ALG's Daily Grind - The Sudden, Stunning Reversal of Economic Freedom in America

Sept. 25, 2012

The Sudden, Stunning Reversal of Economic Freedom in America

And the toll it is exacting on our nation.

Obama's Blunders: Disability and Other Gov't Assistance

It seems too many people are turning to the government for help. Now we find out that too many people are scamming for government disability.

Penguins and the global warming scam

If Antarctica is cooling, how can penguins be endangered by "warming"?

New York Sun: The Fed's credibility gap

"It is a moment to remember, too, how fast Bretton Woods fell when it fell. It wouldn't surprise us if the long, sad experiment with fiat money ended as swiftly."

AFPNH - The Fight for Economic Prosperity Continues in Concord

Granite State Gatherings February 8 – Smart Girl Politics Meet-Up at the Draft in Concord at 6PM. February 8 – Kevin Smith at Belknap County GOP Meeting at Shang Hai Restaurant in Laconia at 6:30PM. Click here for more information. February 9 – Kevin Smith at NRCC Monthly Meeting at Crowne Plaza in Nashua at 6:30PM. Click here for more information. February 11 – Rye Republican Town Committee Meeting at Rye Public Library at 9AM. Click here for more information. February 11 – PBVRC Lincoln-Reagan Dinner at Plymouth Elks Lodge in Holderness at 5:30PM. Click here for more information. February 12 – Senator Jeanie Forrester and Candidates for National Committeewoman Juliana Bergeron and Pam Tucker Grafton County GOP Meeting at Ashland Legion Hall at 2PM. Click here for more information. February 13 – Corey Lewandowski at the Rochester 9.12 Group Meeting at Salmon Falls Church of Christ in East Rochester at 6:30PM. Click here for more information. February 14 – Southern NH 9.12 Project Meeting at Windham Senior Center at 7PM. Click here for more information. February 14 – Corey Lewandowski at the Bedford GOP Monthly Meeting at the Bedford Public Library at 7:30PM. Click here for more information. February 15 – Farmington Democratic Party Congressional Candidates’ Forum at Farmington Town Hall at 7PM. Click here for more information.

First, today the House and Senate will be voting on two separate pieces of legislation that will affect our state’s economic prosperity: The Senate will vote on CACR 6. Already passed by the House, CACR 6 would require a 3/5 majority vote to impose any new or increased taxes or license fees. Separately, the House will vote on HB 593 which will lower the tax burden on New Hampshire businesses and create jobs by permitting gambling in the Granite State. We will continue to provide you with updates on these and other pieces of legislation that impact New Hampshire taxpayers including SB 227, which would change the status of the members of the board of tax and land appeals so that members ARE NOT full-time employees but would receive per diem and mileage reimbursement for attending to board duties. I was pleased to be able to provide testimony last week in favor of this bill that will make board members more accountable to the people the board was designed to serve AND save New Hampshire taxpayers money. Currently each board member’s salary and benefits exceed $100,000! You can read more about my testimony on our website or the Nashua Telegraph. Please note in the Telegraph piece that the last quote attributed to me was actually written by Paul Franklin. Second, I hope you will join me at the Rochester 9.12 Group Meeting next Monday, February 13 or the Bedford GOP Meeting next Tuesday, February 14. I always appreciate the opportunity to engage in discussions with other conservative organizations from around the state and would be pleased to accept any other speaking invitations. Please reach out to Joy King with any such request. Finally, thank you for your continuing support of our efforts. Please remember to Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Sincerely, Corey R. Lewandowski State Director Americans for Prosperity New Hampshire P.S. Please consider making an online donation by clicking HERE.

Heritage Releases 2012 Index of Economic Freedom: The US Ranking Drops!

The US Economic Freedom Ranking Drops to #10 in the 2012 Index

The US economy, whose ranking has declined for the past five years, has slipped to #10 in the most recent annual Index of Economic Freedom rankings. The Index is joint project of Heritage and the Wall Street Journal.  Since 1995, the Index has brought Adam Smith's theories about liberty, prosperity and economic freedom to life by creating 10 benchmarks that gauge the economic success of 184 countries around the world.

It should come as no surprise that Obama's policies and tactics are eroding our freedom.  Our economy is now considered "mostly free" after four years of decline during the Obama presidency. The reasons for the decline in freedom are a huge national debt, runaway government spending, and increased corruption over the past year. Watch the video explaining the significance of the Index and the role of economic freedom by clicking on the image below.

President Obama Circumvents Congress

It's imperative to educate Americans on this administration's progressive assault on the constitution.  If Obama doesn't achieve his goals legislatively he goes around Congress and enacts his policy objectives through rules, regulations, and unconstitutional political appointments.  Heritage's Investigative Reporter Lachlan Markay generated a list of some of the most egregious abuses of power:

• The Democrat-controlled Senate rejected his cap-and-trade plan, so Obama's Environmental Protection Agency classified carbon dioxide, the compound that sustains vegetative life, as a pollutant so that it could regulate it under the Clean Air Act.
• After Congress defeated his stealth-amnesty immigration proposal, the DREAM Act, the Department of Homeland Security instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to "adopt enforcement parameters that bring about the same ends as the DREAM Act," as Heritage's Mike Brownfield explained.
• When the woefully misnamed Employee Free Choice Act--explicitly designed to bolster labor unions' dwindling membership rolls--was defeated by Congress, the NLRB announced a rule that would implement "snap elections" for union representation, limiting employers' abilities to make their case to workers and virtually guaranteeing a higher rate of unionization at the expense of workplace democracy.
• After an innovation-killing Internet regulation proposal failed to make it through Congress, the Federal Communications Commission announced -- on Christmas Eve, no less -- that it would regulate the Web anyway, despite even a federal court's ruling that it had no authority to do so.
• In its push for national education standards, the Education Department decided to tie waivers for the No Child Left Behind law to requirements that states adopt those standards, shutting Congress out of the effort. 
• Rather than push Congress to repeal federal laws against marijuana use, the Department of Justice (DOJ) simply decided it would no longer enforce those laws.
• DOJ made a similar move with respect to the Defense of Marriage Act: rather than seeking legislative recourse, DOJ announced it would stop enforcing the law.

What next?  Today the Department of Justice released a 23 page memo justifying Obama's "recess" appointments. As our own Todd Gaziano explains in a blog post, Obama's Whitewash on Illegal Appointments Won't Work.

Heritage: What is Happening to our Economic Freedom?

Today, The Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal released the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom. The Index examines the economies of 183 countries, then scores and ranks them based on 10 factors, including things like government spending, labor policies and corruption.

While the overall average of the world’s economies became more free, the United States once again saw our economic freedom decline in both real terms and in our standing with the rest of the world. Heritage’s Terry Miller writes in the Wall Street Journal, “For the U.S. and U.K., the Index of Economic Freedom confirms what those countries’ voters already knew, that there is an urgent need for real change. The U.S. dropped to 9^th place in the 2011 Index, with its lowest economic freedom score in a decade . . .”

Heritage also released a one-minute video to go along with the index which asks the question, Is the American Dream Dead?  Please check it out and share via e-mail, Facebook, or twitter.

You can find the full version of the Index online here, and if you would like a copy of our Highlights version, a quick reference overview, simply reply to this e-mail with your mailing address and I will send you one.

More from Heritage:

·         You may have heard that Congress will need to vote once again to raise the national debt ceiling. Check out our fact sheet on the timing and options available.

·         Heritage has produced a booklet called Slay the Beast explaining the mounting fiscal crisis facing our “debt-paying generation” (those ages 5-30). It is a great tool to communicate the issue and can be downloaded here.

·         Heritage continues its series adapted from our Guide to the Constitution, and looks at the important idea of federalism: The Constitution in One Sentence: Understanding the Tenth Amendment.

·         With gas prices on the rise, Heritage economist David Kreutzer examines Three Policy Changes to Help with Gasoline Prices.

·         And, many have asked what can be done about spending by the Pentagon. Heritage answers that question with its paper How to Save Money, Reform Processes, and Increase Efficiency in the Defense Department.

I occasionally send you the Memo to the Movement from the Conservative Action Project. The latest one, entitled Conservative Communiqué, is a list of priorities for 2011 and is attached. Please take a couple minutes to read it.

Heritage - Five Recommendations for Economic Freedom and More From Heritage

Recommendations to Restore Economic Freedom

We are faced with a choice on how best to turn our economy around: continue the policies of bigger government and more regulation which suffocates economic growth, or return to the principles of economic freedom which made us the greatest nation on Earth. As part of a recent report on the state of our economic freedom, Heritage made 24 recommendations to put us back on the right path.

Here are the first 5:

1. Reject stifling regulation of health care, the environment, financial institutions, and the Internet.

2. Create a nonpartisan Congressional Regulation Office to review new regulations.

3. Sunset all existing and new regulations to require periodic review and reauthorization.

4. Phase out all remaining U.S. tariffs and import quotas.

5. Reform U.S. trade remedies to bring them into compliance with international trade rules.

To read more about these, and the 19 other reform proposals from Heritage, click here.

The Economic Case Against the Death Tax

Heritage analyst Curtis Dubay lays out the case against the death tax. “Studies, statistics, and real life have shown again and again that the businesses and families burdened with the death tax often see themselves forced to cut back on benefits, investments, and employees. The death tax keeps new jobs from being created, hurting not just the affected businesses, but the economy as a whole. Because it is a tax on capital, the death tax destroys as many as 1.5 million jobs that the economy needs as it struggles to recover.” Read more here.

New York Times Gets it Wrong on Death Tax

Who Profits from the Death Tax? Estate Planning Lawyers.

Kagan Nomination Moves from Judiciary Committee to the Senate Floor

Elena Kagan’s quest to move from political activist to Supreme Court Justice moved one step closer this week as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 to send her nomination on to the full Senate.

Heritage continues to track the nomination and the Conservative Action Project, lead by Former Attorney General Edwin Meese, released the attached Memo to the Movement on Kagan.

Values Voters Summit – September 17-19 in Washington, DC

Join Heritage at the Family Research Council Action's Values Voter Summit 2010 in Washington, DC, from September 17-19. The event will feature prominent conservatives including Phyllis Schlafly, Janet Parshall, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA), Bill Bennett, and many more. Heritage will hold a screening of Let Me Rise, our powerful documentary on education reform, and host a panel discussion about the connections between social and economic conservatism featuring FRC’s Ken Blackwell and Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal. Register at ValuesVoterSummit.org and watch the video here.

Finally, @InsiderOnline editor Alex and I will be attending the 2010 Right Online Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada this Friday and Saturday. Organizers anticipate at least 1,000 conservative activists will be in attendance this year to hear from Members of Congress like Mike Pence and Michele Bachmann as well as to be trained in everything from Facebook to website building to citizen investigative journalism. Be sure to check out our tweets (@MarkdKelly2) and blog posts from the event. If you are on twitter, follow the #ro10 hashtag for tweets from everyone at the conference. And, if you are going to be in Las Vegas, stop by the Heritage table and say hello.

Mark