by Scot Mussi | Jan 26, 2010 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
Pot and Kettle to Do Battle in Arizona
John McCain has finally drawn a challenger in the Republican primary that will decide if he gets a fifth term in the U.S. Senate. Mr. McCain is likely untouchable in a general election, but the smaller GOP electorate is challenging. A Rasmussen Reports survey last year found that 61% of core GOP voters thought he was “out of touch” and only a third believed he was doing a good job representing conservative values. Since then, his high-profile opposition to ObamaCare and a raft of TV ads has likely helped boost his numbers.
Nonetheless, former Congressman J.D. Hayworth is convinced his state’s senior senator is vulnerable. Mr. Hayworth served 12 years in Congress until he was ousted in the 2006 Democratic landslide, in part because he was also seen as “out of touch” with constituents. He has since made a career as a conservative talk show host. He starts as an underdog — the same Rasmussen survey that spelled trouble for Mr. McCain also gives the senator a 53% to 31% margin over the feisty Mr. Hayworth.
But Mr. Hayworth is confident he can catch up by portraying the 2008 GOP presidential nominee as someone who has “enabled” Barack Obama’s agenda on economic and foreign policy.
“I’m giving Arizona Republicans a clear choice between a consistent, common-sense conservative . . . or someone who describes himself as a maverick, but is a moderate,” he told the Washington Times yesterday. He pointed to Mr. McCain’s votes in favor of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout and his opposition to interrogation techniques used on terrorist detainees. No doubt Mr. Hayworth will also focus on Mr. McCain’s immigration policies, including his 2005 bill that combined amnesty with a new guest worker program.
But Mr. McCain will be showcasing his own grass-roots bona fides by bringing in former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, his 2008 running mate, to campaign for him on March 26. Massachusetts Sen.-elect Scott Brown is also scheduled for a campaign appearance. And Mr. McCain also has a lot of ammunition to use against Mr. Hayworth.
The outspoken former congressman may have talked a good game when he was in the House. But when it came to federal spending he — more than Mr. McCain — was an “enabler” of questionable budget items. It was Mr. Hayworth, not Mr. McCain, who voted for a 2003 prescription drug benefit that added enormously to the nation’s future liabilities. It was Mr. Hayworth who voted for bloated farm and highway bills, while Mr. McCain opposed them. It was Mr. Hayworth who was a consistent seeker and supporter of pork-barrel Congressional earmarks. Mr. McCain, on the other hand, never requested earmarks in appropriations bills and often led a crusade against those he felt were improperly slipped into bills.
All of this will make for a lively Republican primary and national political reporters can be counted on to portray the race as a moderate veteran against a “Tea Party” upstart. But the reality is a lot more complicated. Let’s just say either man would have trouble convincing Barry Goldwater, Arizona’s nonpareil conservative, that he was Goldwater’s true heir.
by Scot Mussi | Nov 13, 2009 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
Just when you thought the federal government had too much on their plate comes news that the Federal Reserve will implement new rules prohibiting banks from charging overdraft fees without consumers’ consent.
I always figured that a bank charged a stiff penalty for insufficient funds, so that in the future, I wouldn’t withdraw more money than I have. Silly me. But hey, what about the fees charged by banks for using their ATM rather than the bank in which my money is in? I just figured that was a convenience fee, but if we’re setting new rules, let’s kill that one, too. Oh yeah, the minimum monthly balance I have to keep in order to enjoy a better savings rate–strike it down!
When the bank rules are done, can Chairman Bernanke please turn his attention to the late fees at Blockbuster?
by Scot Mussi | Nov 4, 2009 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters this morning that the election results were not a referendum on President Obama. He said, “People didn’t go to the polls to register support for, or opposition to, the President.” He said the elections were purely debates over local issues. Gibbs added that the election results will not “spook” members of congress from supporting the president’s agenda.
If the official White House line is, “Hello, we’re tone deaf,” congressional Democrats have real problems on their hands. The Bush years are over. And while the cratered economy, high unemployment, and pessimism everywhere aren’t a direct result of anything Obama did before he was elected, his solutions since being elected are failing – miserably.
In 2008 more voters than not were reluctantly open to the TARP, the stimulus, the idea of health care reform, the idea of capping greenhouse gases, and the like. It appears today that voters have seen enough. Bigger government isn’t working, in practice (high unemployment or in theory. Senate Democrats yesterday said they didn’t think they pass their health care reform before the end of the year. This bill was supposed to pass in July.
It’s time for the Democrats to reassess. If there’s one thing more certain than a rising morning sun, it’s that incumbents like to be reelected. So, no matter what the White House line is, national Democrats this morning will feel much more comfortable telling the president to slow down.
by Scot Mussi | Oct 29, 2009 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
In the Sunday, Oct. 17 edition of the Arizona Republic there was a column on “creating” the new Arizona economy. It made the usual argument that we don’t subsidize enough cool stuff to have a “knowledge” economy, but that wasn’t the good part. Along side this story was a sidebar developed by the Morrison Institute at ASU titled, “Milestones in helping Arizona build its economy, 1991 – 2009. Here are the milestones (my description in parenthesis).
ASPED (public/private blueprint for economic development strategies)
State Job Training Program (government job training program)
Proposition 301 (sales tax increase for education funding)
Bioscience Roadmap (study by Flinn Foundation to advocate biosciences)
“Angel” Tax Credits (legislative program to subsidize private investment)
Science Foundation Arizona (public/private program to fund research grants in high tech areas)
Moving Arizona Forward (ASU study focusing on increased education spending)
WIRED (federal government program to spur high-tech businesses)
STEM (A Science Foundation program to support education)
Solar Energy Tax Credits (legislative program to subsidize the manufacturing of renewable energy components)
Look at all the government programs that built Arizona’s economy. I love how ASU and Flinn Foundation studies make the list, but 7 consecutive years of tax cuts in the 1990’s don’t. I love how the solar energy tax credit bill makes the list (the bill was signed on July 10 OF THIS YEAR and therefore hasn’t had — couldn’t have — one iota of impact on Arizona’s economy) and the 2006 personal income and statewide property tax cuts don’t.
Don’t be insulted if you are one of the thousands of companies who took risks, invested your own capital, produced goods or services, and otherwise actually built Arizona’s economy.
Forget that. Feel free to be insulted.
by Scot Mussi | Oct 29, 2009 | News and Updates, Uncategorized
The White House is cheering today’s news that GDP last quarter was up 3.5%. But they’re also cautious not to get too excited. They know they goosed the numbers a bit.
It’s no secret that the government can artificially boost economic activity. Take, for example, the cash-for-clunkers program. Auto sales (contributing 1.66 percentage points of the 3.5% GDP growth) jumped in July and August in large part due to the fact that the government handed out $4,500 to people to buy new cars. It looks like auto dealers had some false hope of a turnaround since September auto sales are down 10%. It seems a lot of people who were going to purchase a new car anyway, simply did so during the cash-for-clunkers time period. Those who couldn’t afford a new car then still can’t. The net effect is that government artificially boosted demand for new cars for two months, destroyed many usable cars in the process, and cost taxpayers $3 billion for its work.
Another factor that contributed to the GDP increase (about .5%) is home building. Part of the significant 23% jump in new home building last quarter comes from the federal homebuyer’s tax credit. We really don’t know for sure if the sector is going to turn around or not because government artificially inflated this sector as well.
These programs don’t do anyone any favors. If auto dealerships or home builders need to close or consolidate, the sooner that happens, the better. Federal programs like these only prolong the pain.
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