Friday, August 31, 2012

Political Demagogue or what: Romney sees America as a Company?


 Keywords or Terms: CEO; Lies and Fallacies; Propaganda; Profit-loss End Game; Mitt Romney; Medicare; Medicaid; Osama-bin-Laden; National Institute of Health; Four Pinocchio’s

Having a CEO as a the President of a country may not be the worst thing that ever happened; however, having a mindset of a CEO in the running of a country, may end up being the worst blunder that a nation can do to itself. Mitt Romney once said Corporations or organizations are people; today, he refers to America as a company. Running the United States of America as a company would leave the country dangerously vulnerable to other competitive countries that are attempting to make profit just like the country is, as a corporation! The odds are that Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican flag bearer for the 2012 general elections, just has made a gaffe; however, the good book says: from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh! The unmistaken failure of Mitt Romney to understand that the office of the Presidency is dissimilar from the office of a Corporation’s CEO, is one reason his campaign effort may fail in November. The blog today, makes a case for the anti-thesis of running a country like a corporation.

Under a mindset of a corporate CEO, it is probably going to be a challenge to contemplate a regime change in a country like Iran or Syria? The ‘CEO-President’ could fight everyone in a country at the cheapest cost to America; however, you cannot defeat nationalism and deep spirited conviction that many citizens of many countries across the globe have for their flag and motherland. We all saw how long and challenging the nation found itself trying to bring Osama bin-Laden to justice. Just to get rid of Osama bin laden we spent billions and lost over five thousands of our finest young heroes, whose void we will never fill in their families, homes and communities. How do you tell a widow of an Iraq or Afghanistan vet, that cutting costs was more important to the nation; and that, that was why the nation could not equip their husband or wife to remain safe in the heat of a war? How can you make a justifiable case to a bereaved mother that shipment of armory or IUDs was too costly and the nation had to watch for costly overruns and overheads, as it ships ammunition and protective gears to their sons and daughters in the war front?

Yes, America’s capability and capacity for fighting wars has improved since the Second World War, however, it isn’t because the nation was cutting cost as it went into wars or because, the goal of minimizing cost or maximizing profits, was the guiding mantra among the keepers of the White House oval office. Likewise, campaigns to undermine social safety net as Medicare and Medicaid, will hardly pan out with our retirees and elderly, who have been promised some succor in their old age, regarding care of their health. Turning around to say the nation cannot live up to its promise or that, the nation can’t afford to care for its citizens in their old age, is hardly going to wash with this group of Americans.

Paul Ryan’s plan of ‘voucherizing’ Medicare is running into trouble waters not because many of our retirees and elderly want the nation to continue to run the program at a deficit or cost overrun, or that the profit and loss mindset to the nation’s deficits is hardly justifiable but because, money and life are hardly equitable. Many of our elderly will like to live long into their old age, call it selfishness or not, none of this people will care for the cost of treating cancer, if it is going to lengthen their life. Furthermore, I am yet to see an orphan who would not gladly trade billions for the life of their parents, if possible. That is why, the cuts proposed to Medicare and Medicaid is hardly going to fly with this group; neither is Mitt Romney’s categorization of America as a company going to receive a rousing applause from any quarters.

The reason for even contemplating America as a company and that it is better ran as a profit making enterprise, is the risk of rationalizing the cost of many government programs and project in terms of profit and loss; or how much money is conserved. Can you imagine if the government had been bugged down with the cost of financing AIDS or cancer research, or how much the National Institute of Health has spent on making sure that drugs sold in America’s pharmacies are actually doing what the inventors of these drugs are claiming?

There is hardly a way to contain emerging threats to America’s homeland or the safety of our allies with respect to nuclear bombs and other emerging security issues. That is why, the nation’s leader, even among the most conservative Republicans, are hardly trading the nation’s investments in national security with any deficit conservation. How could ‘CEO-President Romney’ explain away the misfortune of September 11, 2001 as a cause of the nation’s inability to secure its borders out of costs consideration? Al Qaeda slaughtered thousands of Americans and has shown general ideological hostility to America; how does a President, with a mindset of a CEO, handle this challenge, if the national security priority is first and foremost to save cost, or render profit to the citizen shareholder, on issue of intelligence gathering, police work or diplomatic arrangements. There are just too many limits to having a mindset of a CEO in running a nation or serving as the President of the United States.

So far, the Republican convention has showed that the Romney-Ryan ticket is filled with misinformation and probably propagandas. Here is what Moveon,org sent me as the lies in Paul Ryan’s Republican Vice-Presidential  candidate acceptance speech on Wednesday:

1. “A downgraded America.” Ryan blamed the president for the nation’s credit downgrade in August 2011 after Republicans threatened to allow the government to default on its debt for the first time in history. But the ratings agency explicitly blamed “Republicans saying that they refuse to accept any tax increases as part of a larger deal.”

2. “More debt than any other president before him, and more than all the troubled governments of Europe combined.” Romney has made the almost identical claim, that Obama has amassed more debt “as almost all of the other presidents combined.” But their math doesn’t add up: when Obama took office, the national debt was $10.626 trillion. It has increased to slightly above $15 trillion.
3. Shuttered General Motors plant is “one more broken promise.” Ryan described a GM plant that closed down in his hometown, Janesville, Wisconsin, and blamed Obama for breaking his promise to keep the plant open when he visited during his campaign. But Obama never made that promise, and the plant shut down in December 2008, before Obama even took office.

4. Obama “did exactly nothing” on Bowles-Simpson. Ryan said, “He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing.” In fact, Ryan was instrumental in sabotaging the commission, leading the other House Republicans in voting against the plan.

5. “$716 billion, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama.” Ryan’s favorite lie is a deliberate distortion of Obamacare’s savings from eliminating inefficiencies. Furthermore, Ryan’s own plan for Medicare includes these savings. Romney has vowed to restore these cuts, which would render the trust fund insolvent 8 years ahead of schedule.

6. “The greatest of all responsibilities is that of the strong to protect the weak.” Ryan closed the speech with an invocation of social responsibility, saying, “The truest measure of any society is how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves.” However, numerous clergy members have condemned Ryan’s budget plan as “cruel,” and “an immoral disaster” because of its devastating cuts in social programs the poor and sick rely on. Meanwhile, Ryan would give ultra-rich individuals and corporations $3 trillion in tax breaks (MoveON.Org)

Interestingly, the Romney-Ryan campaign ticket has been caught in a bunch of lies as documented by facts checkers. Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech and assertions at his acceptance speech at the Republican convention yesterday have also been debunked or criticized for many inadequacies by some fact checkers. Two quick ones, the claim by the top ticket of the Republican Party that President Obama went on an apology tour as the first order of business when he got into office, is not only a lie, it earned Mitt Romney, four Pinocchio’s from Washington Post. Second, the claim that President Obama had raised taxes on the middle income earners is complete fiction and fallacy as many fact checkers say, blatantly, Obama has actually gone out of his way not to raise taxes primarily on this group; and, continues to assert protection of the group of anyone earning below a quarter of a million. Mitt Romney’s failure, as Washington Post puts it: to unravel the emotional connection or attachment of millions of Americans to the message of hope and moving forward as espoused by Barack Obama’s candidacy for the office of the Presidency, is going to be his greatest Waterloo in the coming November election.

The truth is many Americans still find Obama likeable than Mitt Romney as their President. They love the way he relates to people and are convinced that the President understands the economic predicament they are in. They believe he can still do magic for them. This is unlike Mitt Romney who sees the nation as a profit-loss end game and is willing to throw people under the bus in order to give tax cuts to the wealthy. The last three and a half years has been economically trying for everybody; however, very few middle-class earners, including women, sees a man that considers running the country as a company, a suitable candidate for the White House oval office. What many in this group cannot default to is Mitt Romney’s opaque and unrevealed public policies on many issues. For the middle income earners, the priority for the nation now, is resolving the unemployment and housing problems without destroying all the achievements and quality of life that have been achieved by this group in the past half century. Any claim by Mitt Romney to run the country as a corporation or company will fall on deaf ears. And, who can blame them, considering what Mitt Romney has done to so many people’s jobs as he ran Bain Capital and sat as Governor of the State of Massachusetts!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Mitt Romney: Does America really want him as President?

Keywords or Terms: Republican Convention; Transparency; Ann Romney’s and Chris Christi speeches; Paul Ryan; European-Styled Economy; Swiss Bank Account; Romney’s Taxes; White House.

The Economist Magazine this week did an exposés on a book written about Mrs. Markel, the German Chancellor, saying value is dangerous, and to be vague, advisable. We cannot but mull over that statement, in light of the tax issues that the Republican Party flag bearer has. Many Americans continue to see Mitt Romney’s hold back on tax information as an attempt to remain vague, rather than espouse value that could make Americans proud of his candidacy: TRANSPARENCY. That is why many Americans find it very difficult to accept the pronouncement in Mrs. Romney’s speech at the Republican Convention last night that what America needs is Mitt Romney as their President in 2013.

First, for all the credit of Mrs. Romney’s speech, many Americans see her husband as a wealthy man, who is hard to fall in love with as a Presidential Candidate; not a man derided for his effort to amass all those wealth. Contrary to Ms. Romney’s assertion that her husband worked hard to amass his wealth and thus must be emulated, America sees in Romney, a man who is vague about his personal finances and taxes, policy proposals and budget plan; a man who hardly understands the notion of shared sacrifice; a man full of contemptible secrecy and an aloofness that even makes some Republicans cringe. That is where the love is missing for the 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate!

Americans see in Romney a double standard that is unimaginable and one difficult to draw closer to. Imagine, a Presidential candidate that continues to tout the message that President Obama is turning America to a European-styled economy, while just a few years ago, he was being given reprieve by the Internal Revenue Service to encourage him bring back some financial sovereignty he had surrendered in terms of wealth to a European Country. This is the so much talked about disciplined Mormon that America must turn over the keys to the White House? If indeed the European-styled economy that he finds so contemptuous and criticizing President Obama over, not that Obama has ever done that or wished that for America; why then did Mitt Romney deposit his wealth in at least, one of those European economies in the first place? Not that we cherish a European-styled economy over ours; however, none of us have moved some of our wealth into that styled economy, while at home, we continue to crucify that same haven for Romney’s wealth. None of us is seeking the keys to the White House, while we have been disingenuous to the American Banks and the taxman!

Americans find it difficult to know what the Republican candidate for the 2012 general elections really believes. More importantly, Americans see in Mitt Romney, a politician who will do anything to win the White House. Americans, especially Democrats and liberals like me, see in Mitt Romney, a President that may not be upfront with the public, an opaque candidate, too remote to believe or understand. That is the reason for the title of today’s blog: Does America really need Mitt Romney as their President at this time?

The more we get to unravel the Republican mystery of a candidate before us, the more we tend to believe that Mitt Romney is about to return us to economic policies that nearly grounded and destroyed our lives. America is tired of the military industrial complex, we are in a re-building stage in our economy, not into foreign voyeurism and war mongering. America is at a time, where and when, we need to move away from deregulatory policies that undermine our focus to build a thriving economy. We must tell Republicans to quit fooling us, for we can make use of our heads!

We are hardly interested in vein glory; or an extremely deregulated economy, where anything goes but prudence. We have tried this same road before and we got burnt badly! Look around your neighborhoods, you probably have not seen so many homes foreclosed in your life time. That is what excessive deregulation, unbridled tax cuts and mortgage sales debacle or hypocrisies get you. That is why a few of us are castigating Mitt Romney’s candidacy and calling for him to be more transparent, if he really wants our vote. Fool us once, shame on you, fool us twice, shame on us! That adage is better left for Mitt Romney, not Barack Obama, as used by Chris Christie, who was more combating with the American workers, as he grapples with his words and paid lip service to Mitt Romney at the Republican Convention. Interestingly, America saw why Mitt Romney moved away from the Governor of New Jersey as his vice, he is more attuned to aggrandize himself in any situation and circumstance. It is Christi for himself and not for Romney! If in doubt, play over Christi's speech at the Republican Convention, once again!

Second, while it seems Mitt Romney is about to re-introduce himself to a larger audience through the Republican Party convention, voters are finding that the color or honor is about to elude him; from the inability of the convention scheduled speakers to arouse excitements in the crowd or espouse worthy coherent conservative message; with most of the speeches falling so flat, except that of Ann Romney. The necessary steam to arouse excitement and edification of the Republican ethos was actually missing in the speeches we have heard so far. Maybe, it is the misfortune or anxiety surrounding the storms and hurricanes that are forecasted to land in nearby states to Florida; however, the Republican Convention seems rather uninviting, unexciting, and probably bogged down in a swamp of vagueness characteristic of the campaign message of the man at the top of the Republican ticket.

For mystified inquisitors regarding the message of Romney’s campaign, never mind or worry, you are not alone. Many of us in the left are wondering could Mitt Romney be really serious to want to replace Barack Obama. He is a candidate who would rather damn the demands of those he is seeking votes from simply because he is afraid that the public will find out the truth about his candidacy through the discovery of what he has been up to with his wealth, finances and taxation in the past decade. If Mitt Romney had eluded paying effective tax rate, shouldn’t voters be the first to know, so we may rectify the errors of past legislation regarding taxation loop holes and codes. If Governor Romney had completed his tax filings within the provisions of the law, shouldn’t he be proud to divulge such credit? No one is second guessing the intentions of the Republican flag bearer regarding the refusal to reveal more than one year’s tax filings, he promised to release two years’; even the second year’s filing is still an iffy!

The opinion of taxpayers regarding our current tax codes and the possibility that a few rich Americans have been evading effective tax payment, by taking advantage of the multiple loop holes in the current tax code, is about to dissolve if the nation, ever elects Governor Romney into the White House. We are all aware of Paul Ryan’s plans for tax cuts and what his future boss is already cradling in Ryan’s budget. For all we can tell, Paul Ryan’s budget is Mitt Romney’s by default, although the top ticket of the Republican Party Presidential Candidate continues to deny it.

The denials and counter arguments may soon subsume the reality of the uncharted waters of Romney-Ryan’s ticket, as it attempts to launch the Medicare and Medicaid Programs into a voucher system. The economic punches that is about to delude the elderly, the poor, women and children, if ever the Republican tickets triumphs in November, may just become too unbearable and probably overwhelming. The confusion that would precipitate the Medicare system when turned to a voucher system under Mitt Romney, assuming his administration is able to get the legislation through Democratic-led Senate, would not only be one for the records, it would probably take us back to the depression era experience under FDR that initially led to the enactment of the Social Security Administration Act. We are not being an alarmist; however, we see the current suffering around our neighborhoods and we understand that the only reason, why many of our retirees and elders are staying above the fray of poverty, is because there are Medicare and Medicaid programs taking care of the hugest expense that this group incurs, mostly.

For the snake-oil men, who continue to advertize that those retirees above the age of 55, would not have a change in their benefits, seniors please ask them, what is wrong for your children and grand children to enjoy the same benefits you are currently being served. Why is Paul Ryan attempting to mess with people’s lives? The current opposition to Ryan’s plan is not based on speculation; it is based on data-driven findings that have been evaluated by independent non-parities groups who have indicated that they smell a rat. For those Republicans who are sold on the snake-oil men’s message, it is time the ostrich gets his head out of the sand. If the Republican primary had left a wound in the heart of your choice candidate that may take time to heel, the onslaught of Romney and Ryan’s ticket to ‘voucherize’ Medicare under their administration, would end up being the death knell that will tip you over. The choice between the two candidates and party is very clear, no fence sitting anymore.

With Mitt Romney being the official Republican Party flag bearer, the nation is about to make a real choice between toying with an Obama’s Pay-As-You-Go Budget, where revenue increases will be inevitable in offsetting the cost of new programs, or Romney’s Cut-And-Go Budget, where the plan is forced mandatory decapitation of social programs, while the rich haul extra millions into their bank accounts, as they continue to elude effective taxation under current tax codes and future proposal from Republican Vice-Presidential candidate for the 2012 general elections. As unique as the Ryan’s plan may seem at this time for Medicaid and Medicare, the misery it is about to bring to America, assuming the Republican ticket triumphs, would not be dissimilar from what we see in some of the third world countries. Paul Ryan’s plan for Medicare and Medicaid would not only strangulate the elderly and destroy America’s middle-class, it will afford for potential market forces manipulation that would effectively bankrupt the programs faster than the current apprehension of the sustainability of the social program. Our tax system needs reforms, serious reforms, and it is unlikely to come from these two Republicans seeking the White House in 2012. PPACA has the potential of saving Medicare and Medicaid; let’s give it a chance to work. A prototype of the health care reform law is lauded as working in Massachusetts, why don’t we give it a chance in the whole country?

Finally, for those voters who consider the Romney-Ryan ticket as a panacea to the current economic malaise, it may be wise to recall what happened just as President G.W. Bush was exiting the Whitehouse in 2008. The same excessive deregulation and attempt to privatize the social security benefits that went bunkers when the stock market tanked under President G.W. Bush, is what is being proposed for Medicare and Medicaid under another possible Republican Administration. None of us, who went through the misfortune of this great depression, must entertain excessive tweaking with the only social safety net the elder, women and poor have known for some time now. That is why the 2012 Republican Party ticket is doomed; for it proposes a plan that is more likely to take us from a frying pan to fire!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Next Step: Hurricane Isaac and the Republican Convention in Tampa Florida?


 Keywords or Terms: Hurricane Isaac; Tampa, Florida; Republican Convention; Romney-Ryan ticket; Huge Storms; Winds; Republican leadership; Ill-Omen; and, Oil Rigs.

What lessons can we learn from the upcoming Republican Party Convention in Tampa Florida? First, if anything can go wrong, yes, it will! The Republican Party leadership probably was not concerned about the possibility of vagaries in weather impacting the party’s convention in the first few days of the last week in the month of August, 2012. However, tonight, that is actually the case. The weather man has reported the possibility of hurricanes and storms in the neighborhood of the convention. The planning committee for the Republican Party would have factored out the potential of Hurricane Isaacs and dissociated the disaster and the potential risks from the organization of the convention. Wild Winds, heavy rains and hurricanes in the last few hours indicate that the storms may be heading towards Louisiana, three years to Hurricane Katrina’s experience. However, this is just a prediction, for all we know or can expect, the huge storms could re-direct themselves or the whole system towards the Gulf of Mexico and transition in the path of Tampa, Florida; an unwelcome experience that Republican leadership are probably nervous about; or may frown upon.

Hurricane warnings and their associated instability are reported to probably impact Oil rigs, air and land transportation in the Gulf Coast. Local Meteorologists are reporting that the storms may end up being two hurricanes torch downs; and some air lines are already re-scheduling or cancelling their flights to Florida because of the fear of the potential disaster and risks of a bad hurricane. The convention organizers are already rescheduling some of the initially arranged speeches or speakers. A few of the program’s activities initially etched in solid gold are being junked or rescheduled, scrapped, narrowed or postponed to a later time in the week. This is particularly unfortunate, as many party faithful expected a hitch-free convention; and, an opportunity to hub-nub with national leaders of the Republican Party. The Republican leadership was set to use the convention as means to rally the troops towards successful general elections in November. Like an unwished for omen, the chaos of the hurricane may be an indication of what to come for the Republican Party in November?

Second, Government and public officials in the State of Florida, who had expected a huge boost to the local economy from the Republican Party convention, are once again, rethinking all the initial estimations. This is the reality of nature; no one can predict the great hand of Mother Nature! This is an unexpected problem for the Republican Party leadership, no matter how you look at it. There are going to be some convention attendees that may cancel their participation for reason of the impending hurricanes; others may just be choosing to arrive at the convention later in the week, considering the issue of safety; while a few may just lounge to the trip ignoring whatever Mother Nature has to dish out. This is a one time event that takes place once in four years; and, die-hard party faithful could careless about the possibility of the impact of the hurricanes and associated storms. Current coastal storms in the Gulf Coast have a way of throwing the wretch in the plans of the Republican Party juggernauts! The ultimate die-hard Republicans are probably saying: “it’s now or never, let us just go with the flow; with the winds, storms, rainfalls and the hurricanes, our party is ready to nominate or coronate our party’s flag bearer this week..” This is one event that the Republican Party faithful have sworn to take place in the beautiful city of Tampa, Florida, come rain or shine. The storms may be here, but it is inevitable that Republicans will nominate Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan as a ticket for the show down with the Democrats in November!”

Fascinatingly, vagaries in weather are often problems no one can predict. As Republican Party event organizers are learning belatedly, the presence of an unsafe environment or the possibility of the storms doing havoc to attendees may lead to lower attendance. Die-hardly Party faithful would not believe it; and, a few who are susceptible to different forms of conspiracy theory are already projecting or postulating that the Obama Campaign teams probably brought these storms on the Republicans! While this is ridiculous to imagine; America is hardly short of conspiracy theorists; and a few delusional Republicans are probably saying at this time: “Democrats would go any length to see that our convention is a flop or hardly a success!”

Thirdly, the opening of the ceremony is probably not going to be tomorrow; and if it turns out to be, it is probably going to be a little bit of a low key event, because of the size of the convention goers who may have arrived. The encouraging news for now is that the path of Hurricane Isaacs will tentatively not be directly towards Tampa, Florida. Those high winds and storms may be boycotting Tampa, Florida; however, the fear of safety will still be on everyone’s mind. Is this a Republican Party Convention Crisis? Hardly so, but this is one for party leaders to chew on; one to make future convention planners look harder at alternative convention localities or alternative preparations for potential vagaries in weather conditions in locations of future conventions. As convention attendees mull over the problems of a bad weather, they may actually be digging in, to make their case for the uncommitted delegates to Mitt Romney; and, unwind the grass root insurgent delegates of Congressman Ron Paul, who have insisted that they have to be heard as to why they are still look warm to the Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan ticket!.

One of the hidden expectations of the Republican Party flag bearer is the possibility of the storms abruptly coming to a stand still or completely eluding all the areas of the convention. Over the past ten months, the Republican Party flag bearer had fought tooth and nail to ensure that he is the nominee; and now, the hurricanes and storms are about to spoil the party or nomination exercise. The infighting over what will go on the party’s final platform or aspiration for America in the coming four years may now be tempered by the anxiety of the storms. The hope that Mitt Romney has for America, including cutting federal regulations that are alleged to impede business activities, institution of tough minded foreign policy agendas, aligning US foreign policy with the Israeli government to help solidify the US-Israeli alliance, and repealing the Patients Protection and Affordable Care Act, among others, are now meeting their first obstacle or derision: the huge hurricane Isaac!

It would be more accurate, in sum, to say that the hurricane storms hardly care about what the Republican Party flag bearer is selling at the convention or to America. In the instance of the primary, the size of the convention or hurricane storms are essentially disconnected. Romney-Ryan’s ticket proposals to jump start America’s economy has already been rejected by some apprehensive voters. It must not be a surprise that many of the apprehensive voters are Democrats and women; who feel very aggrieved by the suspected items that may show up on the Republican Party’s platform, considering the recently espoused gaffes from the pair on the ticket, which make many cringe under their skin. How about the person-hood bill from Paul Ryan or the fight over the issue of women body, abortion; or, the taxation abracadabra that may sink the whole world’s economy if adopted as espoused by Congressman Paul-Ryan? To the Republicans, President Obama is the daemon that has prevented America’s economy to move ahead, never mind the huge havoc that the last Republican Administration wreaked on the financial sector or the economy. It is because of these apprehensions or convolutions that Democrats are insinuating, why bother about a Republican convention when all they will be fanning are lies and hatred from the right wing nuts?

Incidentally, today, two advantages for rescheduling activities on the convention program a few day(s) late are clear. First, it guarantees that convention goers get a feel for their party’s camaraderie and or a possible jump in the polls for their party’s ticket. Second, residents of the state of Florida, who have been bombarded with advertisements regarding how great the Republican ticket of Romney-Ryan is; and or, how the ticket is the best alternative for America at this time, will get some temporary reprieve. In all these events, the delayed contentions, the gaffes, the storms and much more, regarding the Republican convention in Tampa, Florida, are only bested by two other questions or considerations: 1) When is Mitt Romney going to provide details of his policy proposals for revamping or changing the perceived sliding-slope of the America’s Economy? And 2) When is Mitt Romney going to release his tax filings for more than one year?

The public has no record of a two year tax filing release from Mitt Romney and his campaign, neither do they have any cogent definition of who Mitt Romney is; for to many, Mitt Romney is still a mystery wrapped up in promises that are hardly verifiable; or that Mitt Romney remains aloof, unlikeable and essentially distant from the electorate and possible independent voters in the coming elections. Meanwhile, a candid discussion of what Mitt Romney-Ryan’s ticket stands for, rather than innuendos and unproven economic policy, may help the public, evaluate the ticket; if only Mitt Romney can brake down those barriers that continue to make many wonder, if Mr. Romney is worthy of their consideration. The Non-partisan tax policy group recently put out information that the Republican-tickets proposals on taxes would only put more money in the pockets of Mitt Romney, his rich friends; and, less in the pockets of the hard working and overstretched middle income Americans.

Hurricane Isaac, in any case, may be disappointing for the organizers of the Republican Convention and the attendees in Tampa, Florida; however, the forecast of the storms may not be as bad as the platitudes or confusion from the first Mormon-Catholic Presidential ticket ever, or since the first televised convention in 1940. Meanwhile, the public awaits the nomination process and wishes the Republican Party the best in the coming week, assuming hurricane Isaac gives them a chance!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Of Birthers, Mitt Romney and the Republican Extremists: when the Republican Presumptive Nominee runs afoul of decency in his campaign at Michigan?

Keywords or Terms: Birthers; Racism; Bigotry;  Irony; Tampa, Florida; Mitt Romney; Sherriff Agrippa; Donald Trump; State of Michigan; Republican Convention; Off-color Jokes and humor

"No one has ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised." - Mitt Romney

Several months ago, the ‘birthers’ community in the Republican Party led by Donald Trump – a loose group of controversial extremists-rejuvenated their call for the President of the United States to prove his birth place. A common explanation for the destructive call and probably an unusual prosecution of the man occupying the highest office in the land was that, the President could not authenticate his birth within continental United States; and that, the long form birth certificate of Barack Hussein Obama II, is essentially untenable as proof of birth within United Sates of America. Many Americans were taken aback and some felt disgusted with this group and their claims, especially from surrogate as Arizona Sherriff Agrippa, who continued rabble rousing with questionable claims on the birth place of the President. Those heated and unsubstantiated claims simmered down during the Republican Party primary, until tonight when the ugly face of hate and racism reared its head, once again, in the language of Mitt Romney in the State of Michigan.

Mitt Romney could not hold his sense of decency in his canvassing for support and votes. Many disgusted democrats and the Obama’s campaign team castigated the presumptive Republican flag bearer as denigrating to the President; and, degenerating to the lowest level of lows, just a few days before the Republican Party convention in Tampa, Florida. Many Democrats and liberals were aghast that the presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee for the White House could go as low as insinuating the unfathomable! Mitt Romney quickly put out a release that his comments were taken out of context and that he was just bringing in a little humor to the campaign process. Whether this is true or not, no one will ever know except, Mitt Romney.

Tonight, many minorities who have experienced the wrong hand of racism from mainstream American public, especially from prominent politicians in the Republican Party, cried out foul, saying equivocally, they know and understand how racism rears its ugly head and how many racist comments are often coated in defenseless argument of perpetrators, that they hardly mean any harm! Well, too late, the cat has been let out of the bag; and we know, whether Mitt Romney wants to accept it or not, his comments have a racial undertone and many who are offended, demand candid apology from the Republican Party flag bearer. The offended group believes that Mitt Romney hardly enjoys jokes that say he is a member of a cultish religion; and or, that the practice of polygamy is the essence of Mormon religion. Just as distasteful as these last assertions are, so also is Mitt Romney’s comment on the issue that his wife and self have no questionable birthplace.

Interestingly, throughout the first term of Barack Obama’s Presidency, history would record that extremist Republicans fanned bad rumor and humor regarding the in- authenticity of the birthplace of the first mixed race President in the history of the union. Whether the hate mongers believe it or not, the hate that has been fanned by this group, is surpassed only by the near-universal belief and agreement that groups, that fan this type of hate for the President of the United States, are liars, cheats and slanderers. Mitt Romney could have been speaking this afternoon in Michigan for many of the ‘birthers’ or Tea Party Republicans. His comments may be sorely worthless for some avid minds; however, for the non-believers, the haters and the trouble makers, this is a juicy red meat for their bigotry and demented minds. Romney may have been attempting to curry favor or play to the gallery for this group; however, many lucid-minded Americans are offended and believe there is no room for this type of crudity in national politics or discourse.

Among Republicans today, negative myths about President Obama persist. Just this week, a Republican Judge in Lubbock County, Texas, indicated that if President Obama was re-elected, he’ll hand over the sovereignty of the United States to the United Nations. As ridiculous as this comment is, there are a few loonies in that part of the country or the Republican Party, who truly believe this type of apprehension or story. This same Judge has had an anti-Obama tone in past comments and there are no shortages of this type of people in the Republican Party. A casual conversation with members of the Tea Party around the federation, will inform you how ignorant many of these extremist Republicans are. To this group, you cannot trust a Black man; he will likely do you in! The stereotypes about blacks, still persist in the heads of these extremist groups, who cannot wrap their hands or heads around the fact that a child who grew up in a single parent family, without the so-called identifiable name genealogy, could rise up to become the President of the United States of America.

Fortunately, we live in somewhat of a post-civil-right era America, where a child is not judged by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. With all the insults and derogation that President Barrack Hussein Obama II has gone through in the hands of the extremist groups in his first term, no one who wishes America well, would not have wished for this young, policy driven and level headed human being, to have held the forth for this nation in the past four years. For those, who know me and who appreciate the fact that I hardly give away accolades very freely, Barack Hussein Obama II, is a hero and one of the finest leader that I will respectfully refer to as, Mr. President. A man who brought sanity to the chaos that President Bush left behind when he left the White House four years ago. A man who saw the essence of equality for all Americans, lesbians, gays and transgender, a man who appreciates the place and essence of women making choices for their own bodies in terms of personal health and well being, a man who reformed the financial sector of America’s economy for the better and worked tirelessly to pass the Patients Protection and Affordable Care Act, despite Republicans’ recalcitrance. President Obama does not need to prove his loyalty for this country, because we can all see it. He has done what a loyal and dedicated President is expected for the land of the Stars and Spangle banner. Whether the extremist Republicans would appreciate his effort is better left for this group to turn over in their hearts.

The positive future that President Obama has laid down for the American economy, may seem remote at this time with an unemployment hovering over 8 percent; however, no one will ever deny that a stable resourceful and level headed hand has mended the till in the past four years. A President who demolished America’s notorious enemy, Osama bin Laden; and, reported to the people as he had promised during his 2008 campaign. A man who invited science and dynamic public policy initiatives and reasoning into governance to ensure that the nation and its people do not remain in despair after the free fall of America’s economy under the squanderers Republican war mongering machine.

The Republicans are about to go into their convention in the coming week to nominate a possible tax evader, who sowed his money in foreign bank accounts and refused to render account to the public regarding if he paid an effective tax rate. A man whose wife, stood up and told the public to go to blazes, as their family are unwilling to be transparent regarding their taxes. A man who once strung the family dog to the roof of a car while on family vacation and was reported to have been a high school bully; a man, who, whether he seriously meant it or not, insinuated that the President of the United States of America probably cannot tell his birth place. This is the type of person the Republican Party wants to nominate to contest for the White House. Are there no more wise men or women left in the Republican Party?

Even the details of his taxes that he promised to release have not been made public, five days to his nomination as his party’s flag bearer. Although progressives and well meaning Republicans have called on Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican flag bearer, to release his taxes for more than one year that he has made public, he has remained adamant refusing to do what transparent and honest leaders do: open up their hearts and souls to those they will swore to an oath to lead, protect and preserve. There are a lot of questions for the Republican Party to contend with in the coming days and months. The word has often been to do unto others as you will wish them to do unto you. Although some extreme Republicans continue to live in a world of illusion or deception, it is imperative that some day, they will wake up and see what man the party is putting forth as potential President of this great country and the free world. Republicans will get the political awakening that a man that stands aloof, a man that many find too mysterious and probably too opaque, must not be given the keys to the oval office in the White House. Many of us have nothing personal against Mitt Romney, but we strongly believe he is the wrong person for the Republican Party and the nation, at this time.

The antics of a leader are generally believed to show, once he or she rises to power of authority. Deviousness, opaqueness or aloofness may seem not too important at this time; however, if and when “President Romney” gets to power, no Republican mother or father, must complain if he sends their children to die in another unworthy and crystallized war fashioned out of lies. None of them must complain that they hardly know what course of leadership the Mormon Bishop is taking the nation through. A man who suppresses his emotions, who is careless about the poor, the underprivileged, the disenfranchised, the elderly and women;  who can hardly appreciate the need to have a middle-income America survive because of minor taxation inconvenience for the rich and mighty, is a man that has to be watched in position of authority and power. Republicans may choose to settle for a possible taxation cheat and motivated by the bigotry to make President Obama a one-term President, but the truth is, Romney hardly promises a better future and no one has been able to put their hands on what the Romney’s Campaign for the White House, truly means. Even among Republicans, Mitt Romney is still a quagmire and mystery. A man who is more likely to trample on the rights of women to make choices for their own body; and one, without the fortitude to give credit to a reformed health care system that now supersedes his initial efforts in the State of Massachusetts, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Fascinatingly, in his first decision as a prospective flag bearer for one of the major political parties in America, Mitt Romney chose a Vice in one of the most divisive Republican congressman in nearly a decade. The 2012 republican flag bearer is a man, whose genius probably failed him in his first high level decision since showing ambition for the White House. This is a prospective President who chose as his vice, a man who believes that women do not have a right to preserve or protect their dignity in a pregnancy borne out of rape or incest? Mitt Romney has put trust in a man, a Vice-Presidential candidate that will render him, a one percent tax payer, when America’s debts and deficit are in the neighborhood of a trillion. This is the type of man Republicans want to vote into office as the President of the United States of America! What an Irony. Hello? .. Hello?...Are Republican men and women of wisdom still home?

Friday, August 17, 2012

Why Romney-Ryan Ticket must release more than two year’s tax filing: lessons for the troubled Republican Ticket?


Keywords or Terms: Tea-Party Ticket; Governor Mitt Romney; Congressman Paul Ryan; Monks; Burma; Pope; Vatican; Grand Khadi; Mecca; Leader of the Free World; Uncle Sam; 2008 McCain Ticket; Romney-Ryan Ticket; Out of pocket ticket for Seniors; Florida; Paul Ryan’s Budget; Medicare and Social Security Reform

The past weeks have witnessed heated debates over the presumptive Republican Party Nominee tax filings and the consummated nomination of Congressman Paul Ryan for the Vice-Presidential ticket of the Republican Party. Questions abound regarding the effective tax rate paid by either candidate on the Republican Party ticket, with Paul Ryan’s effective tax rate being higher than his expected boss, if their ticket ever wins in November, 2012. Paul Ryan, the presumptive Republican Party Vice-Presidential candidate, is said to have significantly paid effective tax rate greater than Mitt Romney. The controversy over Romney’s secrecy over his taxes has made many voters wonder, if Mitt Romney had not once shifted money overseas to off-shore accounts to avoid paying taxes. Critics further argue that the reason why Romney is secretive about his taxes has to do with Romney’s reprieve from Internal Revenue Services, like many other rich Americans, who had offshore accounts; the Republican Party flag bearer is said to have taken the IRS amnesty that allowed him and others to shift their accounts back to America's Banks.

Although Governor Mitt Romney multiple-year’s tax filings would have remained a private matter; however, the Republican flag bearer chose to run for the office of the Presidency, an office so visible, even the Monks in Burma, Pope in Vatican or Grand Khadi in Mecca, would have been interested to know how transparent in personal finances, the prospective leader of the free world has been. The Presidency of the United State is a huge office, which has implication not only within the borders of the country but across the globe. Thus, opaqueness in dealing with personal matters may be construed as ways in which the presumptive Republican flag bearer will be dealing with other governments and issues of international importance. 

Many Americans, who are calling for transparency regarding Romney’s tax filings, are hardly doing this out of malice, rather, to ensure that the man that gets to sit on the throne of Uncle Sam is as squeaky clean as one can get! Some Republicans could not have careless about Governor Romney’s tax filings until they realized that this simple matter is about to boomerang in the face of the whole party. There are polling data that shows that Mitt Romney's recalcitrance on taxes and choice of Paul Ryan as a running mate is probably bleeding votes for congressional Republican seats. When Candidate Romney was vetted for the Vice-Presidential candidacy position under McCain ticket in 2008 general elections, he was made to turn over close to twenty-three, if not more, years of tax filings. This, he had no problems with; however, this time around, when he is at the top of the ticket, Mitt Romney is probably realizing why he did not get on McCain’s ticket; or, why he probably lost out to Sarah Palin, the darling of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party.

In an attempt to reposition himself this year as the candidate of the Republican Party’s rank and file, Mr. Romney is realizing that his taxes and tax filings are not similar to what many Americans, including the Tea Party group in the Republican Party, have been paying in effective tax rate. This has become a political hot ball; and Governor Romney is attempting to deal with this oddity by attempting to remain too private or less transparent as he talks about his taxes. Ann Romney, the spouse of the Republican flag bearer, probably caught the aerie of many taxpayers when she insisted her husband was not going to release more than the two year’s tax filing required, according to her, under the law. Many voters hearing the bravado nature of Mrs. Romney responses to the press began asking questions: 1) Why is the Romney clan so cagey about his tax filings; 2) Was there some questionable or unlawful filings in some of the years that Mitt Romney claims to be unemployed? 3) Has the presumptive Republican Party flag bearer engaged in tax evasion that could have been similar to what led to felonious indictment of President Richard Nixon, another republican stalwart in the past? 4) Are rich Republicans, with political ambition, suspiciously susceptible to tax evasion or something similar?; and, 5) Would the 2012 Republican Party presumptive nominee attempt to quash this perception by releasing at least 20 year’s tax filings, just as he did while attempting to get on the 2008 Republican Party ticket?  These are burning questions, which are uppermost in the minds of every interested person; especially, when Congressman Paul Ryan indicated that he had to turn to the Romney’s campaign team vetting folks for the Vice-Presidential slot, many years of tax filings. Now, the question is: Why not Mitt Romney to the nation?

First, these questions are speculative at best; but at worst, answers to them may confirm some of the people’s or taxpayer’s suspicions. However, no one will ever know, except the presumptive Republican Party nominee, does what great leaders across the globe do: be and remain transparent! If the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee had to turn over several years of his tax filings to the vetting team under Mitt Romney’s Campaign, what is holding back the head of the ticket? Is what is good for the goose, no longer good for the gander? If Paul Ryan had to turn over more than fifteen year’s record, the top of the ticket at a minimum must match the fifteen-year’s threshold test given to the lower half of the ticket. For now, the presumptive Republican flag bearer wants us to put up or shot up with the two years he has promised to release.

Second, withholding information from the public is often a bad policy for a politician, especially, where there are suspicions that a crime or misstep is probably involved. It is the prerogative of the Republican Party flag bearer to step out and do what is right and transparent at this moment; or, wait until many interested people(s) or parties hound him to it before the November election day. The issue surrounding Mitt Romney’s refusal or denials is summed up in two questions: Would ‘President Mitt Romney’ be upfront or opaque with the public on issue of governance? Would his administration be honest enough to tell the nation the truth during a time of national emergency, discord or war? These are important questions to the public and they are questions that may not be underrated by a party’s flag bearer who may have found himself in deep water, with the candidate he has nominated to be the other half of his ticket. Don’t get me wrong, no one is questioning the wisdom of Mitt Romney’s choice in Congressman Paul Ryan as the other half of the ticket, even with all the missteps he has made since he has been thrown into the limelight; however, his vetting process has introduced a dilemma for the head of the Republican Party ticket: Does Governor Mitt Romney continue to show askance to those asking that he releases more than two year’s of his tax filings; or, does he go ahead and do what is absolutely in the interest of his party, vis-à-vis the nation?

Third, a tendency or capability to withhold important information from the public is an assured way to give credence to innuendos, suspicions and gossips. As Jack Kemp, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, and more Republicans would gladly and honestly reminiscent and tell you. You must appreciate the mistakes of those politicians ahead of you and learn from their mistake(s). The presumptive Republican Party Vice-Presidential  candidate Paul Ryan have just taken responsibility for double dealing regarding request for stimulus funds for his constituency, while pretending that the stimulus plan was ill-advised and a failure. The Romney-Ryan ticket has been getting itself in a bind since the nomination of the other half of the Republican Party ticket. Going on and withholding, somewhat of an insignificant item(s), would not only hurt the ticket more, it is more likely going to sink the ticket. Already the ticket has been disastrously polling among women voters, since the announcement of the other half of the ticket as someone, who is anti-women’s freedom and, who is likely going to put women, elderly and children into a tighter corner. The Republican ticket will continue to give away a notch of voters among Whiteman when the ticket continues to make assertions over taxation plan, social security and Medicare programs that seem very disingenuous. Refusal to release more of the top half of the republican’s ticket just compounds the problems more; except the Republican Party is ready to yield the election the summer before the general elections to the Democratic Party.

Fourth, the seniors in the swing state of Florida have just indicated that they hardly care about Paul Ryan’s plan for Social Security and Medicare Programs. Polls taken after the announcement of Paul Ryan as the other half of the Republican Party ticket indicate that he will more likely hurt the ticket as many of the retiree voters in Florida are skeptical of his proposed reforms to the social welfare programs. Beneficiaries of these programs will like to know, if the proposed reforms to these programs would leave them worse-off than the existing plans under President Obama. Many of them who are politically active are pointing to studies completed by the independent tax policy group which indicate that the average retiree may have to come out of pocket close to $6,400 cash if Paul Ryan’s plan is passed into the law of the land. This is hardly endearing to this loyal voting block; neither is the opaqueness in Romney’s response to the call for his tax filings to be released for more than two years he has promised.

If the Romney-Ryan ticket continues to loose grounds and credibility, the backlash from this may be disastrous for all the Republican congressional elections; and this fact many seasoned Republicans know and they are urgently calling for Mitt Romney to release his tax filings and get it over with. Democrats seem to have bent over a little, when they called that a five-year tax release from the presumptive Republican Party nominee is about good enough, for now. Of course, from the republican ticket, this is a bait; however, from the perception of the Democrats, the rights of the voters to have all information to make well informed decision in the voting booth is sacrosanct; it trumps any claims to privacy that someone aspiring to be the President of the United States and leader of the free world. For Democrats, voters want to know, if Mitt Romney is the real McCoy, the real deal! They are interested in the honesty and transparency of their leaders. For many of these people, anything less, is an abomination! If Romney continues to show recalcitrance, truth continues to be a casualty and the mystic of a cover-up on the part of Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan ticket will definitely sink their boat in November!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Romney-Ryan Ticket: the illusion of looking on to extremism to win an election in the absence of a tax filing disclosure?


Keywords: Vice Presidential Candidate; Paul Ryan; Mitt Romney; Budget and Budgeting; Statements from Paul Ryan; Illusion and Games; Controversies; Attack Dog

Romney’s touted visionary failed him as he went about choosing a running mate for the 2012 general elections. No one should be surprised that Governor Romney chose Congressman Paul Ryan, this week. The presumptive Republican Nominee had been going through some rough waters regarding his failure to release more than one year’s tax filing. Under the horror of loosing grounds in the voter support barometer, no one must understate the essence of the presumptive Republican Nominee rushing to name Congressman Paul Ryan as the Vice Presidential candidate of the Republican ticket.

When it comes to politics, perception is everything. A political strategy and campaign that is loosing grounds under a recalcitrance not to be transparent, a candidacy that is bemoaned by failure to project astute foreign policy vision and a dogged conviction of my way or the highway on issues of importance to all Americans, are recipe for a disaster come the November, 2012. Regardless of Mr. Romney’s action to nominate Congressman Paul Ryan as a running mate, the issues of his tax filings are never going to go away. The failure to appreciate that general elections are unlike party primaries, where issues are seen from a narrow prism of ideology or party politics, is fraught with problems and hardly appeasing. In general elections, all issues are fair game including public statements and voting records, especially, where the other candidate on the ticket is a seventh term congressman. That means the record of voting of Congressman Ryan in the past fourteen years is fair game; and, readily going to be scrutinized by many, including the controversial Ryan’s’ budget that Mr. Romney is about to grandfather into his campaign, if he hasn’t already.

According to prior congressional debates, Congressman Paul Ryan, House Budget Committee Chairman from Wisconsin, advanced the revolutionary idea on the future of Social Security and Medicare Programs that even one of the former Republican aspirants for the White House oval office, Newt Gingrich, lambasted as social engineering that will amount to not much. The notion that the only safety net remaining for most of our retirees could be turned to a voucher program is not only disheartening for many in this group, it has kept them wondering if the proposal is not meant to kick the elderly to the curb in their golden years. Congressman Paul Ryan will deny this and counter, the social program is no more sustainable at the rate it is being managed, never mind that congress dips its hands in the trust fund to manage unwanted and unneeded foreign wars. To Congressman Paul Ryan: “keeping tax rates low, cutting spending, and advancing fundamental reforms to our government's structural budget challenges are the keys to get America back on track.” Never mind if these initiatives pauperize our senior citizens, disadvantages orphans and children in poor homes.

The war against the elderly, women, the poor and handicapped is on; and, with Mitt Romney selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate, all we can expect is a seamless effort to derail our retirees who have worked so hard in their youth to pay into the system; marginalize the healthcare of women through potential repeal of Patients Protection and Affordable Care Act; and, cut down on food and education assistance to the poor and handicapped. Our elderly retirees, who are now being asked to do more than can be expected, because devious hands would not stop raiding the Social Security Trust Fund for worthless ambitions, are about to learn of their faith under a Romney-Ryan Administration. As far as the light weight foreign policy Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan is concerned, Medicare and Social Security, as we all know them, must be eviscerated; and, replaced by a voucher-like program and an opportunity for potential American workers to opt out of the program. In the eyes of Paul Ryan, social welfare programs are a drain on the economy and no one can know that better than Mr. Ryan, since he had to draw from his father’s social security to be able to even survive, not to talk about get an education. The seventieth term congressman lost his father very early, and if there was no social security benefit, if the program was ‘voucherized’ as proposed by him, he probably would be somewhere in the peck order of the Totem pole of the America Economy. You see, what goes around comes around!

As Mr. Ryan status expands with his nomination as half the ticket of the Republican Party for the 2012 general election, elements of his comments on August 2, 2012 begins to resonate even more importantly, regarding wealthy Americans taking advantage of the loop holes in the tax code to raid Uncle Sam’s Kitty Bank. To quote Mr. Ryan: “Our tax code has become an antiquated and complex maze that stifles economic growth and job creation. The tax code is littered with special-interest loopholes that prioritize the politically connected at the expense of hardworking American taxpayers. These special interest carve outs not only disproportionately benefit the well off, but they also narrow the tax base and lead to higher marginal tax rates to make up the lost revenue.” I cannot but agree more! Mr. Paul Ryan’s potential future boss is in this category, he has raided Uncle Sam’s kitty by taking advantage of the loop holes in our tax code to benefit financially.

Other Congressmen Paul Ryan’s comments will be perused very soon by others; but let me begin or add to the debate here. Upon President Obama’s signing of the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012, Paul Ryan in his capacity as House Budget Committee Chairman issued the following statement: "The President's signing of the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 is a welcome step toward providing Congress and American taxpayers with the transparency necessary to understand how sequestration will affect our national defense and key domestic priorities. With the President's signature, the administration is required under the law to submit this report to Congress within 30 days.” What is good for the goose is also good for the ganders. Maybe, it is time for Mr. Ryan to tell the world, in the spirit of transparency which he has called the Obama Administration to accede, what are the implications of his proposed budget plan, as it is going to affect our domestic priority, namely, the care of our youths, elderly and the disadvantaged. When designing a budget, it is often essential to contemplate and document the implication of the line items. It is essential to inform the public what the broadening implication of expanding national security budget on the back of social welfare programs, when a huge tax cut for the rich is being proposed by his future boss.

In a budget environment, where the middle class and the poor are being called to do more without much, Mr. Paul Ryan must understand the full trade-off of taking a write-off of $77, 000 for a fancy horse by Mitt Romney and wife, while Americans are eating out of garbage on skid row in Los Angeles, California. Aligning your strategy with a man, who is thumbing his nose at taxpayers who have called to see his tax papers for close to six months, while claiming to be proposing a tax plan under a future Republican administration that is fairer, is hardly not too difficult to decipher, as the Tax Policy group have independently verified that Romney’s tax plan, not only disproportionately punishes the middle class and the poor, but also, is a likely source of nemesis and despair for many more Americans than we can ever imagine. Further more, since charity begins at home; is it out of place for Mr. Ryan to ask his future boss to release his tax filings for more than one year?

Mr. ‘Vice-President-to-be’ Paul Ryan, the issue is not that Democrats are doubling down on massive tax increase to hurt small businesses; but rather, that Republicans are refusing to accede to any bill that will create jobs and ameliorate the housing problem. The bane of the current confusion is Congressional Republicans turning the job of lawmaking into a game of dissonance, where leading Republicans in congress are vowing to make Barack Obama, a one term President. The issue is playing politics at the expense of peoples’ jobs, homes and livelihood while shifting the blame to the White House, under the pretext that President Obama is anti-small businesses. Compoundable, the issue is the recalcitrance in congress that has made it the most dysfunctional body in American body politic, since the era of white only congressional body. As Bob Schaeffer of CBS Face-the-Nation program sarcastically puts it, on one of Scot Paley’s Evening Newscast, with the current congress, if fire had broken out on Capitol hill, lawmakers will still go into a discord regarding whether to call the fire department to show up to save the Capitol. This is how lawmaking in America’s Congress has degenerated. We now have a congress whose popularity is lower than Paris Hilton among Americans; and, congressional job rating, more like in the gutters!

There are numerous issues of concern in the past two months that will make a keen political observer shake his head and wonder what is going on in America’s Congress. Here are few of these: 1) S.3412, Middle Class Tax Cut Act failing in the House, after Senate passed it on a spread of (51-48) Vote; 2) H.R. 6168, President Obama’s proposed 2012-2017 Offshore Drilling Lease Sale Plan Act, failing in the House on a (164-261) Vote spread;. 3) The passing of HR 6079, Repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 by the House with a (244-185) vote spread.; 4) the Extension of the Bush Era tax cut, HR 8, in the house on a (256-171) vote spread; and, Passing on a (270-146) vote spread, repeal of Excise Tax on Medical Devices; and much more. I could have listed more but for the lack of space; however, I would like to highlight the implications of these five listed bills and how their repeals or passing impacts the current job situation and America’s economy.

S3412, Middle Class Tax Cut bill, if passed, would have put more money in the hands of the largest group of consumers in America; the middle income earners, who could have turned around and spent; which in turn would stimulate the economy, since America’s economy depends largely on household spending, which has lately been in the doldrums. When the House failed to pass this bill, under the pretext that it treats those Americans with income above $250, 000, disparately, despite the fact that polls show that, more than 66% of likely voters, say that the rich should pay more of their fair share in taxation, is nothing but beleaguering. When on August 1, 2012, Paul Ryan, in his capacity as House Budget Committee Chairman, issued the statement that a bipartisan vote to prevent a massive tax increase has triumphed, after S3412 failed in the house, one must wonder if he was not being disingenuous. Mr. Ryan, the presumptive Republican vice-presidential candidate for the 2012 general elections and his congressional Republican lawmakers, may have been bidding the work of the few rich Americans who are already paying less in effective tax rate than their own secretaries. Paul Ryan catapulted into deception and delusion when he said President Obama wants to increase taxes on more hardworking Americans to fuel ever-higher Washington spending. Where was Congressman Paul Ryan during the years when Republicans held the White House and devised a tax cut plan that withered down all the reserves during the Clinton Era? Where was he when Republican White House got into two foreign wars that were not paid for? Was he not part of the lawmaking body; Mr. 14-years in Congress?

Further, When America’s unemployment rate is close to 9 % and those of minority Americans is between 14-16%, what exactly was going on in the minds of congressional lawmakers when they killed H.R. 6168, President Obama’s proposed 2012-2017 Offshore Drilling Lease Sale Plan Act. The failure of a bill that has a better potential of creating more jobs than those giving away money to the rich, failing in the House on a (164-261) vote, is not only catastrophic, it is frankly, ludicrous!. Here are Republicans insisting that the coming general elections are all about jobs, jobs and jobs. The same group has worked tirelessly in congress to kill bills that would have brought jobs to Americans. An example of this is the killing of H.R. 6168. To turn around and say President Obama is hurting small business; or that his policies are chasing unsustainable spending increases, is once more, ludicrous! Mr. Ryan, Republicans in Congress have not taken any action to protect families and workers from massive tax cut as you want to believe; rather, they have bided the work of their campaign donors, rich men and women that bankroll their campaigns, by passing HR 8, Extension of Bush-Era Tax Cut for the rich through 2013.

How on earth can one imagine that the Republicans in the house are re-conciliatory, when they proceed to pass HR 6079, Repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 on a (244-185) vote spread on July 11, 2012? This is a law that congress debated, voted on, passed and signed into law two years ago by President Obama. This is a bill, HR 6079, that attempts to turn around a law that was tested for its constitutionality before the United States Supreme Court and effectively voted as constitutional and good-to-go! What exactly is going on here: are our lawmakers being retrogressive? Is there anything wrong in proceeding to do the people’s work or letting bygone be bygones? Doing the same thing the same way with the same negative outcome; and repeating it once more, again and again, is the beginning of malady! You cannot expect good results, when your inputs or assumptions are faulty or your presupposition, completely fallacious.

Wait a minute, did we not just heard from Mitt Romney and several Republicans that China was playing unfairly on the trade agreements and currency-valuation negotiations with the United States? China was effectively lambasted by Romany as an unfair trade partner which he vowed to punish once he wins the White House, as if he could really do that? Governor Romney and Congressman Paul Ryan need a crash course and probably a comprehensive spoon-feeding on international trade and foreign policy, or else, the nation will be ridiculed on the world stage, if they both ever win the White House come November. US House of Representative just passed HR 436, repealing Excise Tax on Medical Devices. This is like throwing sand in your own eyes. What will now prevent China from dumping million freights of medical devices into America’s market? After all, the United State House of Representatives says it is okay; who cares about manufacturers and workers in the Medical Devices industry. By pressing and passing the repeal of excise tax on medical device on June 7, 2012, one must expect that there is an aversion to that type of disadvantage competition that killed companies like Solyndra, the solar panel company that was in a fight for its life before filing for bankruptcy because of tough competition from solar panels from China.

This is the legislative environment that the presumptive Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, Paul Ryan, is coming from. The animosity of the past three and half years that has effectively grounded the relevance of congress as an effective lawmaking body and promoted foreign policy neophytes into flag bearer and demy-Gods in the Republican Party, which facilitated the coronation of extremism in budget management and planning, is what America will be looking forward to, come January 2013 if the Romney-Ryan ticket wins the White House. I understand that a few political pundits have written that Paul Ryan will be an effective attack dog for the presumptive Republican Nominee Mitt Romney? Based on his recent record in Congress, there are more questions for Mitt Romney’s Vice-presidential choice come the debate time with Vice-President Biden. It will be an interesting debate to watch on issue of foreign policy. Frankly, the budget proposed by Paul Ryan, will more likely do the Republican Party ticket in than his or potential future boss’s ignorance of foreign policy!

I do not believe that the Obama-Biden campaign strategists should be loosing any sleep on the choice of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s running mate. By his choice, Mitt Romney has effectively sold his soul to the Tea Party group and lost his bearing to a forty-two year old man, who all he can see is crashing the same safety net that once held him from falling completely into abyss or irrelevance. Mitt Romney’s perception that Paul Ryan is a favorite of the tea party or a laudable budget guru differentiates him from the rest of us who can read within the line. To Presumptive Republican Party Presdiential Nominee, Mitt Romney, this election is about winning at all cost, even if it takes flip-flopping on many issues, refusing to release tax filing papers for more than one year, and denying his obvious catastrophic foreign trip that hasn’t bolster his foreign policy credentials. Like the Mayor of London, England, puts it: "that Mitt Romney wants to know if we are ready!" Well, with his choice of Paul Ryan, many Americans, especially our Senior Citizens are saying: I hope these men are ready for our questions regarding their plan for our Social Security Benefits, our Medicare, Our Savings and Our homes?

Friday, August 3, 2012

The Death of truth in American Politics: When the Presumptive Republican Nominee Refuses to Release Tax Filings?


Keywords or Terms: Romney’s Tax Plan; Tax Papers; Foreign Accounts; Tax Policy Center; Mitt Romney: Cayman Island and Swiss Bank Account; American Corporation

“Bain Capital is one of the world's leading private, alternative asset management firms whose affiliates manage approximately $65 billion. Our principals are the largest single investor in each of Bain Capital's funds, which aligns the interests of the firm with our investors and the long-term objectives of the management teams.” This is a direct quote from the home page of a company once managed by the presumptive Republican Nominee, Mitt Romney. No one is begrudging the wealth of this company and hardly anyone, is interested in another American Corporation falling through the cracks; rather, we will all like the private equity firm to continue to do what many American Corporations do: make gazillion dollars! Interestingly, the wealth of Mr. Romney, which is probably in a blind trust by now, is intricately tied to the future success of this equity firm.

With the ambition of Mr. Romney for the White House’s oval office, there are taxpayers who will like to know when Mitt Romney actually left the reigns of the alternative asset management firm? While some taxpayers are inquisitive about whether the asset management firm sent some American jobs overseas during the convoluted reigns of Mitt Romney, a few like me really just wants to know: if the potential ‘President Romney’ actually failed to pay taxes on his income, just like the law of the land demands; and, which many of us in the middle-income group have acceded to without complaints or refusal to release our tax returns.

This new interest comes out of two main concerns: 1) the allegation that Mr. Romney once held foreign bank account(s) in Switzerland and the Cayman islands and 2) the assertion credited to an anonymous source of Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, a fellow Mormon: that Mr. Romney failed to pay or took advantage of loop holes in the tax codes to avoid paying taxes to Uncle Sam. These are very serious allegations, if true; for, I could remember that Vice-President Spiro Agnew in 1972 had to resign from office due to issues of tax evasion. For those of you who are old like me, who actually experienced the disdain Americans had for tax dodgers, it is not uncommon or unusual, for many of us to demand, not call, that the Republican flag bearer for the 2012 General Elections, releases at a minimum seven years tax returns, this is the threshold that the Internal Revenue Service requires in an audit. Understandably Mr. Romney is not going through an imminent audit; however, he is seeking to be the boss of the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies, that is why he has to follow the law and accommodate this demands of tax payers who are very concerned about the recent allegations and assertions from as high up as the leader of the Senate Majority.

For those of you who are saying, why are we so nosy? Why are we so interested in Mitt Romney’s tax albatross? Well, we are because Mr. Romney’s proposal for a tax cut come January 8, 2013 under his potential reign, has been researched and documented by a non-partisan group, Tax Policy Center, and found to be disadvantageous to the largest group of workers in America. It is assessed and projected to shift eighty-six billion dollars away from hard working people of America; and make some of them pay close to $2,000 in extra taxes. According to the Tax Policy Center, Mr. Romney’s plan or proposal is more likely to raise taxes on middle and low income earners, exacerbate our national debts and plunge the economy into further abyss while compounding the national problem of unemployment and deficit. For those Republicans, who continue to criticize President Obama for tripling our national debt due to fiscal policies pursued to correct for Republican President Bush’s indiscretions, it is important that taxpayers demand for answers regarding Mr. Romney’s plan and his his taxation issues. It is also a time to call a spade a spade; and, not continue to allow ourselves to be hoodwinked by the rich among us and their surrogates.

True, we don’t want to go into debts to fight unnecessary wars; we are also, uninterested in cutting taxes for the wealthy, so that the helpless and disadvantaged groups among us, can continue to go without a meal or health care; just for the rich to afford a bigger yacht, extra country club passes for their mistresses and an extra roulette watch for junior; who can barely spell: forbearance! President Obama, called for the rich to do their fair share to rebound the economy by paying extra in taxes if they make more than a quarter of a million; many republican lawmakers find that intolerable and so, voted against the proposal when put to vote in congress. Interestingly, one policy adviser, who is said not to have been authorized by Mr. Romney’s campaign, released an email to the press that indicated that the expected economic growth from the proposed Romney’s tax plan was not accounted for in the Tax Policy Center assessment or evaluation. One is apt to wonder, if a man is not authorized by a campaign team to talk on its behalf, why is the individual part of the policy campaign team; and why on earth, has he released an email he is unworthy of backing? If in reality, the policy analyst is not authorized to speak on behalf of Romney’s camp, then, his assessment is not relevant to the debate. We must therefore default on the assessment of the Tax Policy Center, as correct and complete; if not the gold standard henceforth.

It is not just enough to dispute findings of the Tax Policy Group, it is imperative that the Presumptive Republican Nominee releases his tax filings for seven years, at minimum, for us to know how transparent he is going to be if we ever vote him into office. Some republicans think it is strange that Mr. Romney’s taxation record is being hounded by many Independents, Centrists and Democrats. Someday, we may be able to write into our laws that any aspirant for the highest office in the land will be required to release tax filings for a better part of fifteen to 20 years, to be above board. The truth is: we cannot afford having someone lord it on us, if he or she is actually not following decency; and probably, a justifiable request from other tax payers. We cannot be accommodating a former resident of Utah who carpet bagged to become a former governor of the State of Massachusetts; and, who promised to get back to the press regarding the inadequacies in his residency status about a decade ago; who is now making a shudder for the request of his tax filings beyond one or two years he has promised. The United States of America is not a banner republic and no one, must treat this great nation shoddily. If Mr. Romney thinks we are all fools, he must think again!

The fundamental difference between President Barack Obama and Mr. Mitt Romney is: BO is honest enough to tell the world that one of their own, a privileged man with over 250 million dollars in assets, must be made accountable on issues of a tax plan and taxation. It may seem complicated for the former Chief Executive Officer of Bain Capital to stomach, but no one invited him to run for the White House; he chose to do so; and, must be willing to take the heat, it is just part of the territory. The taxation that fuels a double trillion economy comes out of sacrifice and forbearance of many; including some of our heroes and their families, who are bearing the brunt of the foreign wars that America has been engaged in the past decade or more. If Romney wants to talk tough on Iran and make promises to take America to war, if necessary, he must be willing to pay for it; and one of the first step of doing that, is paying taxes and remaining transparent about the process.

Arguably, the new call is coming out of concern for the nomination process. If Republicans are slow to resolve this apprehension or concerns from Americans regarding Romney’s taxes, we may end up having to deal with a fracas at the Republican convention regarding his status as the Republican flag bearer; a situation that many Republicans will tell all of us is untidy. The taxation plan was part of Romney’s campaign to replace president Obama; how can that be, if he is not upfront with his own record of tax payment and a proposal he is advancing as the panacea to America’s sluggish economy. Why must we get into a drag out, to get a presumptive leader of a major political party to be transparent on an issue as simple as a tax records? Is the nation expecting too much from someone, who is aspiring to be the leader of the free world?

The answers to all these questions rely on what Mr. Romney’s does henceforth on the issue of releasing more than one or two years’ tax filings. Although it is his prerogative to do what is decent and right by the Republican Party; however, if he refuses, he is probably going to be hounded more than before as we get closer to the November elections. If you slow the process of coming clean, there are ways that the truth jumps out of the clouds of lies. Conspiracies have been known to arise from a politician failing to come clean immediately there are questions regarding personal behavior or a burning issue; and, most politicians who have been in the shoes of Mr. Romney today will honestly tell him to release the tax papers; and, let the wind blow where it may. The difficulty of holding back what Mr. Romney may be considering as a burning stick may end up being the rabble rouser within his own political party! A word is sufficient for the wise!