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NY Analysis of Policy & Government

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Budget Battle

The dueling budgets presented by President Obama and Rep. Paul Ryan, (R-WI) neither of which is likely to become law, reflect an almost unprecedented divergence of views on the role of government, and the priorities of the American people.  The partisan tone was even contained in the official Budget Message of the President, which specifically criticized Republicans for not agreeing with the President’s proposals. The battle lines have become so stratified that the United States Senate hasn’t passed a budget in over a thousand days.

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   There is one figure that can’t be denied by either side:  America is in a deep fiscal crisis. Overspending has produced an almost unimaginable $15.566 trillion dollar deficit that continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  As noted in the Heritage Foundation Report, Saving The American Dream, “We have come to a time of decision…Our nation is going broke, and we are passing the costs of these misguided policies to our children and their children.”

   Over the first three years of the Obama administration, the deficit grew more than it did during the entire eight years when Bush occupied the White House. As noted by the Center for Fiscal Accountability, “Almost immediately upon his inauguration, President Obama signed into law the $787 billion American Recovery and reinvestment Act that-along with TARP-totals nearly $1.5 trillion in government growth for taxpayers…in 2009, the [federal] government spent $3.9 trillion dollars, and took in $2.1 trillion dollars in taxes.  That is, the government spent beyond its means by $1.8 trillion-almost as much as it takes in on a yearly basis.”  Further White House proposals continued the trend, which will double the size of the already deficit-laden federal budget within ten years.

   The nation now faces a perilous reality in which the debt is greater than the Gross Domestic Product.  That’s a classic definition of bankruptcy.

   There is almost nothing to show for the great national spending spree over the past three years.  Unemployment and underemployment remain at crisis levels. The economy is barely progressing. Inflation has become a significant problem. Infrastructure needs remain largely unaddressed (unlike the Great Depression, when programs such as the WPA and the CCC’s engaged in massive public works.) Our armed forces haven’t received badly needed equipment. Even the vaunted American Space Program has been mothballed.

   American families have suffered. Homes have lost unprecedented amounts of value. According to an ABC News report, “The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index through November showed home values fell 3.7 percent from the previous year. The 20-city home price index dropped slightly more than the 3.3 percent economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected, weighed down by foreclosed properties.”  Here too, the President and Congress diverge sharply on the reasons.  The White House concentrates on the mortgage crash; the Republicans emphasize the depressed economy.

   President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget includes tax hikes that range from $1.5 trillion to $1.9 trillion (depending on whose estimates you use) over the next decade.  (This would produce tax revenues above the historical average of 18.3% of GDP, according to Heritage.) The Bush tax cuts would expire for upper income earners, and the US corporate tax rate would remain as the highest in the world,  although the White House has said it may introduce a measure to lower the rate  (to a figure”in the high 20s,” according to a Reuters report) at a future date.  The additional revenue would provide a 17.5% increase in revenue during the coming year. The additional funds would not be mainly devoted to reducing the deficit. They would be used for $2.7 trillion in increased spending, but at least one key area, defense, would still endure budget cuts. Under the President’s plan, the annual deficit would be about $900 billion.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has introduced a radically different budget, which he calls a “Path to Prosperity.”  The core of his proposal is a return to 2008 levels of non-security discretionary spending, producing a “primary balance” (spending-interest payments=revenue) by 2015. The savings are achieved by repealing “Obamacare,” and ending what it identifies as duplicative or useless government programs, and stoping “corporate welfare” to politically-connected private companies.  The proposal locks in spending caps and budget process reforms, and converts Medicaid spending into a block grant to the states.

   Rather than administer drastic cuts to national security funding as is currently planned, Ryan would slightly increase spending on military needs. (Defense spending as a percentage of the budget has dropped from 25% thirty years ago to 20% currently.) In contrast, the President’s budget would get rid of what he describes as “outdated Cold War era systems.” This is largely a code phrase for furthering the White House push to unilaterally slash America’s nuclear deterrent, end the capability to fight on two fronts, and sharply reduce acquisition of replacements for worn out and outdated equipment, as well as reducing health benefits for active duty servicemembers.

   According to Ryan, the individual tax code would be simplified by attacking loopholes, lowering rates, and broadening the base of those who pay. The alternative minimum tax, originally designed for wealthy taxpayers but now a major problem for many middle class taxpayers, would be eliminated. America’s highest-in-the world 35% corporate tax rate would be reduced to 25%. Investment in our military would not be slashed, as is currently planned.

   Republicans emphasize that Ryan’s plan would reduce the 2013 deficit by $20 billion, and save up to $3.3 trillion over the next decade. They estimate that federal spending would be reduced from 23% of the economy down to 20%. They note that the White House’s “stimulus” spending did little more than reward politically-connected corporations.

   The dueling budget proposals reflect diametrically opposed political beliefs. The President continues to adhere to a plan that would use increased tax revenues and increased federal spending to address domestic needs and entitlement programs.  Human Events chides many of the President’s initiatives as “frivolous projects.”   The House of Representatives believes that growing the economy, promoting employment, lowering taxes and allowing more discretion to the individual states will allow the U.S. to emerge from the “Great Recession.”

   The fate of the nation hangs on which side is correct, and which side wins this battle of the budgets. But total victory for either side before the 2012 elections remains completely unlikely.

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INDEFENSIBLE

Although Defense spending accounts for only 20% of the federal budget, The White House has targeted the armed forces (which have basically been deprived of adequate supplies of new equipment since the end of the Reagan era) to take 50% of all spending cuts. It has also been leaked that a radical and unilateral reduction in our nuclear defense posture is being considered.

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In his budget, Obama has rejected the long-held doctrine that the U.S. must be prepared to fight in two separate regions simultaneously. The possibility of a large scale conflict with a powerful adversary such as China or Russia apparently has been rejected.
The President also advocates a unilateral and unprecedented 80% reduction of atomic warheads.  This would place the U.S. in a distant third place, behind Russia with its 6,000 warheads and on a par with China, leaving America vulnerable to ongoing intimidation from either of these powers as well as outright nuclear blackmail.
The proposal lowers U.S. nuclear strength to 1950 levels.  Strategically, this means that a first strike by an adversary could easily wipe out our arsenal, leaving the nation with no choice but surrender.
As the President attempts to enact his plan, Russia continues an ambitious military modernization program. MILPLEX  reports that China will double its announced military budget within the next five years.  North Korea and Iran are also moving swiftly ahead with their nuclear weapons programs.
In a bizarre twist, The Obama budget also cuts funds from Homeland Security, while increasing aid to Islamic fundamentalists in Egypt.
Last week, a group of military experts assembled by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Frank Gaffney noted that while the proposed defense cuts will slash our military capability, civilian DOD personnel will not be affected.  In other words, the fat will be spared while muscle is cut.
In the past, proposals to substantially reduce our national security posture would face stiff Republican opposition.  This year, the Republican Party is diverted by a fierce presidential primary battle, and it is being influenced by a small group of isolationists led by Ron Paul.
The end result of this proposed reduction to military spending may well cost far more than it actually saves. The impact of 100,000 low paid soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen returning home with very few available jobs will produce more expense in unemployment checks and related benefits than will be saved.  The fragile industrial base may not recover from the loss of military contracts. Numerous contractors and subcontractors will be forced out of business, destroying the recession-proof tax revenue and jobs they produce. Many of these businesses will close forever, meaning that future administrations would be powerless to undo the harm this reckless attack on our safety would produce.  To cite just one example, it has been estimated that New York State alone will lose almost 27,000 jobs.

Historians remind us that it was the pre-World War Two defense buildup that actually began to end the Great Depression. Gambling with our national safety is a poor bet at any time; doing so in an era of economic crisis is even worse.

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Voting Fraud: A Growing Danger

Inappropriate election practices have long been an unfortunate part of American history.  During the period between the end of the civil war and the adoption of the voting rights act of 1965, various schemes were utilized to deprive African-Americans access to the ballot box. Once again, the degree of concern expressed by many over the fairness of national elections has reached a crescendo.

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In a recent study, the Pew Center on the States found “millions of voter registration records nationwide that are either inaccurate or no longer valid…based on data [indicating] a voter died, moved, or had been inactive from 2004 to March 2011.”  The study revealed that 2,758,578 individuals were registered to vote in more than one state.  In addition, “12.7 million records nationwide…appear to be out of date and no longer reflect the voter’s current information, more than 1.8 million records for people who are no longer living, but have active registrations on voter rolls, and 12 million records with incorrect addresses…once duplicates among categories are eliminated, approximately 24 million registration records, or nearly 13% of the national total, are estimated to be inaccurate or no longer valid.” There are further concerns that “motor voter” registrations and similar efforts to expand participation in elections may open the door to massive voting fraud.   Interestingly, liberal media sources such as The New York Times, despite the hard evidence, have sought to minimize or deny the crisis.
Will fraudulent voting practices, as well as inaccurate voter registration, have an impact on the upcoming presidential election? Numerous studies from across the nation document brazen attempts to destroy or misplace ballots, and allow ineligible individuals to vote, or register to vote. Americans are increasingly concerned.  The refusal of the Justice Department to prosecute a clear case of voter intimidation in the city of Philadelphia by the New Black Panther Party in the last presidential election has been partially responsible.
John Fund, who has extensively studied election fraud, reports that “nearly 10% of Americans…believe that the election system doesn’t count their votes accurately.”  He documents significant misdeeds from the 2000 presidential election, in which over 15,000 ballots in Florida’s Palm Beach County were warped in an attempt to invalidate Bush votes. Also in the 2000 elections, Philadelphia had more registered voters than actual citizens. Similarly, in 2007, Indianapolis/Marion County had more registered voters than adult citizens. According to published reports, an internal Wikileaks memo documents abuses in the 2008 election including foreign contributions from Russia going to the Obama campaign, as well as accounts of ballot box stuffing in Pennsylvania and Ohio also on behalf of the Obama campaign.
Presidential election fraud is not restricted to the general election.  Last December, the chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party resigned in the wake of a scandal involving the 2008 Democrat presidential primary, in which claims of unlawful practices by the Obama campaign continue to surface.
What differentiates traditional—but still illegal–election misdeeds from current concerns is both the involvement of the Department of Justice and the impact of legislation such as motor voter.
“Motor voter” is actually the popular name of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act.  The legislation mandated state motor vehicle departments as well as other state agencies to offer voter registration forms and register those who came to their offices.  Inexplicably, it forbade employees of those offices from checking IDs of those it registered.  This not only made fraud possible; it essentially invited it.
Jack Kelly, writing in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette, notes that there have been recent investigations, indictments, or convictions for vote fraud in California, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Maryland.
Hans Spakovsky, writing in the Free Speech & Election Law Practices publication, emphasizes the problem of noncitizens registering to vote.  He reports that in a random sampling of 3,000 registrations in California’s 39th Assembly District, 10% contained phony addresses or were not U.S. citizens.
A number of states have attempted to attack fraudulent registrations by passing legislation requiring a valid ID to vote.  To the dismay of  those dedicated to honest balloting, The Obama Justice Department has responded with significant hostility to this common sense measure.  Although almost all the reported fraud has aided hard-left Democrats, Kelly reports, even liberal United States Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens stated “There is no question about the legitimacy or importance of  state’s interest in counting only eligible voters’ votes” in a 2008 case that upheld Indiana’s stringent ID law following a challenge by the Democrat Party and its allies.
In testimony before the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Rules ad Administration, John Samples, The Cato Institute’s Director of the Center for Representative Government stated that the Motor Voter Act “has made it difficult if not impossible to maintain clean registration rolls…the inaccuracy in the rolls caused by the Act has thrown into doubt the integrity of our electoral system.”
The Judicial Watch organization, in response to its August 9, 2011 Freedom of Information Act filing, has received records which they describe as detailing friendly communications between the Justice Department and a former ACORN attorney now serving as Director of Advocacy for Project Vote.  The ACORN connection is ominous. 70 ACORN staff throughout 12 states were convicted of voter registration fraud; more than one third of the registrations that group submitted were found to be invalid.
Project Vote is described by Judicial Watch as a group that actively threatened lawsuits under the Motor Voter law in an effort to force election officials to increase the registration of individuals receiving public assistance—a prime source of Democrat support. According to Judicial Watch, “Project Vote was besieged with charges of corruption and fraud.”  Despite that checkered reputation, Judicial Watch found that Project Vote and the Justice Department worked in tandem, producing results that contained heavy amounts of invalid voter registration forms. Project vote also sought to allow individuals without any state identification to register to vote online.  The Judicial Watch investigation indicates that “it becomes clear that Project Vote and the Justice Department have implemented a ‘joint litigation strategy’ in the run-up to the 2012 elections.
J. Christian Adams is an attorney who served five years in the Voting Section of the Department of Justice. He has documented extensive accounts of that agency’s improprieties and partisanship in matters relating not only to its refusal to prosecute illegal election activities, but to actually encourage and abet such unlawful practices.
Citing little or no evidence, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. defends the Department of Justice actions by maintaining that attempts to properly identify voters is somehow discriminatory against minorities.  Jack Kelly’s research indicates otherwise.  He cites the work of researchers at the universities of Delaware and Nebraska , who found no chilling effect of ID requirements on minorities.  In fact, in Georgia, following the passage of a photo ID requirement, African American participation in elections increased from 42.9% to 50.4%.  Similar results were noted in Indiana and Mississippi.

The tolerance of unlawful election practices, and the complicity of government agencies in those practices, is a truly existential threat to American freedom.

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AN UNNECESSARY APOLOGY

The President’s apology in the wake of the Koran burning incident in Afghanistan throws into a harsh light the growing surrender to “Islamic Rage,” much of which is fundamentally political and thoroughly undemocratic.

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The Korans in question had been misused (religious Muslims might say defiled) by Afghan detainees attempting to surreptitiously send messages.  After the ruse was detected, the defaced texts were disposed of in a manner that was proper and respectful; they were burned.  In fact, this is the manner in which the military disposes of worn out flags. This appropriate course of action was used as an excuse to whip up anti-American furor in the Muslim world.  Six Americans were killed in the resulting riots; The White House has yet to demand an apology for this loss of life.
Over the past twenty-three years, there have been at least eleven major Islamic riots in response to incidents that were either wholly fabricated for political reasons or were in response to the exercise of freedom of speech.  As outlined by Mark Humphreys, they include:
·       The Salman Rushdie Riots of 1989;
·       The Miss World Riots of 2002;
·       The Newsweek Riots of 2005;
·       The Muhammed cartoons Riots of 2005-2006;
·       The Pope Benedict Riots of 2006;
·       The Sudan “teddy bear” incident of 2007;
·       The Johann Hari Riots of 2009;
·       The Taslima Nasrin Riots of 2010;
·       The “everybody Draw Mohammed Day” of 2010;
·       The “International Burn a Koran Day” Riots of 2010; and
·       The “Koran Burning” Riots of 2012.
     The pace of these civil disorders has accelerated sharply since 2009, as many Islamic leaders perceive the west, and in particular the USA, to be more susceptible to the pressure they present.  It would be incorrect to assume that these events are spontaneous.  Paul Marshall, writing in Imprimis, notes that they are “stoked and channeled by governments for political purposes…the highly controlled media in Egypt and Jordan raised [these] issues so persistently that an astonishing 98 percent of Egyptians and 99 percent of Jordanians…had heard of them.”  In response to the “cartoon Mohammed” incident in Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Egypt urged boycotts of Danish products.  Marshall notes that Iran and Syria “manipulated riots partly to deflect attention from their nuclear projects…Turkey used the cartoons as bargaining chips with the U.S. over appointments to NATO.”
     An objective view of the treatment of Islam by western governments would indicate that the riots have been extremely effective.  Islam, and particularly the figure of Mohammed, is treated far more delicately by European and North American governments, media, and other institutions than the indigenous Catholic, Christian, or Jewish faiths.
     In the west, the Islamic religion is flourishing under the ideal of religious toleration that is wholly missing in the Moslem world.  In the United States alone, according to the Washington Examiner, since the September 11 attacks, Islamic Centers have increased significantly in number.  The Examiner reported in  February, 2012 that there are currently 2,106 U.S. Islamic centers, compared to 1,209 in 2000, and only 962 in 1994, after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
     While Islamic governments whip up citizen frenzy over trivial incidents or perceived slights to their state religions, they have either sanctioned or failed to stop extreme acts of religious bigotry and repression within their own nations.  Writing in Newsweek, Ayaan Hirisi Ali, a Dutch Citizen originally from Somalia, describes a “rising genocide” against the Christian faith throughout the Muslim world.  She describes the horrific acts of the Boko Haram in Nigeria, slaughters in the Sudan, Egyptian security force murders of Copts, Saudi Arabia’s ghetto-type imprisonment of Christian guest workers, and ethnic cleansing in Iraq.
    Last week, Rep. Joseph Pitts [R-PA16] introduced H. Res. 556, which passed 417-1, condemning the government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities and its ongoing violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights.
   Rep. Pitts’ efforts notwithstanding, Marshall’ Imprimis study finds that “western governments have begun to give in to demands from the Saudi-based ‘Organization of Islamic Cooperation” (OIC.)  He cites explicit examples of various European and North American governments essentially bowing to the anti-free speech demands of militant Islam.
     While the First Amendment would appear to protect Americans from speech restrictions regarding the Islamic faith, threats of violence have had a chilling effect.  American universities, publishing houses, and television producers have “self censored” under the threat of violence.
     Marshall reports that the facts get even more frightening.  President Obama, in his 2009 speech in Cairo, declared that he had a “responsibility to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.”  Following suit, Secretary of State Clinton has acted cooperatively with the OIC, which continues to tacitly condone repression and murder against Christian and Jews while pushing for anti-free speech restrictions in regards to criticisms of Islam in the West.

The U.S. Constitution prohibits giving one religion preferential treatment.  This, however, is precisely what the leaders of Moslem leaders have demanded, while continuing to persecute western-based faiths in their own lands.  It is fair to question whether they do this out of true religious fervor, or merely to distract their own populations from their tyrannical and corrupt rule.

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OBAMACARE IN CRISIS

President Obama’s signature legislative initiative, the “Patient Protection & Affordable Health Care Act,” (PPAHCA) may not exist in a recognizable form by the end of Spring.

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   From its very inception, this major measure contained overwhelming flaws that virtually guaranteed ongoing controversy, and the strong possibility of being overturned either legislatively by a concerned Congress or by a Supreme Court decision ruling that key portions were unconstitutional.
   The original $940 billion estimated cost of this dramatic and broad new law was always overwhelming.  However, it has become clear that the measure will actually be far more expensive.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that $1.76 trillion is the latest reliable figure, and that sum is sure to rise.  House Ways and Means  Committee Chair Dave Camp  was quoted in the Washington Times as estimating the actual cost as over $2 trillion.  The price tag issue in and of itself may eventually doom it.
   There are three extraordinary problems beyond the devastating cost, and they appear to be coming to the forefront this month. The first is Congressional anger over the “death panel,” the name wary Americans have given to the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) established by Section 3403 the PPAHCA.  The second is the serious constitutional objections over the bill’s requirement that Americans buy health insurance, known as the Individual Mandate.  Finally, there is the controversy that Health & Human Services Secretary Sebelius prompted when she issued regulations requiring religious institutions, along with all other employers, to provide coverage for services such as abortion that those organizations consider morally objectionable.
   Related to the IPAB’s cost-saving mission is the question of its effect on research of  new treatments.  Innovative techniques are expensive to develop.  Many question whether this new agency will have a chilling effect on research organizations that may see their innovations deemed to be too expensive.
   This week, the House of Representatives is debating a measure that would repeal the IPAB, largely based on public distaste for its unchecked power and “death panel” authority.  From the initial release of information about this bizarre institution, the majority of Americans expressed substantial discomfort with its concept. The IPAB is designed to have a 15 member panel tasked with achieving Medicare savings.  David Catron writes that the IPAB’s “sole purpose is to cut funding for some health care services seniors now take for granted.  And those cuts will kill people.”  Pollster and political expert Doug Schoen has stated that the IPAB is “flawed, unethical and represents the worst of health care policy reform.”  Due to the IPAB’s regulations, senior citizens are almost guaranteed to have a more difficult time finding a doctor who will treat them.
   From March 26 to March 28, the United States Supreme Court will hear an extraordinary six hours of oral argument on the issue of the Individual Mandate’s constitutionality.
   The PPAHCA’s Individual Mandate forces individuals to secure health insurance. Supporters of the law assert that this is the only way to fund the whole idea.  The Obama Administration has signaled its unease with its legal position by changing its argument that the Individual Mandate is justified under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause to one that asserts it can do so under the “Necessary and Proper” provision of the Constitution. The president’s unease is certainly warranted. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has already ruled this measure unconstitutional.
   A California State Library Background Report noted that political opposition to the concept comes from both the left and the right.  Conservatives dislike the increased power and the lack of Constitutional authority;  leftists “are skeptical…especially as it is supported by the insurance industry.’
   While debate in Congress and before the Supreme Court take place, religious institutions, spearheaded by the Catholic Church, will continue their vigorous defense of their first amendment right to practice their faith free from unlawful federal interference.
   The regulations forcing Catholic institutions to cover abortions may also find their way into the Supreme Court, and there is a substantial chance that this unprecedented intrusion into the affairs of a religion will also be found unconstitutional.  The Catholics aren’t alone in their challenge.  An IBD editorial noted that two protestant colleges are filing suit in the U.S. District Court to challenge the imposition on their First Amendment rights, not on their opposition to abortion.
   Indeed, there is much to question about the reason this law was originally passed and what the expected results would be. It imposes a heavy financial burden on already beleaguered federal and state governments, and fails to provide improved or universal coverage. In fact, according to Forbes Magazine, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wy) estimates that four million people will lose job-related health insurance.  Last year, health costs rose 9% for employers, notes the article, “triple the rate of the year before ObamaCare’s provisions began to be implemented.” It surrenders vital decision making power to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats.
Practical concepts, such as tort reform, which would sharply reduce the expenses of doctors and hospitals, reducing federal bureaucracy, allowing innovative treatments to get to market more efficiently, and interstate sales of insurance policies which would increase competition and lower policy rates, were ignored.  It is difficult not to conclude that the real goal of the legislation was to give the executive branch of the federal government vast new powers over the one-sixth of the American economy represented by the health industry.