Obama Stokes the Union Heart

Obama has moved to block Boeing from building their planes in South Carolina, a right to work state. The National Labor Relation Board wants them in Washington, a labor state. Ms. Haley and the country cannot let this happen.

Read the article appearing below about Nikki Haley and her battle with the unions.  Nikki is taking a step to win another important battle - the battle of language.  Conservatives are not against unions - they are against mandatory or compulsory union membership.  They are all for voluntary union membership.  We must win the battle of labels!  Our freedom is at stake. - DSMW

The Means of Coercion

The privileged are revolting in Wisconsin.

There is a fundamental difference between private- and public-sector workers. A private-sector labor dispute is a clear clash of competing interests, with management representing shareholders and unions representing workers. In the public sector, as George Will notes, taxpayers--whose position is analogous to that of shareholders--are usually denied a seat at the table:

Such unions are government organized as an interest group to lobby itself to do what it always wants to do anyway - grow. These unions use dues extracted from members to elect their members' employers. And governments, not disciplined by the need to make a profit, extract government employees' salaries from taxpayers. Government sits on both sides of the table in cozy "negotiations" with unions.

Collective bargaining in the public sector thus is less a negotiation than a conspiracy to steal money from taxpayers. The notion that this is "in the economic interests of the middle class" for government employees in Wisconsin and elsewhere to get above-market wages and extremely lavish benefits is just laughable. Sure, government employees are "middle class," but so are the vast majority of taxpayers who don't enjoy the special privileges that come from owning the means of coercion. James Taranto - Wall Street Journal

Why Governor Walker Can't Fire the Teachers

As the teachers' union shutdown of Wisconsin public schools continues to escalate today, many have suggested that Governor Scott Walker fire the teachers who walked off the job and replace them with those who are willing to work.  The sentiment is reminiscent of President Ronald Reagan's dismissal of hundreds of air traffic controllers in the early 1980s at the nation's airports when they went on strike. Thus, the critics ask, why can't Governor Walker fire the teachers in Wisconsin who not only walked off the job but have accepted bogus 'sick day' excuses from unscrupulous physicians so that they can continue to receive pay for the days they are out of work? Anthony Martin - Conservative Examiner - Click To Read More...

Only Islam can End Extremism

The extremism we fear is a strain within Islam. It is wholly contrary to the proper teaching of Islam, but it can't be denied that its practitioners act with reference to their religion.  If it is a strain within Islam, the answer lies, in part at the very least, also within Islam. The eradication of that strain can be affected by what we outside Islam do; but it can only be actually eliminated by those within Islam. - Tony Blair

Jeb Bush Speaks Out on Immigration

 Republicans need to fight for their ideals—against "the general idea that you solve problems by mandating, regulating and taxing," and for "trusting the interaction of free people to pursue their dreams." When I ask him for specifics, he says that the Republican House should pass a budget "that's real, that rolls back discretionary spending at a minimum to the 2008 level, and that begins the process of challenging the general size and scope of the government."

Then he points to Congressional oversight of the regulatory process. Congress has abdicated its constitutional duty to oversee "the executive branch's execution of law," he says. Instead, it has gone about "just reauthorizing laws without looking at the costs and benefits," especially with regard to environmental regulation. "I think we should sunset every law and do a review of the rules."

Jeb Bush, two term Governor and much beloved by the people of Florida. He speaks out on the Country's approach to immigration. Married to a Mexican native and fluent in spanish, he successfully governed a heavily hispanic state. 

Cutting Taxes; First Business Of GOP Governors

In Iowa, South Carolina, Florida and Wisconsin, new Republican Governors are cutting and eliminating state and corporate income taxes. These states are making it the business of government to slash spending and revive growth. In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich and the Republican legislature have already introduced legislation to kill the state death tax. 

While Governor Pat Quinn, Dem. Illinois  has increased corporate income tax 50% and imposed its own death tax, these other newly elected governors have chosen to prove you cannot tax and spend to prosperity They are choosing instead, among other tax cutting steps, to reduce  capital gains taxes. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's first order of business was to eliminate his state's job killing 22% surcharge business tax. Nevada 's Governor Brian Sandoval has promised to kill tax hikes passed by the Democrats in 2009. 

Twenty-nine  elected GOP Governors, seventeen of them newly elected, will take office this month bringing with them the excitement of pro-growth tax policies  that will revive their states.  The divide between these states and hold-out tax and spend states like California, Illinois and Massachusetts will become vast.  How this plays out in the 2012 election will increasing become apparent. If President Obama runs for reelection voters will get to see this distinction.

If Mr. Obama puts his head in the sand and keeps on the same path, he's in trouble says Governor Walker of Wisconsin. Walker just eliminated income taxes for two years.

Cash-Poor Cities Take On Unions

But with the city facing a budget deficit that could drain its reserves by summer, Mayor Villaraigosa wants to re-open contract talks with 45,000 cops, firefighters, librarians and other city employees in hopes of persuading them to contribute more to their pensions and health-care costs. His deputy chief of staff, Matt Szabo, puts it bluntly: "Unions have priced themselves out of a job."

Conor Dougherty - Wall Street Journal

Vallejo's Painful Lessons in Municipal Bankruptcy

In 2008, Vallejo, Calif., was nearly broke. Faced with falling tax revenues, rising pension costs, and unmovable public-employee unions, the city was unable to pay its bills and declared bankruptcy. A report issued by the Cato Institute last September noted that 74% of the city's general budget was eaten up by police and firefighter salaries and overtime along with pension obligations. The average city in the state spends 60% of its budget on those things.

What they're finding is that even bankruptcy may not be enough to break the grip unions have on the public purse.

Steven Greenhut - Wall Street Journal

The Rich Can't Pay for ObamaCare

 The government is counting on squeezing an extra $1.2 trillion over 10 years from a tiny sliver of taxpayers who already pay more than half of all individual taxes.  Punitive tax rates on high-income individuals do not increase revenue. Successful people are not docile sheep just waiting to be shorn.

From past experience, these are just a few of the ways that taxpayers will react to the Obama administration's tax plans.

Read more in the Wall Street Journal

ObamaCare and American Power

The U.S. can't fund a health entitlement and maintain superpower status.  There was a time when the federal government spent most of its money on the armed forces  It wasn't until 1976 that entitlement spending exceeded defense spending. Since then the totals have been getting more lopsided-more for social programs, less, in relative terms, for defense.

Read Max Boot in the Wall Street Journal