Politics Failing

I find it interesting that President Obama can challenge Republicans to offer a jobs plan that can be assessed by outside analysts and win similarly good marks as his own jobs plan, and the Republicans still complain. For the first time in Obama's presidency I feel like he is fighting for what he believes in. I don’t discredit him for seeking common ground during most of his term though, because compromise could be reached and he still accomplished things. However, since the beginning of the summer the public, and the White House, has seen that compromise is slow in coming and nothing is getting achieved that way. So Obama has taken on more of a firm stance and has decided to demand that something be done about the jobs situation immediately.  This is not contradictory to his prior stance, it shows that he can adapt to each situation and apply the necessary pressure required in each situation based on it’s own merits.


On the other hand, Republicans have not come up with a single alternative to the jobs bill that Obama put forth and all they are doing is sitting around complaining that he is wrong and his plan won't work. Stopping Obama’s plan and not doing anything else is only going to make our situation worse. If we have to do something and the only thing on the table is Obamas plan, then the Republicans either need to come up with a competing plan that gets equally as good marks or they need to make the necessary compromises and let Obama’s plan go through. On the plus side for them, if Obama’s plan fails then the Republicans can basically walk into the white house on election day.  It's a win-win for them. Either the economy gets better and we praise our Congress for helping or the plan fails and Republicans get the Presidency.


Overall, I can see why less Americans are participating in politics. It is out of control with too much division and not enough compromise. I would be surprised if the political system can even keep going at this rate. The lack of any appearance of bipartisanship is eating away at American’s trust in the system and too much distrust in the system always leads to a change of some nature. 

Cain and his 9-9-9

I have been waiting to see someone talk about Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan. It immediately struck me as way too simplistic to be feasible but since he was not considered a top candidate no one paid him much attention. However with the straw poll in Florida saying he is a contender, people are starting to constructively pick apart his campaign.

It seems there is no consensus about how Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan will affect our nation. However, in the blog, Talking Points Memo, it is obvious Author Brian Beutler is not for it. He discusses how Cain's plan will not bring in enough revenues and it will force the government to downsize in some very important areas. Beutler also points out that Cain would like to tack on an extra rule that if a future Congress were to make adjustments to his tax plan, that it would require a 2/3 vote in the Senate. I personally do not see any government organization willingly writing in a strict limit on itself for the future, especially not on a tax rate. However, even if Cain does get elected, this tax plan would likely hit a roadblock in legislation just as Obama is hitting right now with his jobs bill.

I see possible promise with the 9% corporate tax. However, I find it interesting that everywhere I read, people seem to be saying that the big companies pay 26% in taxes, but when it comes down to what they actually pay after deductions, that figure is just not true. So since a lot of big businesses use loopholes and massive deductions and pay little to no taxes, it seems like forcing them to at least pay 9% might actually bring in some money for the government. So that part of Cain's plan really has me interested to see if it could work. The 9% tax for families might be a tough one though. I know families also get a lot of deductions and if you start taking money out of their pockets right now then it could further dampen our sluggish economy, which is a move we can not afford right now.

To be quite honest, in the end, if we do not elect someone that congress will work with then we will be stuck right where we are with Obama, going no where fast. I have a feeling Cain's 9-9-9 tax plan would only serve to polarized Congress further and leave our nation in a rut for at least another 4 years. I do not know all the answers, and the media's coverage on this plan has left me asking more questions than before, but I do know I will be keeping my eye on Cain for sure and I am interested to see how much the media will jump in.