The Freedom Factory

GOP officials say banks and autos should fail, 12,000 troops to leave Iraq in 6 months, Obama ponders outreach to Taliban, U.S. ponders troops commitments to fight drug cartels in Mexico, 30 ‘Taliban Gang’ members arrested in Bay Area, banks that shunned bailout question why they’re paying for their competitors’ mistakes? Just the latest in your Freedom Under Fire Report! Continue Reading

I recently received this letter and thought it did a great job deciphering campaign rhethoric, getting to the underlying truth behind the Republican and Democratic candidates policy proposals. Please feel free to comment as this is a running discourse with a concerned voter:

To all Registered Voters,

I come to you with honest, humble, and most sincere urgency that you consider very heavily your choice for the next president of the United States of America. I am an aerospace engineering graduate from Illinois who has a voting record that includes both Barack Obama and George W Bush. I was born and raised in America, I’ve lived abroad, and I have observed this election with an open mind from the beginning. Now, I feel it is my duty to weigh in on this most crucial juncture in American History.

I think the past 8 years have created a demand for the highest caliber of candidate, and what we are seeing now are two talented, respectable men honestly working to better the future of our country. Senators Obama and McCain agree in principle on some fundamental social and ideological issues (climate change, affordable health care, competition in education, etc) And while I hold them both in the highest regards for their positions on those issues, their difference on the economy is enormous, and I ask you to please consider the impact of their respective tax plans.

Let me present all the facts. I think the clearest summary of your PERSONAL income tax under both candidates is outlined by a graph in the Washington Post (which has endorsed Senator Obama):

In summary, John McCain will cut all personal income tax rates. Fact. Barack Obama will cut personal income tax rates for 95% of citizens’ (i.e. all individuals making less than $250,000 per year.) and will drastically increase tax rates for those in higher income brackets. Fact. And yes, most of you reading this, (me included) will receive a slightly larger personal income tax cut under Obama. (This is before you consider the $5000 health care tax credit McCain would give you and the larger capital gains taxes Obama would institute.) In either case, if you are reading this you are probably going to get an income tax cut under Obama or McCain.

However, these are only their plans for personal income tax. Taxes have far greater economic impact than just what you and I bring home each month. Please consider CORPORATE tax rates. Senator McCain has for a long time argued that the highest US corporate tax rate be lowered from 35 to 25 percent. Barack Obama proposes to let that rate rise back to the 39.5 percent rate from before the Bush tax-cuts.

Many argue that McCain is pandering to greedy, wealthy American corporations, but let me clarify this point. Obama supporters argue that he is for ‘American job creation.’ However, I argue Obama’s plan will destroy American jobs. Our current corporate taxes are the second highest in the world. Obama’s tax hike for business would make companies in many US states more taxed than anywhere in the world.

Having lived in Europe for almost two years and traveled extensively in Europe and Asia-Pacific, I still argue that America is the most attractive place to live and do business. Low cost of living versus high quality of life is better than almost anywhere else I’ve been. However, there are a LOT of great places to live in this world. London, Singapore, and Hong Kong all offer high living standards, and America is not alone in this Global marketplace. In order to keep high-paying jobs in America, it has to make sense for companies to do business here.

Let’s consider an example of this non-isolated, global economy. Consider New York under Rudy Giuliani. New York became one of the most desirable places to live as a result of two key steps. 1) Thousands of police were added to combat crime. 2) This was paid for by lowering taxes in New York City.

How does this make sense? By lowering the cost of doing business in NYC, companies flocked to an environment where they could operate more efficiently and grow their business. As a result, New York experienced a tax revenue increase despite a tax rate decrease.

On the other hand, Obama’s tax hikes would distort the distribution of labor and drive corporations to other places. ALL CORPORATIONS are accountable to their share holders to be profitable. That is not greed, that is business. Competition demands that they make sound business decisions, and under the Obama plan, that decision for many will be to get out of Dodge.

So Obama says he for redistribution of wealth. Unfortunately, he is going to inadvertently redistribute American wealth to other countries that have learned from America’s pro-business policies of the past century.

This is a critical point to understand. Driving coprorate headquarters overseas will not increase the average salary in America or keep the American economy strong. However, a lower corporate tax environment in America would lead to more job openings here. With jobs that need to be filled, companies are willing to pay workers more because they can still save money in the long run and be profitable for their shareholders by doing business in America.

In this most critical of economic times, it is imperative that America remain a competitive place for GLOBAL business. Both candidates will put more money in the hands of consumers, but Obama will penalize economic success and stifle job growth. For all his ‘worldly’ experience, I had hoped this simple concept is something the freshman senator from Illinois for whom I once voted understands. However, rest assured that I will not vote for him again.

Regardless of your political affiliation, please pass this message along to any and all voters you know.
Sincerely,
Adam Gorski

P.S. For a full review of the facts I mention above, please read a review like the that from the Brookings Institute: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/411693_CandidateTaxPlans.pdf or visit the candidates’ websites:

http://www.barackobama.com

http://www.johnmccain.com

However you decide, please make an informed decision. I’m happy to discuss this with anyone.

With the 2008 presidential elections less than a month off it’s time to step up the research into each candidate’s proposed policy platforms. Regardless of ideology, conviction, and personal preference on one candidate over another, it’s imperative to fully understand what you’re going to get when you vote for a new president. This is the first of several policy analyses that should shed some light onto each candidate’s position. Continue Reading

Government works a certain way. When it comes lobbying the general principal is that political action groups comprised of various interests donate funds to campaigns that promise favorable legislative agendas. What this means is that we can go beyond the rhetoric and evaluate future policy likelihood based on campaign contributions. When it comes to healthcare, Barack Obama holds a significant lead over rival John McCain, so can we really expect reform regardless of who wins?

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“I’ve been trying … to think of a way to illustrate how big a trillion is. The best that I could come up with is that if you had a stack of $1000 dollar bills in your hand only four inches high, you would be a millionaire. A trillion dollars would be a stack of $1000 dollar bills 67 miles high.”

Ronald Regan said this quote in 1981 to help people visualize the size of the national debt, which was approaching $1 trillion.   By comparison, the $700 billion bailout would be a stack of $1000 dollar bills 44 miles high.

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Political and community leaders around the U.S. weigh in.

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! Chickens need hope for their future, and I’ll give it to them!

JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We need to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not.  The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of crossing?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed t he road because he’s guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmers Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad?  Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can’t you people see the plain truth? That’s why they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like  the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It’s as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road.  Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

The Wall Street Journal published an articletoday describing Senator John McCain’s energy platform. The underlying theme is that markets should be permitted to function naturally, while government involvement should be relegated to longer term alternative investment, primarily in nuclear and clean-coal. He is also for expanded access to domestic oil reserves through off-shore drilling, while keeping the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off limits. To his credit, McCain takes a principled (and logical) stance against federal subsidization of corn ethanol, wind, and solar alternatives. Considering the power the ethanol lobby has maintained in Washington over the last thirty years, this open opposition is courageous.