Free Republic

PEOSTA, IOWA – At the White House Rural Economic Forum in Iowa today, President Obama made his case to “enlist” Iowans in the fight to end partisan gridlock in Washington, which he said is to blame for the lack of economic growth. “The only thing that is holding us back is our politics… The refusal of a faction in Congress to put country ahead of party. And that has to stop. Our economy cannot afford it,” Obama said at the Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, Iowa. The president is spending the second day of his three-state Midwest bus tour...

Today, the President announced several important new initiatives to continue strengthening the rural economy and to create jobs in rural areas. As part of the White House Rural Council’s efforts to improve federal government coordination on rural economic development, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have been focused on rural small business growth. And for good reason: Half the people who work in America either own or work for a small business, and two out of three new private sector jobs are created by small businesses. Many of these small businesses are in...

Where, exactly, does the U.S. Constitution authorize the federal government to create "sustainable communities" in order to: "... expand access to the capital necessary for economic growth, promote innovation, improve access to health care and education, and expand outdoor recreational activities on public lands." Clearly, the Constitution provides no such authority, and the Tenth Amendment prohibits the federal government from engaging in activity not explicitly enumerated and authorized in the Constitution. This fact meant nothing to Bill Clinton, who created the President's Council on Sustainable Development by executive order. Nor does this fact have meaning to Barack Hussein Obama. On...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama plans to create a special advisory council to recommend ways to boost the economic outlook and quality of life for the estimated 60 million people who live in rural areas of the U.S., a White House official said. Obama was expected to sign an executive order Thursday establishing the White House Rural Council and naming Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, of Iowa, to be its chairman.