Now Playing: Revenge Of The Nerds
Summer is usually associated with vacations to the shore and blockbusters from Hollywood. With summer almost at the close, Governor Mitt Romney has just delivered a blockbuster of his own and brought the upcoming campaign into focus with his selection of Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate.
This provides for an epic battle between the "cool kids" with teleprompters and the "nerds" with calculators over the best way to address two problems facing the nation; improving the economy and taming the federal budget. Now is the time for an adult conversation on the choices voters will have to make on the future direction of our country.
While it may not seem that way, the economy and the budget are interrelated. Over the past several years the budgets presented by President Obama have been rejected by the Senate which is controlled by his own party. His most recent spending plan was voted down by a vote of 99-0. Meanwhile under President Obama, Washington continues to spend a trillion dollars a year more than it takes in and has done so every year since he was sworn in.
The bottom line is that every dollar spent by the federal government is a dollar diverted from productive use by the private sector. Looking at it another way, the dollars kept in the private sector go to build companies like Apple while those taken by Washington go to fund companies like Solyndra and other ventures best described as crony capitalism.
We are borrowing over a trillion dollars a year from the private sector, diverting that money to unproductive activities and then we are left wondering why the economy is not growing. With annual deficits of a trillion dollars for as far as the eye can see and a total national debt larger than our economy, it is time for a realistic plan to that comes to grips with the fact that no government (local, state or federal) can continue to spend more than it takes in.
Congressman Ryan has developed just such a plan to cut spending and balance the budget. There is no doubt his plan will be the subject of much criticism and distortion by Democrats. One criticism we are already hearing is that the Romney/Ryan team and Republicans want to end Social Security and Medicare. The Democrats who make that statement would have you believe that a few loons who talk about ending all entitlements that are not contained "in the Constitution" are somehow representative of the Republican Party. Nothing could be further from the truth.
No sane person in the Republican Party is calling for the end of either program. Claims to the contrary and attempts at demagoguery do nothing more than delay a much needed discussion of the difficult choices we will have to make.
Congressman Ryan has presented a credible plan to solve our fiscal problems in a way that ensures that both Social Security and Medicare will survive and continue to serve those in the middle class that are counting on the programs. As Congressman Ryan has said, “If you are going to criticize then you should propose.” And the position taken by President Obama and Democrats of doing nothing and shouting down any discussion is worse than no proposal - it is an abdication of responsibility. The hard fact is that doing nothing will lead to the ultimate demise of both programs as they are fiscally unsustainable.
It has always been my belief that voters want to be treated like adults and to be told the truth, even when it is not pleasant. The issue between now and November is whether demagoguery or facts will come out on top. While demagoguery often wins the initial battle, I believe that facts and the Romney/Ryan team will ultimately prevail.
Anonymous
7:53 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Thankyou for an intelligent article. I just passed a business that had a poster with the back of Pres Obama showing and said, " We got your back". I wonder at what cost do they have his back. It is not about choosing who we would like to hang out with, it is about choosing someone who can lead us and get us out of debt before we as a country are financially taken over by our lender. We should NEVER be in debt to China or any other communist country. This is too dangerous.
Peter
7:57 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Good article. be prepared for the passive-aggressive internet bully trolls to attack.
Lower Saucon Guy
9:26 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/business/apples-tax-strategy-aims-at-low-tax-states-and-nations.html?pagewanted=all
I don't think Apple was a good example to use in this article, when it comes to how these companies help America. I don't care who is elected President, it will take a long time to fix this country. Anyone who thinks that Romney/Ryan is the answer is also sadly mistaken.
Dean N. Browning
9:55 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Lower Saucon Guy:
Thanks for taking the time to read my article and to comment. I want to respond and say that I specifically picked Apple for several reasons. Two of them are as follows:
• One of the keys to getting wage growth for the middle class is through increased productivity in the workplace. There are countless examples where the use of iPads has decreased the cost of business and made capital available for reinvestment and wage growth.
• A main driver of costs for school districts and local governments is funding requirements for their pension programs. This cost of doing this would have been much greater over the past several years had it not been for the rebound in the stock market since the spring of 2009. A large part of the growth in the S&P 500 and associated index funds used by pension fund managers is due to the increase in value of Apple. Absent that, the money needed by your local government of school district to meet their minimum pension fund obligation would have been significantly higher with that cost passed on to taxpayers.
Again, thanks for your comment and I think I’ll stick with Apple as my example.
Dean Browning
Randy Kroschwitz
10:33 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
A very well written and accurate article. I often wonder where Biden is in all this???
anonymous
10:34 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Well said. Hopefully most voters are mature enough to realize we can't afford 4 more years of the current policies and policy makers. Don't allow scare tactics, horrendously negative advertisements and selective pandering to obscure the fact that Romney/Ryan have a well-reasoned plan and are willing to articulate it. Time to treat government money like it is our own - which it is - cut up the credit cards and live within our means.
slyfox
11:00 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Good article. It's funny though that when you read the Democrat's side you tend to see their view too. Both make a good argument and both have valid points. It's the way the words are twisted. Both sides are a draw.
Now if there was just a way to take a little from here & a little from there, mix it up and wallah! We have an answer that everyone will agree on.
Greg Scheller
11:13 am on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
no wonder the author lost his re-election campaign, in the primary....
Mark
2:39 pm on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Sadly, this article could have been written by the Romney for Pres.committee. The Ryan Plan which was voted for by all but 10 GOP reps does not balance the budget for decades under the best case scenerios. The bottom line is quite simple. Ryan is not a budget hawk, nor is he a fiscal conservative. I'd like the author to explain the following supportive votes by Mr. Ryan and explain his fiscal conservative bon a fides. Medicare Part D, Iraq war, Auto bailouts (twice), TARP. BUsh tax cuts. (Again twice). Not one of these legislative efforts was "paid for" by the congress. To call the Ryan plan "credible." is absurd. While you are at it, explain why the RYan and Romney plans claim to leave Medicare "alone" for everyone under 55? If their plan is so great, why not begin with current retirees? Ah yes, because those over 65 vote in huge numbers and would route the GOP ticket. Once you repeal the ACA, you;ve got deeper problems. The costs of health care dont get addressed and the "vouchers" provide less care and fewer heath services for the aging population. A poorly sourced article with no specifics. Actually much like the Romney campaign so far.
WPB
4:00 pm on Wednesday, August 15, 2012
I was a bit concerned by the title of the article that this was going to be yet another liberal attack on the conservatives. But alas, it was not. Clearly, the lines have been drawn in this campaign, and seeing as how the current liberal administration has done nothing productive, except put our nation so much deeper into debt, and to a communist nation no less, the time has come to reset the system. The liberals always bring out the scare tactics saying how the conservatives will slash and burn all of the social programs - will you people grow up already! Is that all you can rely on? The Ryan plan was a critical look at the problems we're facing and was at least ONE serious approach at solving it. Where is the budget from the Democratically controlled Senate? How many years has it been since they put a budget on the table? Oh, but that's OK, right? This nation has become so divided under Obama that I fear there is no middle ground anymore. He had done more to divide us that any other human being on the planet. But yet, the liberals say how he has brought us all together! Just how many of the "Rose Colored" glasses did they manufacture in China? While I consider myself to be a conservative, I do have an open mind and don't think that every idea the liberals come up with are insane, but unfortunately, we as a nation have become so divided, I see no hope in our future as a unified nation.
Chris Jollay
10:34 am on Thursday, August 16, 2012
Ha, wrote an article on this with a Revenge of the Nerds analogy just the other day...although a little less serious I admit.
You hit the mark in a much more serious way, though!
http://pmands.com/romneys-team-just-got-dangerous/
Crestor Januvia
1:16 pm on Monday, August 20, 2012
Obama must go. Under him, food stamps have exploded, S.S. disability has exploded (this is where people go when unemployment runs out), our debt has exploded, the federal budget has increased by 1.3 trillion dollars per year, the birth rates of the lazy and stupid continue to climb, because you get more free stuff with each new future welfare reciepient you create. The true unemployment rate is 15%. Obama has NO PLAN. His only plan is another stimulus spending program, which is just a temporary payoff to his Union supports in the teachers, fireman and police unions. Remember what happened when the last stimulus ran out? All the state and local governments had to lay people off. Another stimulus program is just a payoff to keep people from getting laid off in the public sector. HE HAS NO PLAN WHATSOEVER FOR ENERGY. Green energy?? He is a dipwad. Green energy doesn't work on any sort of large scale. He has shut down drilling on federal lands... drilling that would create millions of barrels of oil, and 10's of thousands of jobs. He uses executive orders to order various government agencies to NOT uphold the law! Holder is a criminal... pure and simple.
This country is coming ot an end as a world economic power. Obama does NOT have the skill set to fix anything. This is what happens when you elect a president who has never even held a job. CLUELESS. And you are clueless or stupid if you vote for him again.
oficer trolip
1:26 pm on Monday, August 20, 2012
what is the Romney Ryan plan to resolve these issues?
Crestor Januvia
2:25 pm on Monday, August 20, 2012
Crackdown on illegals.. they cost us billions. Scrap Obamacare, the government doesn't do anything well. Reform medicare, by creating competition, which drives down prices. Cut employees on the government payroll. Can all the stupid regulations that make it too costly to do business in the U.S. and force jobs overseas where they pollute unabated. Start drilling everywhere in the U.S. to move to energy independence. Start to exploit the coal we have, and increase fracking. Cut the people on food stamps... get them off their lazy asses. Stop giving welfare breeding sows more money with each new kid. Lower corporate tax rates so companies, LIKE APPLE (darling of the liberals) will bring back the BILLIONS of dollars they keep overseas to avoid his U.S. corporate taxes. Stand up for Israel and take on Iran so we can have stability in the Middle East, which helps oil prices as well. Stop sending billions to states that are NOT taking on their own fiscal problems, like Ca. and NY. Appoint a real attorney general who will enforce the laws for EVERYBODY, not just when minorities have an issue. NOT sell guns to Mexican drug lords. Stop listening to the president of that dump called Mexico tell us how to run our country. Build the pipeline from Canada to the gulf coast. Enough?
Mark
10:10 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
I dont think you've left out any of the GOP or FOX talking points. It's obvious that you have a deep resentment and hatred for several groups of people,least of all, hispanics. So besides being a racist and a fool, I cant think of anything substantive that you add to the discourse.