Thursday, February 5, 2009

A letter/ reply from my Congressman

Tom's Journal.
http://tomschuckmanjournal.blogspot.com/
tschuckman@aol.com

You can't say Tom didn't try ! What is YOUR excuse for not taking up the fight for our children's future ?? Lack of action could put the USA on the fast track to going bankrupt and total failure and shame... But maybe this all fits into God's Plan in Jesus Christ coming back to "set things right." On that day, 'men will water their knees...' http://www.buffalonews.com/260/story/570428.html

Here is a letter from my WI Congressman, Paul Ryan.

Tom


Dear Thomas:

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the economic stimulus proposal that recently came before the House. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know your views on this important issue.

The mounting economic hardships throughout Southern Wisconsin - from mass layoffs to growing insecurity - have been downright gut-wrenching. Families are finding it more difficult to make ends meet while they watch their savings evaporate. As Congress takes action to help spur economic recovery, it must adhere to the principle of first and foremost - do no harm. To this end, any 'stimulus' package Congress considers should be focused on protecting the taxpayer and avoid prolonging our decline by simply throwing borrowed money at the problem.

Unfortunately, legislation was recently rushed to the House floor that ignores these important principles, relying instead on the mantra that "Washington knows best." H.R. 1, the so-called "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009" is a trillion dollar spending bill that would repeat the mistakes of a flawed economic doctrine which deepened our depression in the 1930s. At a time when our country is loosing tens of thousands of jobs a week and communities in Southern Wisconsin continue to be hit especially hard, H.R. 1 would make matter worse with a fiscal response that is slow, wasteful, and shackles future generations with a massive debt burden.

Among the most troubling provisions of H.R. 1;

o Trillion Dollar Price Tag: The $816-billion package will be financed by borrowing, which will result in additional interest costs of $347 billion - putting the total cost of H.R. 1 to over $1 trillion.

o Does Very Little to Help Protect and Create Jobs: We need to help small businesses, entrepreneurs and the self-employed survive this recession and give them incentives to expand. 70% of our jobs in America come from small businesses. Yet there are more taxpayer dollars dedicated to arts and culture, cars for federal employees, and renovating federal buildings, than to helping small businesses grow.

o Wasteful Spending: $54 billion is spent on 19 programs deemed "ineffective" or "results not demonstrated" by the Office of Management and Budget.

o Special Interest Wish List: $600 million for brand new "green" cars for Federal government employees; $650 million for digital TV coupons; $7.7 billion to improve federal buildings; $50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts; and other dubious special interest projects.

o Not So "Timely" After All: Even if borrowing and spending is the answer to our economic crisis, only a small fraction of the spending in the Majority's bill will take place in 2009. By the start of fiscal year 2011, roughly half of the spending from this bill will remain unspent.

o Another Round of Rebate Checks: The tax provisions in this bill do not encourage risk-taking; they do not encourage investment and job creation. The bulk of the tax 'cuts' are simply rebate checks - $10/week for individuals and $20/week for couples. We tried rebate checks last year, and they simply don't work.

o Guarantees Future Tax Hikes: The calls for new record spending would only exacerbate our exploding budget deficit, a national debt nearing $11 trillion, and well over $50 trillion of unfunded promises. By adding over $1 trillion dollars to this abysmal fiscal situation, we are guaranteeing tax increases in the near future. To hit a recovering economy with massive tax increases is a recipe for disaster.

While this proposal falls well short of meeting the needs of our country, I fought hard to improve the stimulus bill with amendments and alternative proposals aimed at creating and protecting jobs. Before the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Rules Committee, I offered amendments aimed to boost incentives to expand business operations help small businesses make payroll and add new jobs. Because H.R. 1 provides no relief from the tax increases facing families and small businesses and not enough relief for small businesses to keep and create more jobs, I proposed to extend for two years the individual marginal income tax rates (which is the tax small businesses pay), provide for two years of full expensing for businesses, and make permanent the 15% tax rates on capital gains and dividends, indexed to inflation, rather than allow massive tax hikes to hit Americans at the end of 2010. Unfortunately, my attempts to improve this bill were rejected.

In an attempt to work with the new administration, I worked with my colleagues to craft an alternative proposal based on fast-acting tax policy along while strengthening and expanding unemployment assistance. Using upon the same model as President Obama, my proposed alternative would create 6.2 million jobs, unlike H.R. 1, which is reported to produce 3 million jobs, costing taxpayers $275,000 per job. Alternatively, my substitute would produce twice the jobs at half cost.

Despite my efforts, H.R. 1 was brought the House floor absent any of the changes or alternatives I offered. On January 28, 2009 the House passed H.R. 1 by a vote of 244-188. These are painful economic times, and the desire for an immediate economic recovery is shared by all. Additional assistance to those hit hardest by this recession - including families in Southern Wisconsin coping with painful layoffs - is an important part of any recovery effort. While the House missed an opportunity to enact an economic stimulus package that tackles the fear and uncertainty gripping the marketplace, I am hopeful Washington can come together in a bipartisan fashion to address our greatest economic and fiscal challenges.

We cannot borrow, spend, and tax our way of this crisis - we need to promote sustained economic growth and we need to act now. Sustained economic growth cannot come from Washington; but rather from the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of the American people. With tremendous fear and uncertainty in the market, Congress can provide lasting tax certainty by dropping its promise to raise taxes at the end of next year on investment, savings, businesses, families, and workers. Fast-acting tax policies should focus on boosting incentives for expanding business operations and creating good-paying jobs. We should allow immediate expensing on all new investments and lower our job-killing corporate income tax - currently the second highest in the industrial world. Additionally, commonsense regulatory reform that concentrates on openness and transparency should be enacted to address what got us into this mess in the first place.

In the meantime, if you wish to share additional information with me concerning this issue, please feel free to contact me by calling, emailing, writing, or faxing me. Please be advised that mail sent to my Washington office is subject to an additional two-week delay due to increased mail security. I thought you might also be interested in receiving regular updates on what is happening in Congress and the 1st District delivered directly to your e-mail inbox by signing up for my Instant News Updates. To receive the updates, visit my website at http://www.house.gov/ryan and click on the Instant News Updates graphic on the right side of the screen for this free service.

Thank you again for contacting me on this issue. If I can be of further assistance to you regarding this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am always happy to respond and be of service to you.


Sincerely,

Paul Ryan
Serving Wisconsin's 1st District



NOTE: This email comes from a send-only email server. Please do not reply to this email.
To reply back to me via email, please click on the following link: http://www.house.gov/ryan/email, or visit my web site at http://www.house.gov/ryan.


If you have an urgent concern, please feel free to call me toll-free in Wisconsin at 1-888-909-RYAN (7926). Or visit, call, mail or fax me your comments or concerns by contacting one of my Constituent Services Centers at the following locations:

JANESVILLE
20 S. Main Street, Suite 10
Janesville, WI 53545
Phone: (608) 752-4050
Fax: (608) 752-4711
RACINE
216 - 6th Street
Racine, WI 53403
Phone: (262) 637-0510
Fax: (262) 637-5689
KENOSHA
5455 Sheridan Road, Suite 125
Kenosha, WI 53140
Phone: (262) 654-1901
Fax: (262) 654-2156
WASHINGTON, DC
1113 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3031
Fax: (202) 225-3393

Listen to the Song...


Tom's Journal.
http://tomschuckmanjournal.blogspot.com/
tschuckman@aol.com

<<< Here is a picture of Tom when he was 100 lbs. lighter and weightlifting a lot more, about 12 years ago. Don't worry, I had sweat pants on.


The reason that I posted this particular song by BTO is that I have been using that 'catch phrase' to warn people about what most fundamental Christian Bible students already know/ knew and understand. BTW [by the way], if you truly are a person who loves Truth, Freedom, and Jesus Christ, and you seriously want to understand what you are reading in the Bible and/ or want to draw near to God and be SAVED from eternal hell --but go to heaven--- sincerely pray to God Almighty in a humble way and ASK Him to show you the way, confess all your sins of the past, admit that you are a sinner, and believe in your heart and publicly that Jesus Christ died for YOUR/ OUR sins, was put to death and was RESURRECTED. End your prayer with: 'in Jesus name.' For many people, including myself at one time, it will "seem too simple!" But it works, and after you are SAVED, 2 things will happen, first: The Holy Spirit will dwell within you, make you strong and full of inner and outer Joy and Happiness/ Strength. 2. Satan the Devil will start to attack you and drag you away from the Lord. He hates the Truth of the Bible and that another human being has stood up for Christ! So-- be fore warned, please. This will be the most important, happiest day of your LIFE, but that is only the beginning of a Christian's life forever. Many doors will open-- but there will also be persecution from all corners. You will have a "super tool" / Friend on your side. The Holy Spirit, who will arm you, make you strong and give you strength and knowledge to fight anything and anybody.

Now friends, it is NOT my intention to continually post depressing news about the future. But who likes to be 'blind sided' out of the blue and caught with out their clothes off? The Bible talks enough about how a Soldier needs to be on guard and alert when on duty [and sometimes that means 24/ 7] -- and [Ephesians 6:14] "Stand there for, having your loins
girt about with Truth, ...." In ancient Bible days, they had combat down to a science too, believe it or not, and soldiers many times wore a thick, wide belt sometimes with suspenders to reinforce it, and it was similar to our modern day weight lifting belts [I used to be a power lifter and have some old pix to prove it]. A weight lifter leaves the belt relatively loose until he is ready to make a big lift, and then he tightens it very tight to hold in his guts so he does not get a hernia/ rupture, and it also strengthens his back too. They also increase your confidence and 'psych you up' mentally. So Christians are admonished to BE READY for the unexpected-- and just think about the recent fast moving events in the last 4 months! Wow! Can you imagine how some older, disabled, retired people feel about losing most or all of their savings and investments, 401K's, UGMA's, Mutual Funds, etc because of the GREED, THEFT AND INCOMPETENCE of our Gov't Financial system ??! And the well-connected perps walk free.... Ha! Their dreams and life's hard work are all up in smoke! People/ bums who never worked a day in their lives and never paid into the System don't really give a hoot, as they know that Obama will provide the Welfare and special interest groups Entitlements that they have come to depend on, never breaking a sweat and EARNING their money... and we are talking about 4th and 5th generation welfare, AND the illegal aliens...LOL! Sorry, I was not raised that way, and you all know my personal history, good and bad, like an open book.

And on that point, I want to make a few things clear about 'sniping' and abusing the "flagging feature" on Blog spot, and other Web sites. Many times, COWARDS who hide under their rocks, don't have what it takes to meet me/ us front on to discuss or criticize our posts man to man, and are chicken to post their own email address--- so they just "Flag" my/ our posts to try and get me/us into trouble with Blogspot. [Thank you, Dirk, for making me aware of that! Dirk writes a great, informative on-line Journal. Please visit him.] Hey, I welcome a "Human Review !" But let me inform everyone that what is not "Politically Correct" is NOT the same as telling the Truth about an issue!! People love to misuse/ abuse the 'right' to Flag an article just because they disagree with the TRUTH! We are NOT a totally SOCIALIST nation, just yet. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Obama might be working day and night to make that happen... and it just COULD happen with the stroke of a pen in the Oval Office at 2 AM in the morning, secretly-- but we still have some of the U.S. Constitution to defend our precious 1st and 2nd Amendments... YET.

And on that note, I remember my dear high school days at Waterford High School in Wisconsin in the mid- '60's with some great teachers that really cared about us kids. I was a History buff anyway, but I remember a lot about World War 2, and what led up to that terrible take over in Germany. The average Germans were NOT good leaders, and after the French punished them so badly, over the top, breaking their backs in heavy retribution for so-called 'war damages', the country fell into a GREAT DEPRESSION in the late 1920's-early '30's, and they LET A CRAZY 'MESSIAH' sell them out and stole their honor, sanity and common sense. The first thing Hitler did was to DISARM the nation! After that all the other Freedoms were systematically taken away-- as the people could not defend them with out firearms! History repeats itself BIG TIME, and you are seeing it right now in front of your very eyes in D.C. Beware! Once your freedom is lost-- it will be very hard to gain it back-- if at all.

Have a great, safe day. We have a heat wave of 22 degrees F. above today!! Woo Woo!

Tom