Voters can change direction of country in 2010By Ryan Costello
Has the historic spending and expansion of government by the Democrats gone too far? The combined costs of the various "stimulus" and bailout programs rammed through Congress are projected to reach $9.7 trillion, according to Bloomberg News.
That amounts to almost two-thirds of the value of everything produced in the U.S. during 2008. It would be enough to pay off 90 percent of the mortgages in the United States. It equals $30,000 for every man, woman and child in America. With $9.7 trillion, you could send a $1,430 check to every man, woman and child in the world.
It gets worse. It is certainly appropriate to evaluate legislation to address climate changes concerns. However, according to the Heritage Foundation, the recent cap-and-tax proposal approved by the House of Representatives would result in the loss of 3,117 jobs in the 6th Congressional District in the year 2012. The same study found that the act would result in a personal income loss of $415 million for Pennsylvanians in the 6th District alone.
Democrat proposals regarding healthcare reform for a government run healthcare system will prove even more costly to taxpayers and fail to address the problem of ensuring quality care to all Americans. Starting, owning or operating a small business will become even more burdensome —discouraging economic growth at the very time we need it most
For fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the federal government will record its largest budget deficits as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since shortly after World War II.
In fact, the CBO estimates that the federal debt held by the public will soar from 41 percent of GDP at the end of fiscal year 2008 to 60 percent at the end of fiscal year 2010.
The "stimulus bill" has proven a failure at stimulating the economy. Less than 10 percent of stimulus money has been spent in the six months since enactment. Unemployment is now at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, up from 7.6 percent when President Obama took office. The economic indicators are so bad that the Obama Administration postponed its mid-year economic report from mid-July to mid-August to avoid releasing a host of bad economic news as it seeks to push health care reforms through Congress. It is obviously not having the immediate economic impact promised by Congress.
What we really need are policies directed at job creation and lowering small business taxes to kick-start investment and innovation in the economy. The Democrats in Congress are failing to recognize that growing small businesses is the only way to truly create short term and sustainable job growth. The Democrats' plan — increasing government spending — only means more money out of the pockets of working families, seniors and future generations. Will federal leadership rely on the ingenuity and entrepreneurial characteristics that America was built upon? Or will federal leadership further expand government in an attempt to solve problems, regardless of the damaging effects on the future of our country? Attempting to solve our current financial crisis by burdening future generations with even more debt is not the solution.
To date, the majority party in Washington, D.C., has not been providing the true leadership our country, our economy, and the American people need. We are headed in the wrong direction. Ultimately, it may be up to the voters in 2010 to change the course through electing new leadership in Congress.
Ryan Costello is an attorney and the Chester County Recorder of Deeds. He is seeking the Republican nomination to run for Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District in 2010.
For more information, visit his campaign Web site, http://ryancostelloforcongress.com
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