LAR: The destructiv
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March 7, 2012 Study: After receiving government subsidies, a single parent making just $20,000 a year makes more than a recent college graduate starting at $39,900. The famous ad campaign asking Americans to "Give a hoot and don't pollute" featured a barred owl named "Woodsy." Now that owl's likeness is in danger due to environmental regulations. Obama looked unprepared, ill-advised, and frankly just completely inadequate. Advocates for the West has adopted a shrewd and carefully calibrated legal strategy that has prevented such oil giants as ConocoPhillips and Imperial Oil from sending truckloads of heavy equipment through Idaho and Montana and into Alberta where it will be used to extract crude oil from the oil sands. The destructive web of government welfare By Rebekah Rast  A hypothetical single mother of two lives in Virginia and brings home $20,000 a year after the government takes out Social Security and other state and federal deductions. However, because of her low income she is able to collect Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), food stamps, Medicaid/SCHIP and Section 8 housing. In another scenario a recent college graduate is fortunate enough to find a job and makes a starting salary of $39,900. Who makes more money — the single mother or the recent college graduate? If you guessed the single mom, you're right. With her income less taxes plus subsidies, she brings home just about $40,000, according to economist Clifford Thies. When applying Thies research that the relationship of earned income and after-tax income plus subsidies is basically flat from $0 to $40,000, it paints a grim picture for today's working class. During the fourth quarter of 2011 median weekly earnings for full time wage and salary workers in the U.S. was $764 — a yearly salary equal to $39,728. This means those who make this median amount or less essentially have less spending power than those who make a much lower salary and live off the government's myriad welfare programs. How can this be? It's simple really, when you consider that there are about 70 means-tested welfare spending programs overlapping in the U.S. today. These means-tested programs have nothing to do with Social Security, or other entitlement programs. Though they phase out as income increases, they keep people dependent on the government — even when they don't want to be. They also discourage workers from moving up the ranks or from finding a job at all. You see, someone making less than $40,000 a year might be penalized for accepting a raise or agreeing to work more hours because it might result in a much smaller personal budget. When low-income Americans move up in the tax code, they don't just face a higher tax bracket, they also see their government benefits begin to disappear. Unfortunately for many, it economically makes more sense to stay at their current level and turn down that raise or extra hours of work. This government trap ensures that the poor in America stay poor. Get full story here. Give A Hoot And Don't Let The Government Shoot The Barred Owl! Video by Frank McCaffrey  Get permalink here. Obama attempts to distract from Super Tuesday with a puppet show By Rebecca DiFede  Is Obama smarter than a fifth grader? If you saw his less-than-impressive nationally televised press conference (his first in five months), you might not think so. At 1:15pm yesterday, with a nation on baited breath, our illustrious president took the stage in the Brady Press Briefing Room. And for the next forty-five minutes he proceeded to say… Nothing. Hardly anything of substance was uttered for the entirely of the affair. It was actually kind of boring. It was as if Obama was a lost tourist and native people were asking him how to get to the nearest McDonalds. It was as if, in an attempt to avoid scorn from Republicans for possibly making a mistake, our Commander in Chief stumbled his way through a nearly indistinguishable series of "buts" "ums" and "uhs" in response to the barely sophomoric questions posed to him by the press. His questions wouldn't give a kindergartener a second thought, and yet he reacted like Forrest Gump in a police interrogation. He seemed confused by the mere fact that spoken words were being uttered in his direction, and his inability to speak a cohesive sentence was Muppet-level ridiculous. Guess he's not so smooth without his trusty teleprompter. His hands were practically shaking with withdrawal. This hilariously unscripted conference was supposed to show that the President was taking an initiative to be held accountable for his actions and promises, and hopefully be asked some questions that would require, oh, I don't know, a complete rational thought. Hard questions that Americans want answers to such as "what is your response to calls for the resignations of your recess appointees?" or "what are your plans regarding new forms of energy in light of the bankruptcies of taxpayer-subsidized green energy companies like Solyndra and Ener1?" were dropped, in favor of vague softball questions lightly tossed in his direction. The rage and despair Americans are experiencing in this economy was glazed over like a bump in the road to re-securing the White House. Instead, he was asked several similarly worded questions about Israel and their possible war with Iran, a quick Super Tuesday plug where all Obama did was sarcastically wish Romney luck, and a few other assorted time wasters. And when he was finally asked a question centered on gas prices, he danced around the issue like an out-of-time vaudeville performer. Get full story here. Green Pressure Groups Poised to Shut Down Production Even if Keystone Pipeline is Approved By Kevin Mooney  Transcanada, the Canadian firm behind the project, has announced that will move forward with plans to construct the portion of the pipe running from Cushing, Okla., to Port Arthur, Texas. TransCanada has also made it clear that will continue to apply for a federal grant from the U.S. to allow for the section that would cut across the U.S. and Canada. The company should expect to encounter stiff opposition. The overriding purpose of the pipeline is to transport oil from the tar sands in Canada to the Gulf Coast refineries. With America's military fighting terrorists in politically unstable and faraway regions of the world and rogue states like Iran and North Korea building their nuclear arsenals, the benefits here of having a safe, secure and reliable source of oil close to home should be evident. Green groups are working to turn public opinion in the U.S. and Canada against the production of crude oil extracted from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada. And they are succeeding. Bill Wilson, President of Americans for Limited Government noted, "It is absurd that Obama and his allies seemingly put every interest above our national security interest." Get full story here. |
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