The economy is still the dominant issue on Americans’ minds, as other hot button topics have taken a back seat. With the top three issues of concern being the general economy (31%), unemployment/jobs (22%), and dissatisfaction with government (11%), here are three simple points for the GOP to hammer home until November, and an explanation of each below:
1) A Democrat majority means higher taxes and higher cost of business that will hurt investment and job creation. A Republican majority means not raising income tax rates, cutting corporate tax rates, more investment, and more jobs.
2) A Democrat majority means more regulations and more uncertainty, which will also choke the private sector and limit job growth. A Republican majority means repeal of burdensome schemes like ObamaCare, and a regulatory framework designed to do its job, not to grow government while allowing the same problems like the financial overhaul will.
3) A Democrat majority means more politics of the worst kind: corruption, backroom deals, abuses of legislative procedures, disregard for the Constitution, etc. A Republican majority means a return to the Constitution, respect for procedure and the rule of law, and more transparency.
A Democrat majority means higher taxes and higher cost of business that will hurt investment and job creation. A Republican majority means not raising income tax rates, cutting corporate tax rates, more investment, and more jobs.
The first piece of legislation President Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which placed more burden on struggling businesses. Shortly after, Congress passed a nearly $1 trillion stimulus that ballooned the deficit, leaving us with the likelihood of tax increases to pay for it and other massive overhauls like ObamaCare. Even in a recession, Democrats haven’t extended the Bush tax cuts beyond this year. If they were going to do so, they wouldn’t be hesitating so much.
Even if some or all of the current tax rates were held, we’ll still face a host of new taxes and regulations. The new healthcare law will impose more costs on employers and manufacturers, which will likely be passed on to employees and consumers. Democrats have also pushed major changes to our energy sector that would drive jobs overseas, make our manufacturing sector less competitive, and increase energy costs. Changing regulations will be difficult to navigate, and the threat of new costs will limit job creation. That is one result of another Democrat majority.
Republicans would keep taxes low, and might be able to push President Obama for cuts to corporate and investment rates. Lower taxes and less threat of new costs will help incentivize investment and job creation, and will pressure Congress to spend less to keep the deficit down. Ronald Reagan proved it.
A Democrat majority means more regulations and more uncertainty, which will also choke the private sector and limit job growth. A Republican majority means repeal of burdensome schemes like ObamaCare, and a regulatory framework designed to do its job, not grow government while allowing the same problems like the financial overhaul will.
What will healthcare and energy cost in the coming years? Will investors take more of their money abroad due to taxes and better prospects? Will new laws open the doors to more expensive litigation? These are questions we have to ask as Democrats propose changes to almost every part of the American economy and society. If it’s not a healthcare overhaul, it’s an energy one, or an immigration one, or another stimulus, or a financial shake up. What effects would such laws have?
Good luck trying to figure that out, considering bills are coming out of Congress in the thousands of pages, written in ways that will be left to interpretation and will depend heavily on how they are implemented and enforced. The legislators writing the laws admit not reading them, so they don’t know what will happen either. Such behavior sends a chaotic message to businesses and investors. It’s hard to motivate people to invest money if they have no idea how what kind of return they’ll receive.
A Republican majority would not only lessen the everyday threat of new overhauls, it would likely attempt to repeal some of the burdensome laws that the Democrat Congress has imposed. Republicans also wouldn’t use our current problems as an excuse to grow government and advance an unrelated agenda while never really addressing the root causes.
A Democrat majority means more politics of the worst kind: corruption, backroom deals, abuses of legislative procedures, disregard for the Constitution, etc. A Republican majority means a return to the Constitution, respect for procedure and the rule of law, and more transparency.
The ObamaCare effort was one of the most disgraceful displays of governance that I can remember. Democrats were twisting arms and buying votes right in front of our eyes, writing huge pieces of legislation behind closed doors, gaming the budget score, and abusing parliamentary procedures. They even tried to pass the legislation without voting on it! ObamaCare may have some unconstitutional provisions, but some Democrats have admitted to not being concerned with constitutional questions on the matter.
This Congress has shown little regard for the rule of law. It has a win-at-all-costs attitude. Take the recent efforts to pass the DISCLOSE Act, which would muzzle political speech for those who aren’t in the Democrat camp or who haven’t cut a deal like the NRA did. DISCLOSE is an obvious attempt to legislate more Democrat power, regardless of our free political speech tradition.
Republicans would mostly take us back to the Constitution, our basic principles, and parliamentary procedure. They would increase transparency by actually putting bills online for people to read, and by using new media efforts like Eric Cantor’s YouCut. This would put Americans back in control of their government, the way the Constitution intended.
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