Day: June 14, 2008

SEIU Sends McCain a “Dear John” Letter

SEIU today sent a fourth “Dear John” letter to Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president. SEIU members are offering their assistance in the absence of any economic blueprint from McCain that puts working families first. The letters will continue until McCain personally meets with members.

In the letter, Iris English, a Medical Billing Specialist at the University of Illinois Medical Center from Chicago and member of Local 73, asks McCain how he would use the money currently being spent in Iraq here in America.

“Dear John,

“Let’s set aside for a minute that we have a fundamental disagreement about the war in Iraq.  While you think we should stay there anywhere from one to 100 years, I think we need to bring our troops home now.  But for now I want to look past that and focus on how you would spend those resources here when it does end.

“It is reported that Iraq spending amounts to more than $10 BILLION every single month. Those billions would help fix the problems we are facing here at home, especially now that we are facing a growing recession.

“My question is how would you spend the more than $120 billion? That much money could provide health care coverage for every American that needs it. Would you do that? Here in Illinois, we are facing a $2 billion deficit. Would you use the money to help states like mine so they don’t have to cut back on services like educating our kids or fixing our roads? The cost of gas is hitting my family’s budget hard, causing us to scale back not just on luxuries but also on necessities. Would you use it to invest in alternatives so America can break its addiction to oil?

“Or would you use it as a partial payment to fund your proposed plan for a corporate tax cut, which your campaign admits will cost us $300 billion and do nothing to help a hardworking taxpayer like me?

“It seems to me that while you don’t believe in tax dollars going to fund domestic programs, you have no problem driving America further into debt for Iraq. I am afraid that as president you will continue the current Bush policies because you are out of touch with the problems facing American families like mine.

“How about giving us some straight talk and release an economic plan that actually helps working families, not just the Washington lobbyists that staff your campaign from top to bottom.”

Cap And Trade For Gasoline

This is an opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal written by Jonathan Lesser:

Although the Senate’s recent attempt to introduce a cap-and-trade system for carbon crashed and burned when it collided with $4 per gallon gasoline, fear not. Some in Congress are fearlessly tilting at another windmill: the “windfall” profits earned by oil companies.

Unfortunately, by reducing supplies, a windfall profits tax will only lead to even higher prices. Still, if Congress really wants to “do something” about high gasoline prices and global warming, it can always try rationing.

To lower gasoline prices permanently, you can reduce demand, increase supply, or do both. Congress long ago capped supplies by proclaiming from on high: Drillest thou not offshore, nor in ANWR. The next obvious step for our solons is to cap demand by rationing gasoline, and then gradually reduce the quantity of ration coupons.

“Trading” in coupons would be encouraged to ensure gasoline is allocated to uses of only the highest value. So Congress could reserve quantities of ration coupons for key lobbyists and their clients. Environmentalists could buy up coupons and “retire” them, lowering gasoline sales even more. Refineries could continue to produce gasoline, but as consumer demand would be sharply limited (and declining), oil companies would be forced to reduce the prices they charge. No more windfall profits! And lower carbon emissions!

For legislators and environmentalists – if not average citizens – this plan has other virtues: As ration coupons are reduced, consumers would increasingly clamor for more electric cars, cars that ran on French-fry oil, and “flex-fuel” cars that burn everything from gasoline to garbage. Eventually, gasoline could just be banned, reducing prices to zero and eliminating all ill-gotten profits.

And if Congress then had to tackle French-fry oil speculators and impose a windfall profits tax on Big Spud, well why not?

Please, if there is an opinion on this piece–I would like to hear it.

McCain Is Best For The Economy

Republican presidential candidate John McCain‘s tax policies have given him an edge as the better man for the economy, various Wall Street experts said at this week’s Reuters Investment Outlook Summit.

But, against a backdrop of job losses and deteriorating home values, Wall Street is backing McCain’s Democratic rival, Barack Obama with cold, hard cash.

McCain plans to extend the Bush administration’s tax cuts, eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, and slash corporate taxes. Obama, who has derided the Arizona senator’s plans, has pledged to raise taxes on the wealthy and introduce a broad range of refundable tax credits.

Of course he his policy is the best for the economy according to Wall Street, they are the ones making all the money.  However Main Street will not be so lucky.