The Common Man's Common Sense Job Plan

On 9/9/11, I posted a blog titled, " The Greatest Speech in the History of Mankind".  It was a blog that I wrote while listening to Obama's speech.  Needless to say, I was not impressed with his speech or his Jobs Act.  Because I railed on Obama's plan, several of my readers have asked me what I would do differently.  While I am at a distinct disadvantage due to the intelligence and brilliance of Obama and his availability to tap acadamia's top think tanks and strategy rooms, I will try my best to compete with his ideas and convey my jobs plan from the table of my 22 foot camper all by myself.  My plan would be called "The Common Man's Common Sense Jobs Act"

First of all, the biggest and most fundamental change that needs to take place is an idealogical one.  What I would try to convey to the American public is the same sentiment that was expressed by Marco Rubio a month ago.  We don't need more taxes to the tune of $447 billion (added to the $787 billion stimulous package), we need more taxpayers.  And those taxpayers need permanent jobs, not the temporary construction "shovel ready" jobs proposed again by the current president. Permanent taxes for temporary jobs makes absolutely no sense to me.

In addition, I would make a speech that would attempt to immediately stop the blantant "divide and conquer" scheme of the Obama Administration.  President Ronald Reagan understood the power of words and brought the nation together when he stated, "How can limited government and fiscal restraint be equated with lack of compassion for the poor?  How can a tax break that puts a little more money in the weekly paychecks of working people be seen as an attack on the needy?  Since when do we in America believe that our society is made up of two diametrically opposed classes-one rich, one poor-both in a permanent state of conflict and neither be able to get ahead except at the expense of the other?....Since when do we in America endorse the politics of envy and division?"  We don't need a president that gives us a choice of taxing corporate jet owners or letting autistic children slip through the cracks.  We don't need a president that pits oil companies against the construction worker.  We need someone to bring us together. To focus and work toward the common goal of making America great once again.

Overall, I believe people are not worried about the economy.  I believe they are concerned about the cost of the all the regulations, new taxes, and new health care requirements placed upon them by the Obama Administration the last 32 months.  For example, if a company has $150,000 available for new employees, let's suppose they can hire 3 new employees. But, if they think they may have to pay $100,000 in new regulations, taxes and health care costs for their current employees, then they won't hire two of the three employees. If they are only going to get the benefit of one employee, is it really worth the added expense or is it easier to just give the current employees a few more hours or added responsibilities?  The answer is obvious as proven by the zero new jobs added last month.

So the first thing I would do is to repeal Obamacare.  I believe that this act would build some confidence in the American public and would start the ball rolling.  I do believe that the American health care system is the best in the world, but I do believe there is abuse and that it needs to be fixed.  I am not smart enough to know all of the answers, therefore, I would ask congress to come up with a plan that would be read by all members of congress first and then do what Obama said he would do but didn't.  I would post the bill on the internet for every American to read.  I would then ask members of Congress to go out and talk to their constituents and then come back and pass a bill that works for business as well as the individual.  The American people want three main things out of health care reform: They want health costs to drop. They want the number of people with insurance to rise. And they want to make sure that people with expensive preexisting conditions aren’t going without medical care. Conservatives can deliver on all three counts.  There are also many things that Americans don’t want out of health care reform: the loss of their health care plans; reductions in medical innovation; a decline in the quality of care; massive increases in federal spending and debt; the government injecting itself into the doctor-patient relationship; and eventual federal rationing. Conservatives can avoid following in Obamacare’s footsteps on each of these counts.

The health plan released by House Republicans in late 2009 already provides the framework for lowering costs. It would allow Americans to buy health insurance across state lines; allow small businesses to pool together to buy insurance; allow private entities greater latitude in following the cost-cutting model of offering lower premiums for healthier lifestyles; prevent runaway malpractice lawsuits, which lead doctors to practice costly defensive medicine and thereby substantially raise health costs for everyone; and make it easier to use pre-tax Health Savings Accounts (in connection with real insurance, used to cover unforeseen expenses, not routine care)—which let people control their own health care dollars, shop for the best values, and pay for care directly—rather than providing a tax break only for those who funnel their money through insurers.

The conservative's plan should emphasize three relatively simple things: lowering health costs, stopping the tax code from discriminating against the uninsured, and funding state-run community (“high-risk”) pools. A Conservative plan that did these three things would be scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) as cutting costs and adding on the order of 10 million people to the ranks of the newly insured. 

Then leave the rest of us alone.  I like my healthcare and so do most Americans.

The second thing I would do is to take a page from the Mark Levin playbook and introduce a "Super Wealthy Tax for Billionaires".  Warren Buffet wants to be taxed more.  He believes the government has been coddling him.  Bill Gates is a lib and thinks the wealthy should be taxed more also.  So I would tell them to shut up and write a check.  Talk is cheap, so I would urge Congress to pass a tax of a straight tax of $10 billion dollars on individuals that make $40 billion +.  That would include the exclusive group of two; Warren Buffet and Bill Gates.  As part of this bill, Congress would be required to comply with another Obama request.  They would be required to cut $10 in spending for every $1 in taxes.  So with the two individuals, we would have $20 billion in new taxes and $200 billion in required spending cuts.  Again, this would be a great confidence booster for the American public, it would allow Buffet and Gates to be happy and pay a lot of taxes, and it would allow our credit rating to be upgraded due to the spending cuts.  Common sense. And only two people in the entire United States are affected.  And they want to pay, so let them.

The third thing I would do is to revamp the EPA and the restrictions put on businesses and individuals.  Herman Cain proposed having a committee of people on the EPA that have been unjustly and unfairly fined by the EPA.  I agree.  Let's get the common man in Washington, D.C.  In addition to the "Common Man EPA Committee" I would"

1. Eliminate the special tax-exempt status granted to environmental groups.  Let's not kid ourselves.  These groups are not nonpartisan charitable foundations.
2. Eliminate special statutory authority granting environmental groups to bring lawsuits on behalf of the public.  I would also make these groups pay the defendant the amount of the lawsuit if the environmental group lost the lawsuit.  
3. I would fight all efforts to use environmental regulations to set governmental industrial policies and diminish the nations standard of living such as 'cap and trade' and efforts to regulate "man-made climate change".

Again, this would build confidence in American business and allow them to have confidence to hire more people.  More taxpayers.

The last thing I would do is the eliminate the progressive income tax and replace it with a flat income tax or national sales tax.  Every citizen of the country would be required to pay the tax so that they all have a stake in eliminating the abuse of federal government spending.  20% of America is illiterate.  They can't read english so they can't get jobs.  And guess who they vote for?  Whoever is promising a free lunch and that is part of the problem that has gotten us to the tough place that we are at now. 

My "Common Man's Common Sense Jobs Act" is not mainstream.  It's intended to be that way.  The academic think tanks in Washington, D.C. have failed us.  It is time for a new plan.  It needs to be simple and easy.  Basically, my plan is to have a flat income tax or national sales tax, reduce unnecessary federal spending, and relieve the burden of excessive government regulations.  1, 2, 3.  That's it.

By the way, as of my writing of this blog, the Obama Job Act has not been introduced as a bill.  The party line is that it hasn't been fully written yet.  But at the same time, Obama is traveling the country repeating the mantra to congress to "pass this bill" immediately.  Ironic isn't it?  Everything needs to be passed right now or we face "Armeggedon".  Insiders are saying that the bill hasn't been introduced yet because no congressman has attached his/her name to this act.  And the reason is because they all know this Jobs Act will not pass congress.  It is only a way to try to position the republicans as the bad guys.

Seems like I am not the only one that didn't like the speech.