As we near Labor Day, it's time to look at the issues that should dominate this year's elections. There are a great many important issues swirling through the American people, but there are key ones that must be addressed by any successful candidate. Today, the focus is on ending the squeeze on the middle class.
Since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, the real income of the average American family has gotten lower. Taxes went up; fuel costs went up; food costs went up; housing costs went up, but real income has gone down. Millions upon millions of people are either without jobs or are working only part-time or sporadically. During 2014, America finally reached the point where the number of jobs in the economy is the same as it was before the recession, but there are about 12 million more people in the country than before and millions more are working in low paying or part-time work rather than the well paying jobs upon which one can afford a reasonable lifestyle.
We have already seen the plans of president Obama and the Democrats to "help" the middle class. Eight years of Democrat control of Congress and six years in the White House have left the middle class squeezed so hard that one has to wonder if they can recover. Obama offers nothing new to change the trajectory of the economy and the crushing blow to middle America. He still talks on occasion of public works programs, but after six years without a concrete proposal, we all know that it is just talk. Obama also talks about the need for universal pre-K, but having four year olds in school is not going to deliver help any time soon (if ever). Of course, Obama also wants to raise taxes further. Taking money out of the economy and from the wealthier end of the middle class is not going to help anyone either.
Republicans need to focus their efforts on measures that will help the middle class. These would include at least the following:
1. Stopping the increasing regulation affecting small business which is preventing the creation of tens of thousands of businesses and millions of jobs. There are many examples of this phenomenon, but an example of this regulation is the Dodd Frank law that Obama and the Democrats pushed through. The effect of Dodd Frank was to make it much more difficult for a new business to get a bank loan. Big companies have no problems, but new start-ups are effectively cut off from credit because of the government. Without bank credit, many plans to start a business cannot proceed.
2. Ending the massive flow of illegal aliens into this country. Most people don't realize that the effect of large numbers of illegals into America is to keep wages low. Years ago, someone could make a decent living working in construction, even if he or she did not have a college education. The jobs were often strenuous, but they provided good wages sufficient for a middle class life. Today, there are too many contractors who use illegals as workers and pay them much less than what an American worker would get. As a result, the wages for Americans in construction do not rise and the jobs are hard to find. We need a fair immigration law, but we cannot have unrestricted immigration which results in millions of Americans being displaced from their jobs.
3. Stop favoring the wealthy. The Democrats have followed policies that have made the rich much richer. At the same time that they help the rich, the Democrats criticize the Republicans as the party of the rich. It is weird that they get away with that. Democrat economic policies, however, have lowered interest rates that small savers can earn while pushing the stock market up to record highs. The people with large stock investments (who are the wealthy) get richer. The people trying to save for their children's college education or a down payment on a house get nothing. Elderly people who thought they could supplement their Social Security with interest earned on their savings are getting interest rates that are nearly zero. Then there are the government policies that favor the super rich corporations, particularly those who align themselves with the Democrats. Is it any wonder that General Electric could earn 14 billion dollars in a year but pay no federal income tax at the same time that GE's cable station MSNBC was operated as a non-stop commercial for the Democrats and Obama? Right now, the Democrats are trying to rescue the Export-Import Bank to help huge American companies like General Electric (they seem to be on every gravy train) and others. No one helps the middle class or even smaller businesses.
4. Make the business taxes lower by getting rid of the loopholes and special favors for Democrat cronies. This overlaps with point 3, but it deserves separate mention. Under Obama, America has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. How many businesses would have come to America to open facilities if our tax rates were competitive? We will never know, but the number of jobs that have been lost is huge. Whenever this point is raised, the Democrats always point to the average rate paid by American companies and say that it is lower than in some other countries. That is no answer. The average is lower because the cronies of the Democrats who get special deals pay next to nothing and that brings the average down. That is grossly unfair. All businesses should pay the same rates. It is just wrong that someone like GE pays nothing but some small company pays 35%.
Since the Democrats took control of Congress in 2007, the real income of the average American family has gotten lower. Taxes went up; fuel costs went up; food costs went up; housing costs went up, but real income has gone down. Millions upon millions of people are either without jobs or are working only part-time or sporadically. During 2014, America finally reached the point where the number of jobs in the economy is the same as it was before the recession, but there are about 12 million more people in the country than before and millions more are working in low paying or part-time work rather than the well paying jobs upon which one can afford a reasonable lifestyle.
We have already seen the plans of president Obama and the Democrats to "help" the middle class. Eight years of Democrat control of Congress and six years in the White House have left the middle class squeezed so hard that one has to wonder if they can recover. Obama offers nothing new to change the trajectory of the economy and the crushing blow to middle America. He still talks on occasion of public works programs, but after six years without a concrete proposal, we all know that it is just talk. Obama also talks about the need for universal pre-K, but having four year olds in school is not going to deliver help any time soon (if ever). Of course, Obama also wants to raise taxes further. Taking money out of the economy and from the wealthier end of the middle class is not going to help anyone either.
Republicans need to focus their efforts on measures that will help the middle class. These would include at least the following:
1. Stopping the increasing regulation affecting small business which is preventing the creation of tens of thousands of businesses and millions of jobs. There are many examples of this phenomenon, but an example of this regulation is the Dodd Frank law that Obama and the Democrats pushed through. The effect of Dodd Frank was to make it much more difficult for a new business to get a bank loan. Big companies have no problems, but new start-ups are effectively cut off from credit because of the government. Without bank credit, many plans to start a business cannot proceed.
2. Ending the massive flow of illegal aliens into this country. Most people don't realize that the effect of large numbers of illegals into America is to keep wages low. Years ago, someone could make a decent living working in construction, even if he or she did not have a college education. The jobs were often strenuous, but they provided good wages sufficient for a middle class life. Today, there are too many contractors who use illegals as workers and pay them much less than what an American worker would get. As a result, the wages for Americans in construction do not rise and the jobs are hard to find. We need a fair immigration law, but we cannot have unrestricted immigration which results in millions of Americans being displaced from their jobs.
3. Stop favoring the wealthy. The Democrats have followed policies that have made the rich much richer. At the same time that they help the rich, the Democrats criticize the Republicans as the party of the rich. It is weird that they get away with that. Democrat economic policies, however, have lowered interest rates that small savers can earn while pushing the stock market up to record highs. The people with large stock investments (who are the wealthy) get richer. The people trying to save for their children's college education or a down payment on a house get nothing. Elderly people who thought they could supplement their Social Security with interest earned on their savings are getting interest rates that are nearly zero. Then there are the government policies that favor the super rich corporations, particularly those who align themselves with the Democrats. Is it any wonder that General Electric could earn 14 billion dollars in a year but pay no federal income tax at the same time that GE's cable station MSNBC was operated as a non-stop commercial for the Democrats and Obama? Right now, the Democrats are trying to rescue the Export-Import Bank to help huge American companies like General Electric (they seem to be on every gravy train) and others. No one helps the middle class or even smaller businesses.
4. Make the business taxes lower by getting rid of the loopholes and special favors for Democrat cronies. This overlaps with point 3, but it deserves separate mention. Under Obama, America has the highest corporate tax rate in the world. How many businesses would have come to America to open facilities if our tax rates were competitive? We will never know, but the number of jobs that have been lost is huge. Whenever this point is raised, the Democrats always point to the average rate paid by American companies and say that it is lower than in some other countries. That is no answer. The average is lower because the cronies of the Democrats who get special deals pay next to nothing and that brings the average down. That is grossly unfair. All businesses should pay the same rates. It is just wrong that someone like GE pays nothing but some small company pays 35%.
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