Tuesday, January 6, 2015

REPUBLICANS SWORN IN AS NEW MAJORITY IN CONGRESS. WHAT ARE THEIR FIRST BILLS TO TRY TO PASS?

January has arisen and if the stock market over the last few days is any indication, 2015 is shaping up to be one hell of a roller coaster ride. As of this writing around two thirty EST, the Dow has sunk 133 points which is still better than the 200 it was down earlier. But with oil continuing to sink, energy stocks are nose diving with them. The fact that all companies slow down the stock buy back programs this month isn't helping either. Greece is still in major trouble as austerity has never worked ever, yet the EU seems to have no other ideas how to fix anything and are now entertaining the idea of letting Greece sink on their own and creating their own QE program that hasn't exactly worked anywhere where that has been tried either. Good times.
Meanwhile, John Boehner held on to his position, just as Pelosi and Reid did for the democrats. Insane crackpot Louis Golmert made a half assed play for the Speaker position but even the right knows he's loonier than Charlie Sheen, Michelle Bachman and the subway guy from Ghost all rolled up into one so that didn't happen. You know it's a sad day when you say "Thank God John Boehner kept his seat."

So right away, the GOP has a "jobs" bill and are threatening Obama's global warming policies. Awesome. The so called jobs bill isn't really one but these are the same guys who name things like the clean water act which in reality is the exact opposite and allows more toxic sludge into our drinking water. Here are the three things in said bill:

Hire More Heroes Act:  The president’s health care law “is prompting many” small businesses “to hold off on hiring and even to shed jobs in some cases,” CNBCreports.  The Hire More Heroes Act will help by exempting veterans who are “already enrolled in healthcare plans through the Department of Defense or the VA from being counted toward the employee limit under the health care law,” the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), explained in this week’s Republican Address.  “So not only are we providing small businesses – and our economy – with much-needed relief, but we’re also helping more of our veterans find work.”
There is nothing true about that statement. People can't find work, not because of Obamacare, but because there are NO jobs that pay well anymore. Bill Gates rightfully said this week again that as many as 75% of all jobs will be non-existent in 20 years. How are people going to make a living when work is not available? This is just another shameful way to chip away at Obamacare instead of fixing it which it desperately needs.

  • Save American Workers Act: Thousands of workers have seen their hours and wages slashed thanks to ObamaCare’s employer mandate that forces businesses to hold hours down to 30 per week or face a penalty.  Women and low-income workers are particularly hard hit by the mandate, according to an analysis by the Hoover Institution, which found that the 30-hour rule puts 2.6 million Americans earning less than $30,000 a year - 63% of whom are women – at risk of having their hours and their wages cut.  The Save American Workers Act restores the traditional 40-hour work week to protect these workers and help our economy grow.

  • Another bit of nonsense that has no scientific basis for fact. Companies that hold down wages and hours are doing so because they can and are blaming Obamacare, even though it had nothing to do with this. Companies have been doing this for decades, including to me several times in the late 90's. Funny, how as Obamacare didn't exist then that employers were already doing this. I would also point out that the Hoover Institute is a right wing think tank that is no better than the Heritage Foundation and whose study is beyond suspect. And even if this law does pass, what is to stop employers from cutting people off at 38 hours and denying full time benefits that way?

  • Approving the Keystone Pipeline: President Obama has stood in the way of thewidely-popular Keystone pipeline for more than six years, putting his own political interests ahead of thousands of jobs and increased energy security for the American people.  The House will once again act where the president has not and approve the Keystone pipeline, keeping the pressure on the White House to finally move forward with what one labor union calls a “lifeline” for American workers. 

  • This bill has been found to create somewhere between 5 and 35 new jobs. What will we do with that big dent in our unemployment record? It will also give the Canadian oil company zero liability from any future spills and do absolutely nothing to help with already record low gas prices. This part is dead on arrival unless they somehow come up with twenty traitorous Democrats to override the inevitable Obama veto.
    None of these will make a dent in unemployment or help average Joe's with their paycheck. Things like raising the minimum wage, which as of right now has no facts saying doing so ruins an economy and plenty that say otherwise, regardless of what some keep telling us, are no where to be seen. If people who voted for these expected any different, they were smoking something they shouldn't be. Unless they live in Colorado, California or Washington of course.

    The keystone bill is likely to be on his desk soon, with a veto waiting to happen because it's a sucky bill. There is very little chance of an override. Here are three things the GOP is likely to do in the coming weeks according to Yahoo.com:

    The GOP could try to block Environmental Protection Agency regulations directly. The Congressional Review Act enables such resolutions to pass the Senate with a simple majority vote, meaning Democrats couldn't filibuster, once the regulations became final. That's scheduled to happen this year for Obama's carbon dioxide rule, which aims to cut power plant emissions nearly a third from 2005 levels.
    — Lawmakers could refuse to give Obama the $3 billion he has already pledged on the country's behalf to a global fund to help poorer nations address climate change. Obama hasn't yet asked Congress for any money to fulfill that pledge. The White House says the administration will make its first request in its budget plan for fiscal year 2016, which begins Oct. 1.

    — Republicans are likely to send Obama bills aimed at spurring energy development in the U.S., such as promoting drilling on federal lands or making it easier to export gas and oil. Many of these bills have previously passed the House and are teed up for quick passage by the new Congress.

    Obama is likely to veto all three of these, something I think he will be doing more than the two or three times he has done this in the past. It may pass that number in the first week of Congressional bills.
    The GOP is fast tracking everything no one wants, just like they said they would. For all of you who for some inane reason voted for this, enjoy. Don't expect much sympathy from me when things go belly up soon due to a bunch of drunken retards running the show.

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