Posted on 04/19/2007 5:50:54 PM PDT by dmanLA
From Congressman John Campbell's laptop to yours:
Thursday, April 19th, 2007
Happy Tax Day: Tuesday was the day your 2006 federal income taxes were due. It is not a day I like very much, and I suspect that most of you don't either. If you made more than $87,300 last year, which constitutes the top 10 percent of incomes in the nation, you are in a group that paid 70.8 percent of all taxes. That figure, by the way is up from 48.1 percent of all taxes paid by the top 10 percent in 1979. If you make more than $43,200, you are part of the top 40 percent of earners who pay 99.1 percent of all taxes. The bottom 40 percent pay no income taxes at all. Democrats have contended for some time that "the rich" do not pay their "fair share." Ten percent carrying 70 percent of the load may in fact be unfair. But to whom is it unfair? Arguably to that 10 percent.
Furthermore, a recent economic study by economist Gary Shilling concluded that 52.6% of all Americans now receive significant income from government programs. This is up from 28.3% in 1950. So, we now have a society in which the top 40% pay for almost everybody else to receive some benefit. And many in the majority party here in Washington want everyone to eventually be recipients of government "largess" through socialized medicine. We as a society accept that the majority of us have an obligation to care for the most disadvantaged among us. But, it makes absolutely no sense to take money from the middle class through taxes in order to give it back to that same middle class after wasting much of it through government bureaucracy and inefficiency.
This will be one of the great debates of the next few years. It will determine whether or not our economy grows and progresses or slips into fossilized decay through excessive government and insufficient freedom.
Defeat with a side of Pork: The biggest issue currently percolating here in DC is the question of what will happen to the troop funding bill after the president vetoes it. Just to remind you, both the House and the Senate passed, on largely party-line votes, bills last March on this matter. They allocate about $100 billion for the war on terror, but also include fixed withdrawal dates and over $20 billion of unrelated pork barrel spending.
Next, a conference committee must be formed to resolve the differences between the House and Senate passed bills. Then that "conference committee report" will have to be passed again by both Houses before it lands on the President's desk. The President has been very clear that he will veto either version or anything like either of them. He now holds a letter signed by 156 of us in the House that pledges that we will uphold that veto, which are 10 more than would be needed to do so.
The lack of funding is starting to have effect. The military is already drawing from naval funds to keep troops supported in Afghanistan and Iraq and other countries in the War on Terror. You would think that the urgency of this matter, coupled with the President's firm veto commitment, would lead to rapid action to find an acceptable compromise. But "conferees" (members of the conference committee) have not yet even been chosen by Speaker Pelosi. Today is the 72nd day since the President requested the funds from Congress and we're not even close to a solution. Congress should either move quickly or give the president the bill to veto, or accept that result as inevitable and begin to craft a compromise. As funding lapses start to impact military operations, the heat will be on to give clean funding support to the troops so they can continue their mission for us.
100 Days: The Pelosi majority has now been in power over 100 days. It may seem like it’s already been years, but it is in fact just over 100 days. And what have they accomplished in that 100 days? Well, they did get a bill to the President's desk to ban interstate transportation of chickens for the purpose of cockfighting. I like that. I was a cosponsor of that bill.
But that's it. One bill (except for post office naming, etc) to the President's desk so far. We have been here in DC almost every weekday of that period. But I always say, don't confuse motion with progress. Many bills have been passed in the House. But all have either died in the Senate or face certain Presidential vetoes. For example, none of the Democrats vaunted "six for 06" bills have become law and it is unlikely any of them will.
If the last Congress was a "do nothing" Congress, then this is a "do less than nothing Congress." It appears that the majority is more interested in making political statements and pandering to their base than making real policy.
Until next week, I remain respectfully,
Congressman John Campbell
It’s time for Bush to have a national address and point out what the Dems are doing on troop funding.
Pelosi and Reid.
and Name Names!
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