Senators Claire McCaskill and Susan Collins said if we had more women in Congress, we would have a deal right now, because women know how to compromise. I believe that. What we have now is a battle of male egos trotting out their same old talking points hoping that this time, they will stick. The media encourages it because they think that Obama has to give John Boehner enough for him to hang his head high; regardless of what it does to our economy. I'm sorry but elections have consequences and to the “victor goes the spoils” because that's what the American people voted for. We didn't have that in 2009, so the president had to suffer the consequences of obstruction.
I saw a couple letters this morning describing the fiscal cliff as being an easy fix. Nothing could be further from the truth because of the time restraints and the elephant in room that no one wants to discuss. That elephant in the room is the impending debt ceiling crisis. The White House doesn't want to make a deal to get us through this year but then have to fight the opposition again in February over something that is much more crucial; paying our bills that we have already incurred. The two letters centered on taxes and spending but, unless we have some incentives for growth, education, infrastructure, jobs and innovation; we're just spinning our wheels. Republicans want to forget that the Democrats gave in to one trillion dollars in spending cuts in the last fight over increasing the debt ceiling. There's not a lot more that can be had in non-defense discretionary spending. The president said he's not going to have that fight anymore and I don't blame him because the world markets think that we're ridiculous for having that fight. The GOP forgets that they are responsible for some of that debt that we have to pay. That's not to say that they can't fight to cut spending during the budget battles.
It's my opinion with exceptions of course; women are much more honest when it comes to negotiating. They're much more adept in calling a “spade a spade” than men are. At the same time, they don't think having compassion is a weakness. I saw an example of this when Mica Brzezinski practically called Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan a liar ,when he said that the bill he recently signed was not anti- union but more pro worker. It gave the panel more room to call out the governor for trying to sugarcoat his actions. The governor said that the bill would lead to more jobs in Michigan but the 23 states that have right- to -work laws do not prove that. He cited the neighboring state of Indiana, who passed a bill similar to his right- to- work law and that state saw an increase in 30 companies coming to their state. He doesn't see the animosity it will create between the “free riders” and those who pay their union dues. The governor conveniently left out the fact that people like the Koch brothers love non- union states. The people for “Americans for Prosperity” were not out in full force to defend workers' rights.
I can't see why people want us to win the “race to the bottom” that began the year we started outsourcing. I don't think that we have to continue lowering wages and benefits just to keep companies in America but we'll never know unless we have access to all their financial records. Major League Baseball and the NFL were grossly underpaying their players. It seems to me "If owners make representations that they're losing money or that they can't afford a certain term in the collective bargaining agreement, then they're obligated to prove their assertion. “We applaud world-class companies like Caterpillar coming into our community bringing in $12.00 an hour jobs. We're part of the corporations union busting tactics but we're willing accomplices because we need the jobs. There's no easy answer but I still can't see why government should be able to stick its nose in the private sector's labor negotiations.
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I wish a republican could tell me how enticing workers from another state helps the overall job market.
I also wish they could tell me how to turn around income inequality if breaking up the unions is the goal. Do they think board rooms want to distribute their profits more equally between their workers and CEOs?
Starving the beast does not improve the bottom line, in the long run.
If companies have not realized this by now, then they are in for a rude awakening when their employees dont' have the money to support their business, and other businesses across America.
And yes, women are better at making deals. They have to be bringing up their children. Smart compromise is the name of the game with kids.
Good metaphor because that’s what it sounds like; legislators acting like children... It takes “now Johnny, you got the play with the economy from 2000-2008, now it’s time to let your brother have it.”….:-0
It’s only human nature; companies will take whatever you let them get away with these days… I can remember the Christmas bonuses and some of the smaller companies giving their employees Christmas turkeys and perhaps a small bonus…. Today, it’s all about more for the shareholders, CEOs and eliminating the competition, such as the old mom and pop stores…. Companies used to have a conscience and I remember our company would do just about anything to avoid negative publicity but these days; embarrassing a company into submission is impossible.
Typical of an ultra right winger like Scott Hansen writing crap about a liberal owner keeping the movie Lincoln from coming to Victoria.
1. The movie will be here Friday
2. This liberal will be one of the first to see the movie
3. Lincoln freed the slaves ,so he's probably more of a hero to liberals than he is to conservatives even though he was a Republican.
4. I wish people would read more history books,newspapers, and that alone would go a long way in having meaningful discussions.
That's interesting, Susan rice has withdrawn her name from consideration to be the next secretary of state. The new frontrunner seems to be republican Chuck Hagel. That leaves John Kerry's seat in Massachusetts in the dems corner unless Senator Kerry becomes the defense secretary.
I don't know if the GOP got their way, or that Susan Rice and President Obama didn't think the fight was worth it at this time.... Something for the talk shows tonight.
WASHINGTON -- A Congressional Research Service report that was reissued Thursday after Republicans complained about it before the elections still finds little evidence that the Bush-era tax cuts spurred growth or that hiking the top rates would have more than a "negligible" impact on the economy.
The CRS study did find, however, that the lower tax rates in place since 2001 have had a strong impact on increasing income inequality in America.
"Analysis of such data conducted for this report suggests the reduction in the top tax rates has had little association with saving, investment, or productivity growth," the study says. "It is reasonable to assume that a tax rate change limited to a small group of taxpayers at the top of the income distribution would have a negligible effect on economic growth."
The study focused on tax rates and economic growth since World War II. Democrats saw it as a key piece of evidence in their argument that tax rates on the top 2 percent of earners should go back up to Clinton-era levels to help deal with growing debt, deficits and the nearing "fiscal cliff." Republicans have balked, arguing that any tax hikes will hurt jobs and the economy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/high-end-tax-hikes-crs-report_n_2295737.html
Andrea Mitchell says John Kerry will be Sec.of Def. and Obama might break the glass by nominating a woman to be Sec.of Defense.
I know…I know, it’s too soon to talk about the senseless killing in Portland or about the recent one in Connecticut ‘because we all know that “guns don’t kill people… people kill people” and we wouldn’t want to upset the NRA or the paranoid people who think their second amendment rights are in jeopardy….We will just sit around and not make an attempt to begin some talks centered on ways of preventing these senseless killings. Where are the leaders?
I just heard an excellent idea on how to approach the gun violence issue.
We should treat it as a public health issue like we did with cigarette smoking, seat belts, and DUIs.
Why not make it part of procedure for a police officer to ask if the participants of a domestic dispute have guns. A “yes” answer could automatically be grounds for a warrant to confiscate them until the matter is settled. An infringement on someone’s rights you say? I didn’t hear too much squawking when employers were allowed to fire their employees for something they wrote on Facebook. A person using psychoactive drugs should voluntary give up their guns after their psychiatrist alerts the authorities of the situation. I know there are several legal issues such as doctor/ Patient confidentiality, so that’s why the first option should be voluntarily.
Professional athletes have a penchant for owning several guns but the sports industry has a hold on them because of all the money that’s involved. They could easily order the player to turn in his guns after a domestic dispute or issues of mental problems.
In the recent Connecticut shooting, the mother of the accused shooter bought all those guns legally, so the incident could not have been prevented. Sure stricter access to school property could have been enforced but we will always have situations where the relatives of school personnel will have easy access.
When we choose to silence those who cry out for action each time a senseless act of violence breaks out,we must also consider the other side who choose to exploit this issue.
"Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (R) weighed in on the massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, saying the crime was no surprise because we have "systematically removed God" from public schools.
"We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools," Huckabee said on Fox News. "Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?"
Really if he were really a man of faith he would know that a mere mortal cannot keep God out of school.
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