Associated Press: Mark Smith- 'President Obama Plans Major Jobs/Debt Speech'

Source:Associated Press- President Barack H. Obama (Democrat, Illinois) talking about the American economy, in Atkinson, Illinois.

"President Barack Obama is reportedly readying a major address next month to outline a broad, new initiative to attack sluggish job growth -- and the nation's long-term debt. (Aug. 17)" 

From the Associated Press

Now that President Obama has finally put the debt ceiling debate behind him and round one of deficit reduction is finished as well, it's time for the President to focus on the bad economy and putting people back to work. Especially with the Republican primaries coming up with all of the Republican candidates putting their attention on the President and the economy. And trying to put or keep the President on the defensive, which is what Republicans have done a very good job of this summer. 

It's time for President Obama to punch back and become a counterpuncher. (To use a boxing analogy) But counterpunch in a way to take the momentum back put the Republican Party, especially the House GOP Leadership on the defensive and bring them to the table to talk about actual job creation and not just deficit reduction. 

President Obama doesn't have to be the chief partisan for the Democratic Party, something he's not that good at and very comfortable in the first place. But to put ideas on the table in a package that he sends up to Congress and at least forces the Republican House to respond to it and maybe offer a counter proposal. And something that the Democratic Senate would take up and at least force the Senate GOP Leadership to try to block it. 

But for this to happen President Obama needs a job plan thats real and not just about goals but about solutions that focus's on putting people back to work and can do this in several areas that would not only benefit the economy but help him achieve is goal of deficit reduction in as the President says in a balance approach. That encourages economic growth that would lead to job growth that would put people back to work. That would help bring down our debt and deficit with more people spending money and paying taxes and collecting less public assistance, but instead paying into these social insurance programs which would make them easier to finance in the future. 

We'll never pay down our debt and deficit or bring them under control, without strong economic and job growth with wages going up substantially. What I believe the President should focus on in his jobs package is infrastructure spending to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. With a National Infrastructure Bank, the Senate already has a bipartisan bill to accomplish this. A Comprehensive national energy policy that would promote all of our natural resources, creating new strong energy industries that would lead to well paid jobs just like with a NIB. Tax cuts to encourage spending in the economy, 

I believe the main reason for our weak economic and job growth right now is because of the lack of consumer spending. And something like a payroll tax cut could help with this and then more help for the long-term unemployed. Assistance for then to go back to school and get retrained to get a job in another field, as well as tax credits to business' that hire these people. Like allowing business's to deduct the first year of these workers salary's from their taxes. And then pass the three trade deals that are stuck in Congress, Central America, Columbia, and Korea. 

For the President to get reelected, he has to focus on the economy and put all of his attention there, not just for the sake of his reelection but the country as well. And hoping that the economy gets better in time for Election Day 2012 won't get it done. He needs a plan to make this happen instead.

VOA News: 'Population Reflects Economic Woes in One US Town'

Source:VOA News- Welcome to Gary, Indiana.

"Voice of America (VOA) is a state-controlled international television and radio network funded by the U.S. federal tax budget. It is the largest U.S. international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content in 47 languages which it distributes to affiliate stations around the globe. It is primarily viewed by foreign audiences, so VOA programming has an influence on public opinion abroad regarding the United States and its people.[1]

VOA was established in 1942,[2] and the VOA charter (Public Laws 94-350 and 103-415)[3] was signed into law in 1976 by President Gerald Ford.

VOA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, an independent agency of the U.S. government.[4] Funds are appropriated annually by Congress under the budget for embassies and consulates. In 2016, VOA broadcast an estimated 1,800 hours of radio and TV programming each week to approximately 236.6 million people worldwide with about 1,050 employees and a taxpayer-funded annual budget of US$218.5 million." 

From Wikipedia 

"The city of Gary, Indiana, was founded in 1906 by the head of the United States Steel Corporation, Elbert H. Gary.  U.S. Steel continues to operate a massive plant along the shores of Lake Michigan, though a dramatic loss of jobs in the steel industry over several decades has brought economic hardship and blight to a once prospering city.  But regional development initiatives are bringing some hope to a town that needs a boost." 

From VOA News

If you look at Gary, Indiana from the outside you might believe Gary is just another victim of the Great Recession. But if you look at it closer, you'll see that Gary was a major city just 10-15 years ago of over 100,000 people just outside of Chicago, a huge city of around 3,000,000 people. And back in the 1960s Gary was a city of 175,000 people bigger than Green Bay, Wisconsin which of course is home to a famous NFL franchise. 

But why has Gary lost more than half of its population, like Detroit? Gary doesn't have much diversity in its economy: the Steel Industry employed most of its workforce fifty years ago. But they've now downsized and use new technology to do a lot of their work and don't need has many people to do those jobs. And as a result of this as well as Gary's extreme crime rates, the most dangerous city in America per- capita at one point if not today. People have moved out of Gary to make a better life, leaving Gary with the problems to deal with on their own, with half of its population and half of its resources if less. 

Gary to me represents in a lot of ways the rest of the country that is struggling not just the Midwest. And why as a country we need to literally rebuild our country. We have crumbling infrastructure, we don't sell enough of our own products to other countries and we don't produce enough of our own energy. Even though we have all the resources that we need if not more than anyone else in the world to do all of these things much better then we are doing them. To again make our country the dominant economy in the world and for us to be prosperous going forward. 

We simply just have to do it by putting our people to work to do these things. Imagine an America with great infrastructure, that was energy independent and could sell all of its products in foreign markets, that paid its bills and didn't pile up debt: thats not a sweet dream but a strong possibility. We simply just have to do this. 

We have three trade deals stuck in Congress right now that would help with this: Central America, Columbia, and Korea. We have a bipartisan bill in the Senate that would create an Independent non-profit corporation that would I believe would still be own by the Federal Government they just wouldn't run it. 

A National Infrastructure Bank that would be self-financed through the private sector. That would prioritize our infrastructure projects in America. And then gather investors in the private sector to invest in these infrastructure projects and then hire private companies to do the work. This would create alone hundreds of thousands of jobs in the private sector not public sector jobs. Good ,well-paid jobs that this country badly needs. 

We also have all the natural resources that we need and then some, we should be exporting our natural resources as well, to become energy independent. We just need a national energy policy to get it started. 

Gary, Indiana represents what a lot of the country is going through as we are struggling just to recover from the Great Recession and just get back on our feet as a country. But Gary also represents a lot of the potential of America that we just need to unleash and let take off and watch our economy become great again.

A&E: Intervention- 'Episode 80: Angelina'

Source:Intervention Directory- Angelina Pivarnickm being profiled on Intervention.

"When Angelina was eight, her family grew apart over an argument about money. Her mother turned to prescription drugs and cocaine to deal with the stress. After graduating from high school, Angelina became her younger brother’s legal guardian, but she was overwhelmed by the job of taking care of her brother and addict mother. Angelina became addicted to OxyContin and spent her trust fund of $350,000 on the drug. Then Angelina turned to cheaper drugs and heroin to support her habit." 

From A&E 

Drug addicts who are just drug addicts and not professional criminals who literally hurt society to survive in life, aren't criminals in the sense that they represent a threat to society, other then that some of them steal in order to support their drug habit, whether its heroin, cocaine, meth. (To use as examples) 

All drug addicts want to do is to feed their habit to continue to use those drugs and if that means stealing money or items to sell, then they'll do that. It's not really drug addicts that we as a society should be concern with, but drug dealers who sell cocaine, heroin and meth, as well as of course murderers, terrorists, rapists, batterers, etc, people who represent a major threat to society. 

But if you get drug addicts off of their addiction, then they can move on with their lives and be productive citizens, even help other drug addicts get off of their addiction. Prisons are for people who are a threat to society that need to be in prison so they can't hurt other people These people are criminals and in a lot of cases are professional criminals who need to be in prison. And in a lot of cases when they get sent to prison, it's not their first experience as an inmate. 

But drug addicts are patients perhaps even mental patients, people with a mental condition who can't get satisfied doing the thing that they are addicted to. And in drug addicts case keep using those drugs until it really messes them up or worse. But if you give them help with their addiction and get them off of the drug or drugs they are addicted to, then they can be fine healthy people again living productive lives but not while they are addicted to drugs. 

Prisons are meant for criminals, not patients. Drug rehab is meant for drug addicts where they can get the help that they need to get off of their addiction. And one of the reasons why we've spent trillions of dollars on the so-called War on Drugs, is because we keep locking up drug addicts. Letting them out and then locking them up again for the same crime, repeating the cycle of addiction over and over. 

So what would I do in the War on Drugs: first, decriminalize marijuana with regulation and taxation and treat it like alcohol. Because it represents the same threat as alcohol if not less of a threat. And then use some of those resources to prosecute drug dealers and keeping heroin, cocaine and meth out of the country in the first place. 

Then instead of sending drug addicts to prison, force them into drug rehab instead at private facilities that they would pay for and stay there until their doctor feels they are clean. And then send them to a halfway house where they can get help transitioning back into life with a job and place to live. That again they would pay for. And then transfer all drug offenders who are in prison for either drug use or drug possession, that have good prison records, into drug rehab and then they could leave drug rehab again when their doctor feels they are clean. 

The whole so-called War on Drugs has been a stupid and insane failure that never had to happen in the first place. If it was just fought in an intelligent way to begin with treating drug addicts the same as drug dealers, is like treating thieves the same as murderers. These are different level of crimes and criminals that should be treated differently. That would be an intelligent way to fight the so-called War on Drugs.

American Drug War: 'Prop 5: Do Sick People Deserve Drug Treatment or Jail Time?'

 

Source:American Drug War- One of the inmates interviewed for this documentary.

"Proposition 5 will cut state costs. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst estimates those savings at $2.5 billion or more. Prop. 5 safely eases prison overcrowding by investing in drug treatment - which costs much less than prison - for youth and nonviolent offenders. Prop. 5 provides treatment with strict accountability.

Prop. 5 is supported by the League of Women Voters of California, Consumer Federation of California, California Nurses Association, California Society of Addiction Medicine, California Federation of Teachers - and many others.

Prop. 5 is opposed by the state prison guards' union, which has contributed almost $2 million for deceptive TV ads. Prison guards benefit from prison overcrowding and new prison building, but California loses.

This video has been brought to you by:American Drug War and Drug War Coalition." 

From the American Drug War

Whatever your view on drug criminalization or the broader so-called War on Drugs and you are sensible, you probably agree that the so-called War on Drugs that was started forty years ago isn't working and has even failed, all you have to do is look at the facts. 

Today in 2011 we have more drug offenders per capita if you take in consideration that are population has 100M people or more in 2011 than in 1971. Narcotics are available more today than they were in 1971, we now have 2M people in prison today, with hundreds of thousands of those inmates being in prison for drug use or drug possession. As well as a lot of these drug offenders being addicts or severe addicts and do their time in prison as addicts and if anything their condition gets worse. And they get new charges in prison for drug related offenses, even though they aren't a threat to anyone. 

Now possessing or selling drugs in prison, is obviously a serious offense that has to be appropriately dealt with. But addicts feeding their habit is not a threat to anyone other than themselves. And if they just had gotten help for their drug addiction instead of punishment, they probably wouldn't be in prison in the first place and taking up space for a dangerous offenders who needs to be there in prison for the good of society. 

Richard Nixon did a lot of bad things as President, most of them relating to his character and paranoia, like the illegal wiretapping and the Watergate coverup (to use as examples) but the worst thing he did as President as far as policy, was launching the so-called War on Drugs and treating drug addicts and drug dealers as equals throwing them both in prison and forty years later and a couple trillion dollars later, we've paid a heavy price for it, money that could've been used on a lot of other things, like getting people off of narcotics and helping them with their addiction. 

Prison has a place for drug dealers, people who sell cocaine, heroin, and meth. Law enforcement can play a big role here in getting drug dealers off the street and keeping those three narcotics out of the country in the first place. 

The good news is we have a lot of positive alternatives to the traditional so-called War on Drugs that has failed, its hard to find anyone anymore who's credible who'll say the traditional so-called War on Drugs has been a success. If you want drug addicts off of narcotics indefinitely, you do that by collapsing the narcotics market. This is where law enforcement can actually play a positive role by getting heroin, cocaine and meth dealers off the street and into prison. 

We should be working with our North American allies to keep these narcotics out of the country in the first place. Then you get drug addicts off of narcotics and help them with their addiction with drug rehab and send them to drug rehab. As well as transferring non-violent drug addicts who are just in prison for drug use and have good prison records, to drug rehab instead of prison. 

The drug addicts would pay for their drug addiction, not tax payers so this program would pay for itself. And once they've successfully complete their drug rehab, get them into halfway houses to help them back on their feet and independent. 

We have now forty years of experience to know what not to do in the so-called War on Drugs. Someone intelligent once said the definition of insanity, is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Which is exactly why our so-called War on Drugs is insane and has failed and why need to bring sanity to this issue. And why it's time for a different approach.

Associated Press: President Obama- 'On Economy: Things Will Get Better'

Source:Associated Press- President Barack H. Obama (Democrat, Illinois) talking about the American economy.

"President Barack Obama is welcoming the latest jobs report as encouraging, saying 'things will get better.' At the same time, Obama says the economy isn't producing enough jobs and says that must be corrected. (Aug. 5)" 

From the Associated Press

170,000 jobs created in July is definitely a hell of a lot better than the 18,000 jobs created in June. And 9.1% unemployment is at least technically better than 9.2% unemployment. But for the unemployment rate to get down to a more desirable level that can be managed, where the economy looks like its clearly improving, we need to be creating hundreds of thousands of jobs per month.

We need to create 170K plus jobs every month actually get closer to 200K jobs per month or more to seriously bring down unemployment. Thats going to take economic growth and 1.5% ain't going to get that done. We need to be around 4% or better and for that to happen people need to feel confident about spending money and have the money to spend in order to create demand so business's are making enough money where they actually need additional employees to fill new jobs to meet the new demand. And this won't happen sitting around and waiting for it to happen. 

The White House and Congress need to pass legislation to help accomplish this since they just reached an agreement to start paying down our debt and deficit. They need to pass legislation to to help our hurting manufacturing industry and we start making and selling things again and the work is done by Americans. And they can start by passing the three trade deals that are currently stuck in Congress and get our products sold in Central America, Columbia, and Korea. That would be the quickest and most effective thing they can do. 

Congress should also pass an infrastructure bill like a National Infrastructure Bank which would get our infrastructure projects up and running and cut some red tape through Congress as well as the Administration. This bill already has bipartisan support in Congress with Senator Kerry and Senator Hutchison authors of this bill. Because this would be an independent agency of the Federal Government. That would raise these funds through the private sector attracting investors and then hiring the company's to do the work. 

And then energy: let's eliminate corporate welfare for big oil and gas in exchanged for allowing them and alternative energy industries have more access in the country to produce American energy in America and hire Americans to do these jobs this is something we should've been doing all along but there is not better time then now to get started. 

Today's unemployment record looks a lot better than it did in June and May obviously just because of the fact that a lot more jobs were created. And it looks more like April and March when we were in the 100K plus jobs created area. But this is just one positive jobs report and there's still a tone left to be done but we can accomplish it.

The White House: 'President Obama Delivers a Statement on Debt Compromise'

Source:The White House- President Barack H. Obama (Democrat, Illinois) talking about the debt deal that was reached with Congress.

"President Obama delivers a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House on the debt compromise passed by both houses of Congress to reduce the deficit and avert a default that would have devastated our economy. August 2, 2011." 

From The White House

Again, I think people across the political spectrum all the way on the Far-Right all the way over to the Far- Left agree this isn't a perfect deal. (Maybe the only thing they agree on.) It's exactly what a compromise looks like, both sides gave in. Republicans got their budget cuts but they also had to cut defense and weren't able to get entitlement reform. Democrats got defense cuts, an eighteen month extension in the debt ceiling and were able to prevent entitlement cuts. But they weren't able to close tax loopholes or get tax hikes on the wealthy. 

But this is just what round one of what deficit reduction looks like. What I would like to see in round two is tax hikes on the wealthy, closing tax loopholes, and overall tax reform that broadens the base and lowers rates. But none of the reforms will make a damn bit of difference if we don't get the economy growing again where we have enough economic and job growth to bring down our unemployment rate by putting people to work. 

For America to get back to strong economic growth, we need to be growing at around 4% GDP and to do that we should first not make the problem worst then it already is which is already happening. With the FAA Shutdown we need to put those people back to work and building more infrastructure at airports and other things. That represents around 100,000 well paid six figure jobs that we can't afford to lose in this economy. 

Another way to improve the economy is with free trade, there are three trade deals stuck in Congress right now that neither the House or Senate has acted on. Which is a bipartisan problem that the President is probably going to have to resolve and he can't to that by waiting too late in the fourth quarter before getting in the game. This problem is around TAA (or Trade Adjustment Assistance) which helps people who were laid off because their job was sent oversees and is not coming back. And it helps them get retrained to get a job in another field. 

The President and Congressional Democrats are in favor of TAA and Congressional Republicans are against it because they see it as Welfare or something and believe is too expensive. What the President and Congress should really be doing is rebuilding our manufacturing and construction industries, not by running them obviously but creating incentives for them to produce. And turn the phrase: "Make it in America" into an economic policy and not just a phrase. 

A National Infrastructure Bank which already has bipartisan support in the Senate and has the President behind it, would be a great first step in doing this. A National Infrastructure Bank would essentially be an independent non-profit organization that would go around the country and to see where we need infrastructure repairs and expansion. roads, bridges, airports, schools, waterways and would raise the money in the private sector to accomplish this with investors. And then hire company's to do the work and they would get the employees to do the work. 

The beauty of a National Infrastructure Bank is that it would be self-financed, just needing 10B$ in startup capital it could get from the Small Business Administration or something. And then it would also be independent of the Federal Government, they wouldn't have to run it. Liberal Democratic Senator John Kerry and and Conservative Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (the Ranking Member on the Commerce Transportation Committee) already have a bipartisan bill to accomplish this. 

The debt deal is a solid not great first step in getting our debt and deficit under control by starting to pay it down, but it's just round one. Round two should be about entitlement reform, tax reform, and finally getting the economy moving again and putting people back to work. Which would be easiest and best way to pay down our debt and deficit.

Associated Press: Jerry Bodlander- 'Congress Plans Votes on Deal to Prevent Default'

Source:Associated Press- the 2011 debt ceiling agreement, also known as the Budget Control Act.

"Both houses of the U.S. Congress were lining up votes Monday on a bitterly fought agreement with President Barack Obama to raise the limit on U.S. borrowing and forestall an unprecedented American default. (Aug. 1)" 

From the Associated Press

Well my fellow American voters and Democrats who didn't bother voting in the 2010 mid-term elections, this is what divided government looks like. This is certainly not my idea of how we should raise the debt ceiling and pay down our debt and deficit. 

I have my own plan thats on this blog site, but with this plan we'll be able to raise the debt ceiling, avoid default and start to pay down our debt and deficit and extend the debt ceiling for eighteen months so Congress can, I don't know move on to other issues. Just in case there's a snowballs chance in hell, that the debt ceiling, debt, and deficit aren't the only issues facing America and I would be able to I don't know, blog about other things, which I did the last two days. 

This blog site is called FRSFreeState not The Fiscal Times which is another real publication. And a big part of my blog is blogging about defending liberal democracy and fiscal policy is just a component of that. Economic and gob growth to use as examples, which would also help contribute to bringing down the debt and deficit should be next on the agenda. 

This deal pays down the debt and deficit without slashing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. There are no tax hikes on the wealthy or closing tax loopholes in this deal which is something I would've liked to see, where we could've raised 100-200B$ a year alone in deficit reduction alone without hurting anyone. 

There are also no tax hikes on the middle class as well which is good. This is a cut only debt reduction and debt ceiling deal but there's also budget cuts in defense as well, something like 100B$ a year. Either right away or in the next few months with the brand new bipartisan debt commission. Another commission that apparently can do the work that Congress is supposed to be able to do on its own, which is part of their job. And the fact they haven't don't their job, is a big reason why we are here today. It's harder to find a more overpaid group of people than the 535 Members of Congress, but perhaps thats a different post. 

Round one looks like is about budget cuts including in the bloated Defense Department and getting the debt ceiling off the agenda for at least eighteen months, which is a big deal in itself. 

Round two will be about tax reform and closing tax loopholes that are way too expansive that we can't afford and ending corporate welfare. As well as entitlement reform that doesn't hurt anyone who actually needs those programs. 

This is what divided government looks like folks, if you don't like it, I suggest you bother to vote the next time you get a chance. And vote for people who don't take the attitude: "My way, or the highway!" As well as getting involved in the political process. And work for candidates that wouldn't allow a situation like this to happen in the first place. And wouldn't risk putting the country in default if they don't get everything they want. 

With a Democratic President and Democratic Senate, we have a deal that doesn't slash entitlement programs and actually includes the Defense Department in deficit reduction. And in round two will get tax reform that closes expensive tax loopholes and corporate welfare and reforms entitlement programs in a way that doesn't hurt people who actually needs them.