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President Barack Obama is due to visit Atherton, again, on Feb. 11, to raise funds for Democrats but this time the town shouldn’t have to provide police and other services for free, thanks to a new special events ordinance that says hosts must pay for such services.
That’s because after a 2013 visit by President Obama to Atherton that left the town with $8,000 in bills, but no law on the books to allow it to demand repayment, Atherton decided to rewrite its special events ordinance.
The changes, approved by the City Council in July, require those hosting special events to pay for any police, public works or other town services the event requires, plus the costs of issuing the permit.
City Manager George Rodericks said that once the town heard about the planned Feb. 11 fundraising visit, which was announced in an email from the Democratic National Committee, Police Chief Ed Flint asked the Secret Service “to either confirm or deny,” the president is coming to town.
Early Thursday afternoon, Mr. Rodericks said the town had heard back from the Secret Service and spoken to the property owner, both confirming the president is indeed scheduled to visit Atherton. Mr. Rodericks said that because the police department and possibly the public works department “will be involved to some degree,” the town will be advising the property owners that a special events permit is required and “that they will be responsible for any costs incurred” by the town.
After the 2013 visit, the town sent bills to the hosts and the Democratic National Committee, but they were not paid.
Under the ordinance, a permit is required for any special event “that requires the assistance of the town for traffic control, public safety services, extraordinary parking control measures, waiver of any local, state, or federal ordinance, or other mitigation measures arising from the special event.”
Mr. Rodericks said that had the planned fundraising event not involved the president “it is unlikely that it would have triggered a special event permit.” He said events of a similar size occur regularly on private property in Atherton and do not usually require special town services. He also excused the fact that the special events permit wasn’t taken out 60 days in advance, as the ordinance requires. “It is understandable with events involving POTUS that notice and details are less than what the town’s ordinance requires,” he said.
According to the email from the Democratic National Committee, the brunch reception with the president will be held at the home of Steve Westly, the former California state controller who is rumored to be pondering a run for governor.
Mr. Westly and his wife, Anita Yu, live not far from Alameda de las Pulgas, so the brunch event is bound to cause some traffic tieups. The invitation did not reveal the exact time of the event, but did say that tickets are $250 for general admission, $1,000 for premium seating, $10,000 to be a photo line guest and $25,000 to be a co-host.
Mr. Rodericks said the police department will be briefed before the event “to discuss routing and other details – none of which will be disclosed in advance for security reasons.”
President Obama has been at the Westly-Yu home at least once before, in 2010 when he was raising funds for Kamala Harris’ run for state attorney general. A venture capitalist, Mr. Westly was one of the candidates vying to be the Democratic Party nominee for governor in 2006. He co-chaired President Obama’s California campaign in 2008.
According to a report by the California Secretary of State, in February 2015, a total of 39 percent of registered voters in Atherton were Republicans, while San Mateo County as a whole had fewer than 19 percent registered Republicans. The town had 31 percent registered Democrats, and almost as many more who belonged to small parties or were unaffiliated.
Atherton Municipal Code
17.56.050 Application submittal requirements.
The following items and information shall be submitted to the city manager or designee:
A. Completed application (application form supplied by the town) submitted to the town at least sixty days prior to the event.
I believe Mr. Westly is already in violation of town ordinance.
That special events ordinance has been a disaster.
Hillary is coming to Atherton as well.
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Hillary-Clinton-heading-to-Silicon-Valley-for-6790784.php
I wonder if the host got a permit for the Clinton fundraiser. What is the penalty for not applying for the permit prior to the event?
Obama, the Super Bowl, and Clinton in the span of two weeks. The Atherton PD is going to be working overtime.
Let’s be clear: this is a FUNDRAISER, and the town should NOT be on the hook for a single dollar for a political fundraiser, regardless of political affiliation.
That said, looking through the ordinance, I don’t see any “teeth” to it, at least none listed.
Can the town put a lien on the property if they don’t comply with a permit? Is there any enforceable fine on the property owner? Clearly the DNC is going to give the town the middle finger, but we need to make sure Mr. Westly actually pays for the impact on the town and residents.
All I can say is I’m sure glad I don’t live in Atherton. I would not like to be associated with such a stingy town.
MMM tough talk by Republicans? Complain, complain, complain.
Steve Westly, pay the previous $8,000 bill. It is unfair to knowingly cause use of town resources for political events. Unless you are really bad at being a VC you can afford it. How cheap are you?
Probably the $8K falls more under the illegal gift of Public funds. Since the real culprit here is the POTUS perhaps he should apply for the permit after restitution.
And let’s see Willow Rd. Seems to me this will involve Menlo Park too. And I’ve heard from a reliable source that some PA PD folks are being REQUIRED to devote OT to this political event.
So you’re going to announce 60 days in advance that the President is going to visit an unsecured residence? 60 days to allow the Bundys to plan, lock and load?
Get real. No President has ever operated that way for their own security.
> So you’re going to announce 60 days in advance
> that the President is going to visit
No. The ordinance only requires 60-day notice for an EVENT. They don’t have to disclose who attends, just that an event will take place.
No security issues at all.
Try again.
SteveC wrote:
> tough talk by Republicans
The vast majority of Athertonians are not Republican.
Try again.
As of January 12, 2016 there are 4,603 registered voters in Atherton. The breakout is as follows:
Democrats 1,448
Republicans 1,813
American Independent Party 100
Green Party 11
Libertarian 31
Peace & Freedom Party 4
No Political Preference 1,187
Miscellaneous 9
It is true that the vast majority of Atherton voters are not Republican but the do hold the plurality.
Disclosure: I am not republican (or libertarian)
In 2012, Obama and Romney both held fundraisers in Newport Beach, CA. The city sent both of them a bill. Romney paid. Obama didn’t.
http://www.investors.com/businessman-romney-pays-his-newport-beach-bill-on-time-while-democrat-obama-hasnt/
Next time, go hold your fundraisers in Menlo Park and Palo Alto. They don’t seem to mind the cost. But only if you’re a democrat.
“Other cities have agreed to cover the expenses for hosting politicians. A spokeswoman for Palo Alto, Calif., told KPIX it takes such events into consideration when drafting its local law enforcement budget.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/calif-town-doesnt-want-to-foot-the-bill-for-obama-fundraisers/
These Palo Alto residents aren’t worried about what it might cost their city.
“As long as it’s money that’s helping the Democratic Party,” McHugh said.
http://abc7news.com/archive/9129118/
> It is true that the vast majority of Atherton voters are not Republican but the do hold the plurality.
Well, yes, but we’re talking about 39.39% of registered voters. Not exactly a bastion of Republicanism.
And any Athertonian can post to this thread (not just Dem/Rep) the total population is a more relevant denominator.
1,813 / 7,159 * 100 = 25.3% of Atherton residents are Republican.
Ergo, it is highly unlikely that all the people complaining about Westly potentially stiffing a bill are Republican (which is what the original poster was implying).
You are NOT wanted here. what a waste of time, ENERGY, money, global warming effects–trooping your jet, entourage, luggage, security, huge cars (gas guzzlers), long delays–cars idling while waiting in traffic for your parade on nonsense. Do us all a favor–just send your money–YOU ARE NOT WANTED!!
Where was all the grumping when Meg held an Atherton fundraiser for Chris Christie back in Nov. that tied up the streets and blocked regular access to MA and Laurel ?
http://www.ibabuzz.com/politics/2015/10/26/meg-whitman-to-host-chris-christie-fundraiser/
There’s definitely a political bent to this whinging !
NOT WANTED:
Is it Atherton residents you’re referring to?
>> You are NOT wanted here
.
.
.
.
Mr. President: Yes, YOU are wanted here!
We appreciate all the hard work involved in improving our livelihoods, our improved medical coverage and rescuing the American economy from the Bush Great Recession. We appreciate that you have more Americans covered with health insurance than ever before!
Thanks for keeping us out of any further Cheney-esque/neo-con wars of aggression.
You still have much work to do, and I certainly disagree with you on many issues, but keep on working hard!
You are a rock star! Thank you for saving America!
A couple charts that illustrate your economic greatness:
– bank failures last 50 years: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wWvTbb8V0fU/VpvBOFggIeI/AAAAAAAAmUI/gJ3wWqhTQs0/s320/FDICFailures.PNG (of particular note to the moneyed folk of A-town!)
– JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xa0D7fyVBz8/Vo-8xLh10YI/AAAAAAAAmN4/BRiFcPw0MmA/s1600/PayrollDec2015.PNG (also important to all Athertonian’s overall economic health – we all make money hen America works!)
We realize that when our economy needs rescue from a GOP mess, it takes a Democrat! Swing by anytime!
xoxo
signed,
Most Athertonians
Yes, we welcome you as long as you stop using taxpayer fund to finance your fundraising trips. This applies to all politicians, regardless of political affiliation.
Obama’s fundraising trips in October 2014 to LA and SF cost taxpayers $1,176,120.90 in flight expenses alone. What’s $8000 in cost to a tiny little town?
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/how-obama-is-saving-the-dnc-money-on-his-fundraising-trips-at-your-expense/article/2551164
http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-obtains-records-revealing-obamas-1176120-90-transportation-expenses-attend-political-fundraisers-los-angeles-san-francisco/
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-do-obamas-fundraising-trips-cost-mums-the-word/
L&D,
Yes, Thank you President Obama for the slowest recovery from a recession since the Great Depression. Thank you for the lowest Labor Participation Rate since 1978. Thank you for the 50 million Americans on food stamps and the 94 million Americans working at less than full time employment. Thank you for the ACA, which has NOT resulted in families saving $2,500 per year on their health insurance premiums as you promised,but rather has seen premiums and deductibles sky rocket. My children and grandchildren thank you for our national debt, which has risen more during your administration than during the administration of any other president including that of G. W.Bush who was a spendthrift.
Please I do not want to “thank you” any longer. I just want you to pay for the extra costs incurred by our town during your visits.
NO, obama, you are NOT WANTED here– you are very hypocritical in your quest for global warming. you have destroyed our military. you have destroyed the security of our country. you sat our your golf cart as isis was taking over–you still do nothing. we all are beginning to believe if you want ISIS to run the world–it certainly seems that you could care less. You have destroyed our economy to the point that we may NEVER recover. You give billions to iran for some idiotic reason. iran & russia make a fool out of you. YOU ARE NOT WANTED!!!
So funny – all the anti-obama “stats” refer back to Bush’s disaster.
Bush gave us the first trillion dollar deficit – Obama’s deficit us now less than half that.
Politifact: true….
“We’ve seen “our deficits cut by two-thirds.”
— Barack Obama on Tuesday, January 20th, 2015 in his 2015 State of the Union address”
Factchecking>>
In your “fact checking” you failed to mention President Obama gave us three trillion dollar deficits as his stimulus plan failed miserably. Bush was indeed a spendthrift, but pales in comparison to the damage President Obama and his policies have done to our economy and national debt. In Bush’s eight years in office the national debt increased by $4.993 trillion to just over $10 trillion. In President Obama’s 7+ years in office the national debt has increased by by over $8 trillion because none of his economic plans have worked. He refuses to propose pro growth economic policies. He refuses to propose tax reform measures. His first group of economic advisers, Summers, Bernstein, Goolsbee and Romer all quit on him when they saw their policies were not working.
None of Obama’s policies work?
>> none of his economic plans have worked
Wrong. Look at the links above and compare the Bush months/years and Obama
FACTS:
– jobs http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xa0D7fyVBz8/Vo-8xLh10YI/AAAAAAAAmN4/BRiFcPw0MmA/s1600/PayrollDec2015.PNG
– deficits http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IN_y4PKZQcA/VP23a-x3wzI/AAAAAAAAim4/fIaQB8V_pVE/s1600/CBOMar2015.PNG (note Bush’s trillion dollar deficit and how Obama has brought the deficit down EVERY year; also note the Clinton SURPLUSES)
Also: please list every Republican economic plan that wasn’t just more tax breaks for billionaires
It won’t take long! (there have been none in the last decade)
The far right fringe posters always forget just how bad the Bush Great Recession was.
I repeat: None of President’s economic plans have worked. Please look at where we are today. We have the lowest Labor Participation Rate since records of it have been kept. We have the highest national debt in our nation’s history. I remember President Obama saying after his Stimulus program was passed that there were 100’s of “shovel ready” projects ready to go. I was shocked by that statement. Ignore the fact that the jobs he was talking about were not permanent. Those jobs end when the project ends, but that is OK. They are supposed to “kick start” the economy. The fact was there were ZERO shovel ready jobs. Two years later The President had to publicly admit, “I guess those jobs were not as shovel ready as we thought.”
The “cash for clunkers” also did not work as all it did was pull forward car purchases that were going to be made anyway. President Obama has not proposed any meaningful pro growth economic initiatives despite controlling both houses of Congress for the first two years of his Administration.
The Republicans are not much better. They have not proposed any meaningful tax reform proposals. Our economy is stagnant. The first pass measurement of our GDP for Q$ 2015 showed growth at an anemic +0.7%. Do you realize in the last 53 years tax rates have been reduced 4 times; twice by Democrat Presidents, JFK and Bill Clinton and twice by Republican Presidents; Ronald Reagan and GW Bush. In each case Federal tax receipts INCREASED. We penalize success with the highest corporate tax rates in the free world. Companies like Apple with over $215 billion in cash, most of which is overseas do not repatriate those profits because they would be subject to full taxation. You are not helping matters by your vitriolic attacks against one political party. This is NOT a Democrat problem; it is not a Republican problem. It is our nation’s problem. Like wise neither party has faced the entitlement crisis in this country. Social Security is going bankrupt yet our politicians do nothing to address it. It would be helpful if you proposed solutions rather than attacks.
JBCham,
I’m always impressed how naive folks like you forget or conveniently ignore how quickly the economy was spiraling downward in late 2007 and 2008. But virtually all credible economists credit TARP and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with stabilizing the economy and eventually moving all major economic indicators back in the right direction. Many say we didn’t act soon enough and nearly pulled a Hoover.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/opinion/sunday/dont-tell-anyone-but-the-stimulus-worked.html
Until you acknowledge the benefits of TARP and ARRA, it’s not even worth going down your deficit rathole.
You are crazy – once again, please look at the monthly job chart and tell us Obama didn’t save America from the Bush great Recession – Obama has created 14 million new jobs after Bush had job losses of 800,000 per month in his final days http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xa0D7fyVBz8/Vo-8xLh10YI/AAAAAAAAmN4/BRiFcPw0MmA/s1600/PayrollDec2015.PNG
>> It would be helpful if you proposed solutions rather than attacks
First, quoting history, as in the Bush Great Recession job loss numbers, is not an “attack”
No solutions? You are confusing me with the GOP – which has yet to offer a replacement plan for Obamacare even though they have voted SIXTY times to repeal is and take away health coverage from Americans.
Solutions? Okay…
>> Social Security is going bankrupt
Not entirely factually correct (for example, Social Security has yet to add a dime to the deficit,) but here is a way to fix it, AND EVEN INCREASE BENEFITS: remove the earnings cap on all income, not just the regressive payroll tax on poor and middle income Americans. Currently the cap is somewhere around $115K, iirc
Don’t want to “harm” the poor folk making a couple hundred grand a year? Sure, okay, got ya – have a payroll tax free donut hole on all income between $125K and $400K, after $400K, all income is subject to SS tax.
There. Fixed. Not just now, but forever. Forever, as in, even after the Boomer bubble passes through the system in a couple decades.
Done.
>> yet our politicians do nothing to address it
Bull. Those ARE ideas from politicians (Bern, Warren, Franken, etc..)
Just because you are unaware, or don’t like some ideas, you can’t tell us: “yet our politicians do nothing to address it”
We will. Just get the “do nothing” GOP out of the way. That’s why so many working class Americans are looking at Bern, and God forbid, Trump – they detest the do-nothings.
Back to your ‘broken’ Social Security myth – Give the Dems back the House (by removing all gerrymandered seats, another Dem idea) and we can “fix” Social Security tomorrow.
it is time to grow up and own up to one’s own faults. you can’t keep blaming someone for something that happened many years ago–that is playing the victim card to the hilt. ridiculous. it is very obvious obama has no clue what he is doing and is way over his head. it is clear this country has been heading in the wrong direction now for his seven years. it is time to stop blaming someone else. if it was going in the wrong direction before he took office, he should have been able to fix it by now and get it heading in the right direction–but, instead, we tell lies and have many cover ups–telling everyone how wonderful he is and how the country is hunky dory and what a great job he has done, while we spin out of control and ms. hilary obama wants more of the same– are you kidding??? he is NOT WANTED!!
Stats, Was Tarp successful or not? Depends who you ask. President Bush signed TARP into law on October 8,2008, but much has been written for and against. For example, “Washington Post” columnist Robert Samuelson was quoted by Annie Lowrey, a contributing editor for New York Magazine in a piece she wrote as saying saying on March 27, 2011, “It isn’t often that the government launches a major program that achieves its main goals at a tiny fraction of its estimated costs. That’s the story of TARP.” He called it a “success story.” But Neil Brofsky, the special inspector of the program wrote just the opposite in the New York Times where he called the program a collosal failure and saying “The Treasury Department refused to acknowledge or fix its mistakes.” If you provide me your email address I would be happy to send you Ms Lowrey’s article and we can continue this discussion via email.
Not Wanted, I agree with you completely.
>> it is clear this country has been heading in the wrong direction now for his seven years
So wrong. Demonstrably wrong.
Over FIVE million American jobs lost with the Bush Great Recession from Sept 2008 to April 2009, and then Obama adds MILLIONS and MILLIONS of new jobs.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xa0D7fyVBz8/Vo-8xLh10YI/AAAAAAAAmN4/BRiFcPw0MmA/s1600/PayrollDec2015.PNG
The Bush Great Recession:
September 2008 – 432,000 jobs LOST
October 2008 – 489,000 jobs LOST
November 2008 – 803,000 jobs LOST
December 2008 – 661,000 jobs LOST
January 2009 – 818,000 jobs LOST
. . . Obama inaugurated Jan 21, 2009
February 2009 – 724,000 jobs LOST
March 2009 – 799,000 jobs LOST
April 2009 – 692,000 jobs LOST
May 2009 – 361,000 jobs LOST
June 2009 – 482,000 jobs LOST
July 2009 – 339,000 jobs LOST
August 2009 – 231,000 jobs LOST
September 2009 – 199,000 jobs LOST
October 2009 – 202,000 jobs LOST
Obama policies kick in (despite ZERO help from the GOP) and millions of jobs are created in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
The Obama Derangement Syndrome is strong with our token far-right fringe posters.
One wonders why…… well, not really. We know why.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xa0D7fyVBz8/Vo-8xLh10YI/AAAAAAAAmN4/BRiFcPw0MmA/s1600/PayrollDec2015.PNG
Shall we review inauguration day 2009?
Obama inaugurated while the GOP meets and becomes the Party of NO: the upper echelon of the GOP plots to fight every move the President makes to get America out of the Bush Great Recession.
Ever wondered what a traitor looks like?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/26/democrats-gop-plot-obstruct-obama
—————–
Democrats have rounded on revelations about a private dinner of House Republicans on inauguration day in 2009 in which they plotted a campaign of obstruction against newly installed president Barack Obama.
During a lengthy discussion, the senior GOP members worked out a plan to repeatedly block Obama over the coming four years to try to ensure he would not be re-elected.
The disclosures – described as “appalling and sad” by Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod – undermine Republican claims that the president alone is to blame for the partisan deadlock in Washington.
A detailed account of who was present at the dinner on that January 20 night and the plan they worked out to bring down Obama is provided by Robert Draper in ‘Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the US House of Representatives’, published this week.
In his book, Draper opens with the heady atmosphere in Washington on the days running up to the inauguration and the day itself, which attracted 1.8 million to the mall to witness Obama being sworn in as America’s first black president.
Those numbers contributed to a growing sense of unease among Republicans as much the defeat in the White House race the previous November. The 15 Republicans were in a sombre mood as they gathered at the Caucus Room in Washington, an upscale restaurant where a New York strip steak costs $51.
Attending the dinner were House members Eric Cantor, Jeb Hensarling, Pete Hoekstra, Dan Lungren, Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Pete Sessions. From the Senate were Tom Coburn, Bob Corker, Jim DeMint, John Ensign and Jon Kyl. Others present were former House Speaker and future – and failed – presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and the Republican strategist Frank Luntz, who organised the dinner and sent out the invitations.
—————–
They decided then and there to block any bill that would improve the quality of life for Americans suffering from the Bush Great Recession, for the sole purpose of their political well-being.
They never came up with a GOP jobs bill (other than tax cuts for their billionaire donors.)
Traitors.
This is why the republican working class voter is abandoning the GOP elites for Trump.
I do not blame them. The GOP at the national level is toast. They brought it on themselves.
L&D, You have to stop blaming someone who has been out of office for 7+ years for the predicament in which we, as a nation, find ourselves today. We are a nation of over 300 million people, of which over 90 million are not working in full time employment. We have almost 50 million people on food stamps. We have the lowest labor participation rate since measurements began in 1978. Economists like Professor John Taylor and Professor Edward Lazear have documented that this is the slowest recovery from a recession under any Administration, Democrat or Republican since the Great Depression. The first pass at Q4 2015 GDP (Gross Domestic Product)was reported by the government on Friday at an anemic +0.7%. That shows that our economy is operating barely above recession levels. The fact is the economy is operating well below capacity. Even President Obama acknowledges that. His administration has had seven years to get the economy growing at its potential (The recession was declared over in June 2009)and has not succeeded in doing that. So why don’t you just stop the hating??
>> this is the slowest recovery from a recession under any Administration, Democrat or Republican since the Great Depression
Yes.
It is. And the Bush Great Recession is the worst economic calamity since the Great Recession.
Funny how that works, eh? The two great economic disasters, both from republicans, both cleaned up by Democratic Presidents. Facts are such a tough thing for the fringe righties. Facts, after all, having such a liberal bias. (h/t Stephen Colbert, of course.)
>> So why don’t you just stop the hating??
What has the GOP done to help Americans, other than ask for tax breaks for their billionaire donor class? Were’s the the GOP jobs bill?
That question has been asked several times above and you won’t touch it – who’s the hater, now?
😉
Obama has fought to create 14 million new jobs. Unfortunately, he has also had to fight the GOP, since day one.
It’s been documented. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xa0D7fyVBz8/Vo-8xLh10YI/AAAAAAAAmN4/BRiFcPw0MmA/s1600/PayrollDec2015.PNG and http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/26/democrats-gop-plot-obstruct-obama
The GOP is lost. That’s why working republicans are going to nominate Trump. Trump and 14 bozos (Carson?!?!?) representing the largest and weakest set of candidates in memory. And that may yet be the final nail in the national GOP coffin for our lifetime.
Will you vote for Trump?
Admit it, you will.
And that has gotta HURT. Because you know the GOP has brought this on themselves in their quest to serve their billionaire masters.
Ouch.
😉
*since the Great Recession.
I meant the Great DEPRESSION, of course. As in: The First Republican Great Depression.
L&D,
I do not know where you have worked, but I have never been offered a job by a poor person. You still blame Bush but fail to address our current economic situation. But, unlike you, I do not blame President Obama, rather I blame the economic advisers he appointed. Summers, Romer, Bernstein and Goolsbee all came on board and were totally disloyal to the president. They knew that he was inexperienced and they knew the country faced dire circumstances. But when their initial policies did not work, they cut and ran. And look at the excuses they gave. Summers said he had to leave or he would lose his tenure at Harvard because Harvard only permitted a two year leave of absence or you would lose tenure. Do you really believe Harvard would remove tenure from the head of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers? Come on now! How about Romer. She said she wanted to return to Berkeley and be there for her son’s senior year in high school. At least Bernstein and Goolsbee were honest. They said they wanted to return to academic life. But, bottom line, they were disloyal to the president and their economic policies were not working. The 6+ years of below average, almost stagnant, economic growth that has ensued is testimony to that fact. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own “facts.” So what are your solutions?
Rumors about academics at Harvard? That really gets under your skin? You’ve referenced it several times – in fact you really love whining about Goolsbee, you’ve mentioned him three times!
– vs –
Millions of new jobs since pulling us out of the Bush Great Recession.
You have been asked several times above: what is the GOP plan for jobs (that doesn’t involve tax breaks for their billionaire owners/donors?) You have yet to answer, and you can’t answer it…
… because the GOP doesn’t have a jobs plan. That doesn’t involve tax breaks for their billionaire owners/donors.
The liberal solutions? Well-documented, all you need is google. Start with rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. And establish America as a leader in green technologies and energy. Bring manufacturing back to America. Invest in training and education.
All of which is blocked by the GOP. GOP, the Party of No, the party against the American working class.
What is the GOP plan for jobs (that isn’t just cover for more tax breaks for their billionaire owners/donors?)
(cue more whining about academics and Goolsbee)
Far Right Fringe Poster: “Go Goolsbee! or go home!”
Democrats: “Jobs – Go Big, Create More Jobs and defeat the Party of No”
By your omission, we can also assume you are indeed admitting you will also be voting for Trump.
Priceless.
Voting for the death of the national GOP chances for decades.
Incredible.
Must be tough to sleep tonight, knowing that tomorrow Iowa will make Trump at least 1 or 2 in the state, and he will take NH next week.
Wow.
You take Trump. I’ll take Austan Goolsbee anytime.
L&D, There you go again; making and drawing conclusions without knowledge. I thought L&D stood for Liberal and Democrat. Now I am beginning to think it stands for Lame and Dumb. If you want to provide an incentive to the economy and grow it you have to reward the capital, both human and investment capital used to drive the economy. You reward the human capital (Labor) by allowing workers to keep more of what they earn. Yes, that means lowering tax rates as Presidents Kennedy, Reagan and Bush did. You reward investment capital by allowing it to keep more of the profits from the investments made. That means you lower the capital gains tax rate as President Clinton did. When workers keep more of the money they earn, they will spend some of what they keep and will save some of what they keep thus boosting the economy and providing more jobs and growth. When investment capital keeps more of the profits from the investments made, those profits are reinvesting in the economy providing more jobs and growth. Today we see consumers (labor) not spending (Q4 GDP is evidence of that) and companies not investing. The latest reading on durable goods orders shows that to be the case. Consumers are not spending because wages have stagnated since the mid 1990’s. In addition consumers are still deleveraging after the housing crisis and the subsequent financial crisis. That can be traced back to the passage of the Community Reinvestment Act during the Carter Admission in 1978. From that time on administrations of both parties stressed “home ownership for all.” This led to the corruption at Fannie and Freddie in the mid to late 1990’s, corrupt lending practices and the eventual bursting of the housing bubble. To provide you more knowledge I suggest you read The Big Short by Michael Lewis, Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin or many of the other books written about the financial crisis.
>> Now I am beginning to think it stands for Lame and Dumb.
There ya go. Winning style ya got there. Points for style and intelligence. Been learning from your favorite candidate – Trump?
– Creating jobs and cutting taxes for working Americans is the Democratic way.
– The GOP Way is to cut taxes for the billionaires that own the GOP.
What is the GOP plan for jobs (that isn’t just cover for more tax breaks for their billionaire owners/donors?)
>> that means lowering tax rates as … Reagan … did.
Oh, puhleeezzze. Enough with the Reagan idolization. Reagan raised taxes on working Americans 11 times, including the LARGEST EVER TAX INCREASE on working Americans when he doubled the payroll tax.
Reagan = just another set of tax cuts that favored the billionaire owners of the GOP over working Americans.
Enough with the Reagan idolization, though. He couldn’t get elected as a dog catcher in today’s GOP – he would be decimated in the debates as an amnestying liberal tax hiker who ran away in Beirut and then traded weapons to Iran for hostages!
Poor conservatives and their misguided idolization of phony heroes. Speaking of….
Enjoy the Trump ride over the next week! Your guy is rising in the polls!
How about that Palin endorsement of your guy Trump?
Anytime I get worried that the GOP might actually continue as a national presence, I just youtube the Palin Trump team “speech” (okay, more accurately: “word salad”) and look at his numbers.
You must be so proud!
You get to vote for Trump twice – once in the primary and again in the general.
Beaming with pride about that, aren’t you?
the world is in a beautiful place right now. everyone is happy and enjoying a peaceful life all over the world. everyone is employed and making a good salary. everyone is relaxed and having fun. everyone is telling the truth at all times. oh yes, this must be because of our present administration. it certainly is if you listen to all the propaganda coming out of their mouths.
@JBCham,
Thanks for your offer, but I’ve already done my reading, including numerous articles by Ms. Lowery. By the sound of it, this is the article you are referring to.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/04/final_arguments.html
Despite your characterization of the article as highlighting the failures of TARP, she concludes that TARP was successful re-stabilizing the banks, etc., but didn’t provide as much homeowner relief as intended.
But if you look at hundreds of stories beyond this one, the evidence is overwhelming that TARP pulled us back from the abyss. Once again, you can continue to be a denier of what happened from 2007 to 2012, but that strips your arguments of any merits.
>> it certainly is if you listen to all the propaganda
Please enlighten us to what you consider “propaganda”.
Is it the factual history of the Bush Great Recession costing American jobs at the rate of 800,000 jobs lost per month, or the fact that President Obama stemmed the Bush economic disaster and has created millions of new jobs?
All while being fought tooth and nail by the Party of No? We have much work to do, starting with getting more Americans back to work.
Mr/Ms “NOT WANTED”: please tell us what the Party of No (the GOP) has done to create jobs in the last 7 years. Other than offer tax breaks for the Billionaire Owners of the GOP.
Ironic that all the negativity comes from the Party of No, and posters with names such as “NOT WANTED”.
A perfect, albeit negatively toned, match.
America is a great country, despite all the republicans who insist it is not any longer a great country (unpatriotic nay-sayers!) We have work to do to make it a better country. History has shown it takes a Democrat to do so.
– Recovery from the First Republican Great Depression – Democrats!
– Recovery from the Bush Great Recession – Democrats!
– First budget surplus in our lifetimes? Democrats! (a Clinton, no less!)
And who will “not wanted” vote for?
TRUMP!
One can’t make this up. It would be hilarious were republicans not so unpatriotic.
my bad, I was thinking of the archaic version… thus the ‘current’ reference.
>> dissention (noun). Merriam-Webster’s office dictionary does not list this word at all. My web browser thinks the word is misspelled. However, Merriam-Webster’s website says this is a valid alternative spelling of ‘dissension’.
Have a GREAT day!