “too little, too late” and we harped here that the length of time over which those funds would be deployed was way too long … witness today that jobs officials say more than 50% is still in the pipeline over one year later. So, no surprise it hasn’t help as much as they would have you believe. Robb Mandelbaum writing in the NY Times also agrees that there is very little in President Obama’s most recent speeches flowing from the Jobs Summit last week.

What do you think of the ideas being floated about, the key ones of which are summarized here? Will any of them help your business? Are there other ideas that could work? Fire up those fingers and add your comments here.

For one thing, the Administration continues to talk about incentive programs to spur business lending. While that would also be welcome, it doesn’t get at the root cause of unemployment and jobs growth. I’ve reported here before that lending is NOT the biggest problem in the middle market … it’s demand and revenue growth. Companies are not going to borrow except to meet demand and if demonstrable demand is present, borrowing is usually easier anyway.

One idea is to eliminate the capital gains tax for small business investing. (more…)

Job Stimulus? Recession Over? Hornswoggle!

The reports are continuing on the woeful effects of the Obama job stimulus program, heralded as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $789 Billion package was to create or “save” 3 million jobs but here’s the thing.

You know how your spouse says she or he just “saved money” when they bought something on sale … but you can never really find or see those “savings”? That’s the same logic the Administration uses to claim it’s “saved jobs” as they seek to defend the success of the stimulus package.

Not only is job creation meager, but the costs are staggering. The White House’s Recovery Act site – shows, for example, that $660 million has been awarded to Bay Area transportation projects to create 997 jobs, which amounts to a staggering $661,986 per job. Last week, the site showed that California Congressional Districts 00 and 99 received millions of dollars in stimulus funding even though neither district exists. (more…)

Another Powerful Feature from Evernote It's my favorite!

Buried in a 2,000 page bill …

Like I’ve said, I certainly didn’t intend to wade into this health care reform quicksand but just the thought of a 2,000 page bill that legislators haven’t read conjures a paperwork morass that, like a stealth bomber, sneaks in under the radar and does incredible damage before you wake up in the morning …
… not to mention how much stuff is buried in there we haven’t heard about yet or the laughable observations that it won’t cost anything. Where to start? How about David Broder’s observaations about its failure to deliver on cost controls, he being the former of Chief of Staff for Prez Clinton.
How about the Wall St. Journal report that the promised tort reform – sounds good – is coupled with a provision that provides incentive payments to states that adopt a “alternative medical liability law” … but ONLY IF it does not limit attorney’s fees or impose caps on damages”? Huh? Isn’t that at the core of tort reform in the first place?
How about the concept that none of this will cost anything because the savings will offset the cost? Gee, we’ve never heard that one before. (more…)

Solve the World’s Greatest Puzzle

I didn't really intend to wade into the morass of health care reform but the appearance of a 2,000 page bill pushed me over the edge. So, my breathless health care reform lapdogs ... and you know who you are ... here's your assignment. Pick up a copy of War…

What else is in that 2,000 page bill?

Here's just the tip of the iceberg in the record-breaking 2,000 page health care bill ... nutrition labeling for vending machines, new costs for virtually every restaurant chain to spell out nutrition guidelines, in-home counseling for pregnant mothers, priority to Indian health clinics in certain states, adult coaching on "parenting…

Looking beneath the headlines … more danger?

In my last few posts, I've discussed the job creation efforts of the Obama Administration, which have had abysmal results.There are a lot of voices coming to the same conclusion. An editorial in today's NY Times chimed in about not only "underemployment", which takes the 10.2% unemployment figures to 17.5%…

Job Creation Job? Bigger than ever!

Yesterday's post, Not that I told you so - redux, discussed the latest unemployment figures and the lamentable job done by the Obama Administration in stimulating the economy. I only mentioned in passing the so-called "shadow unemployment" which considers part-time workers who would like to work full-time and those who've…

New credit squeeze coming for small business?

You'll recall my recent post about the anticipated changes and expansion of small business lending. Now it's possible that two of the stimulus programs may expire ... BEFORE any new ones take their place. This includes the most popular provisions that allowed the SBA to drop their fees and to…