A blog dedicated to commentary on US and global political issues from a social democratic point of view.
That said, I am happy to debate those who disagree with me so long as we can do so in a civil manner. My ideas are my ideas, but I don't pretend to be the bearer of eternal truth, and I am always re-evaluating what I believe.
Ron will work to safely increase domestic production of oil, clean coal, natural gas, nuclear and alternative energy. Roughly 60 percent of America’s oil is imported from other countries, which creates both security and economic threats to the nation.
Ron opposes the job-killing ‘Cap and Trade’ bill which is a crippling national energy tax. Cap and Trade legislation could cost an average Wisconsin family as much as $1,600 per year and would put Wisconsin businesses at a huge competitive disadvantage, damaging our economy for many years.
As a manufacturer, Ron knows first-hand how rising energy prices, over-regulation and high taxes can negatively impact the ability of a business to remain competitive in the global economy. States like Wisconsin, which rely heavily on coal-generated power, are at an even greater risk with the threat of costly energy taxes and increased government mandates.
Ok Ron, starting to get frustrated at your lack of specifics. Energy policy isn't my forte, but opposing Cap and Trade does not equal a positive energy policy. How exactly are energy industries over regulated? Was BP over-regulated? The Sago Mine?
Issue # 11 Agriculture
As our next Senator, Ron will expand Ag markets by allowing free trade, which fuels Wisconsin’s multi-billion dollar agriculture export market.
He’ll also support legislation to permanently eliminate the estate tax, which threatens the future of family farms.
Ron will oppose animal rights extremists who want to harm the agriculture industry. Our farmers treat their animals well –it’s their business and a Wisconsin tradition.
He’s supportive of Discovery Farms because on-site research and innovation is most effective to enabling farmer profitability.
Ron will work to maintain strong infrastructure important to our agriculture industry. Ensuring sound locks & dams on the Mississippi Riverway will aid tourism, agriculture, and interstate transportation critical to Wisconsin’s rural economies
By free trade does Ron Johnson mean removing subsidies from agriculture that distort the market? Opening markets for developing countries to compete with US farm goods?
The estate tax does not need to be permanently repealed and family farms can be protected if the estate tax doesn't kick in until $3 million or so. The Estate Tax prevents extraordinary wealth from being transferred from generation to generation. It encourages rich kids to get to work and not ride of the benefits of their parents. I thought Ron Johnson was for working hard to better yourself, not mooching off family wealth. I guess if you are rich not working hard is ok, but if you are poor it is not.
The whole animal rights extremist thing is overdone. As much as Johnson wants to stroke farmers, some of them do have inhumane practices (hint: they are not the family farms).
There you have Ron Johnson, won't talk to the media, won't be specific, who know what he's going to do. We can only speculate, and the tea leaves look ugly.
Preserving Medicare and Social Security and keeping the programs sustainable long-term are important steps in keeping America’s promise to our seniors.
First and foremost, Medicare and Social Security must preserve benefits for current retirees and those approaching retirement.
Upcoming generations of Americans deserve a safety net, too. That’s why Ron is committed to keeping these programs solvent and making reforms necessary to do so after first securing benefits for current retirees and those approaching retirement.
Ron is committed to going to Washington to fix the problems with our broken system and ensuring our seniors are cared for. This is no time to play politics with promises to our seniors, that’s why Ron is serious about making reforms.
ObamaCare’s Broken Promise to Seniors
ObamaCare represents a broken promise to seniors as it makes cuts to Medicare that will impact 100,000 Wisconsin seniors utilizing the Medicare Advantage program. ObamaCare makes $523 billion in Medicare cuts while increasing taxes by $569 billion. Russ Feingold provided the 60th vote for this legislation.
By repealing ObamaCare, which Ron supports, the Medicare cuts would be eliminated and Congress could start fresh on real reforms to bring down the cost of health care and make Medicare solvent in order to fix problems like the “donut hole.”
Social Security Solvency
Preserving Medicare and Social Security and keeping the programs sustainable long-term are important steps in keeping America’s promise to our seniors. First and foremost, Medicare and Social Security must preserve benefits for current retirees and those approaching retirement. Upcoming generations of Americans deserve a safety net, too. That’s why Ron is committed to keeping these programs solvent and making reforms necessary to do so after first securing benefits for current retirees and those approaching retirement. Ron is committed to going to Washington to fix the problems with our broken system and ensuring our seniors are cared for. This is no time to play politics with promises to our seniors, that’s why Ron is serious about making reforms.
Deficit Reduction and Social Security
Our nation has a spending problem, not a taxing problem. Instead of raising taxes during a weakened economy to reduce the deficit, Ron believes we should be taking common sense measures such as placing an overall cap on government spending, applying unspent stimulus and TARP money to deficit reduction, and repealing the massive health care bill which would add a trillion dollars to our deficit. If our country begins to rein in and prioritize spending, not only can we reduce the deficit and keep the promises to seniors, but we can secure the funds designated for the Social Security Trust Fund instead of spending the money for other commitments.
Ron Johnson's talking points on seniors and medicare/social security is by far the most substantive part. He clearly knows who his constituency is and what they are afraid of, that he is going to gut Medicare and Social Security. Again Johnson says some vague things about reforms, but mark my words, he will try to privatize Social Security and reduce Medicare benefits for young people. Of course, he won't do this for those currently on Medicare/Social Security because then he'd lose the senior vote and the youth vote does not matter as much. I guarantee you that when elected Ron Johnson and the Republicans will propose generational theft, making young people pay for seniors' benefits while reducing our future benefits. He will not be able to cut the deficit without hitting entitlement programs, and that means sticking it to our generation.
Issue #8, Defense
As our next Senator, Ron will take to Washington a deep reverence for the Constitution of the United States and for those who support and defend it.
Ron is deeply grateful for the more than 1 million men and women who have died and the millions who have been wounded while supporting and defending the Constitution since ratification.
Ron will ensure that America’s finest sons and daughters are not sent into harm’s way to defend America’s interests until diplomatic, economic and other instruments of national power are first exhausted.
Ron will fight to ensure that if servicemen and women are needed to protect America’s interests, they will be deployed with rules of engagement that allow them to accomplish their mission and allow them their most basic rule of self defense.
Ron will never endanger our men and women in uniform by voting to place artificial withdrawal timelines on our deployed forces.
Ron will fight to protect the rights and benefits of our nation’s Veterans.
Not much here other than nice words about our troops. Can't really argue with that, but there isn't any content either. My only questions, if Ron doesn't support an "artificial timetable," what would a "natural timetable" look like? Are we going to be in Iraq/Afghanistan forever? How does that jibe with Johnson's desire to decrease government spending?
Issue #9 Illegal Immigration
The first step towards controlling illegal immigration is securing our borders. Ron believes the federal government has failed to enforce current immigration laws and tighten our borders to stop the flow of illegal immigration.
Ron opposes blanket amnesty.
Ron also supports REAL ID, requiring employers to verify the Social Security numbers of potential employees. Ron supports providing law enforcement the necessary tools, such as the Patriot Act, to protect our country.
Businesses or employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants should be penalized and we should take steps to prevent abuse or exploitation of workers due to their immigration status.
Okay, fine. Secure the borders. This won't stop illegal immigration but sure we can try, it certainly won't reduce the deficit though. Real ID, ok maybe that would do something. But, what about the 10+ million illegal immigrants already in this country. They are not going anywhere. What is the plan? The no-plan plan.
As our next US Senator, Ron will work to create a jobs friendly environment by reducing and simplifying taxes and regulations on business. He opposed the Wall Street bailout and the $862 billion stimulus bill. Ron does not believe the federal government is capable of picking ‘winners and losers’ and should not remove capital from the private sector to create more government programs and jobs, which are unsustainable.
Government doesn’t create jobs – the private sector creates jobs. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and represent roughly 98 percent of employers. They are being punished with higher taxes and regulation that stifle new growth, development, and productive investments in our communities.
Russ Feingold has little or no experience creating private sector jobs. His vote for the $862 billion failed stimulus bill is a prime example of a career politician, crafting policy that is ultimately detrimental to America’s economic future. Three days before the passage of the stimulus bill, Feingold issued a press release stating 2.4 million jobs would be created in the first year and 9 million jobs would be created over 3 years. Instead of creating new jobs, our nation has lost over 2.5 million jobs and unemployment remains near double digits.
Specifics Ron, Specifics! So you want to simplify taxes and regulation. Okay, how? I know one way we could simplify taxes, a flat tax or a national sales tax! I bet you any money that is what Johnson will propose if he is elected. Both of these forms of taxation are very regressive (they burden the poor far greater). But, your guess as to what Ron Johnson would do if elected is as good as mine. As far as regulations, does Ron mean he will simplify or eliminate regulations? A lot of regulation is meant to mitigate externalities like pollution or systemic risk to the economy, by removing regulation Mr. Johnson is imposing the costs of these externalities on the public as a whole, while the private sector reaps profits. There may be unnecessary regulations, but you have to identify them for anyone to evaluate whether or not they are good.
Johnson opposed the bailouts and the stimulus bill, so he is for economic armageddon and global economic catastrophe (Feingold was wrong on the bailouts as well). The bank bailouts cost us relatively little compared to the damage that massive bank failures would have done to our economy. When the banks are healthy, it will be time to restore protections like the Glass-Stegall Act, but you can't just pull the rug out from underneath the economy when it is already stumbling. The stimulus bill counteracted massive state budget contractions and created lots of jobs (particularly in construction) that made needed infrastructure repairs. The benefits of the stimulus will be long lasting, and much of it was a tax cut, so Johnson would have opposed a program that cut taxes. Ron says small businesses have faced higher taxes but cites no evidence of this. Ron says small businesses have faced too much regulation, but regulation had been unwound dramatically during the Bush year, with much of the new regulation during the Obama Era a necessary response to prevent further systemic risk to the economy.
Ron does not want the government to pick "winners and losers," but something like the auto industry cannot simply recreate itself overnight if it is allowed to fail. Allowing Detroit to fail would have been devastating to the Midwest (Wisconsin included). The bailout saved jobs and the "Big Three" are making a come back with much higher quality cars. GM and Chrysler didn't really get "bailed out" as much as they underwent a government facilitated restructuring plan that shook up the entire corporate apparatus of both GM and Chrysler. No bailing out GM and Chrysler would probably have taken Ford down with it, and all of the small town dealers that sell their products (one of the few economic contributors to small towns). So, how is Ron Johnson for small business again?
Issue #5: Wisconsin Values
“I’m a pretty traditional guy. I believe in a culture of life, and I believe marriage is between one man and one woman.” – Ron Johnson
Ron is pro-life, pro-family, and believes that freedom of religion doesn’t mean freedom from religion. Ron will take these principles with him to Washington and will stand up to those who would attack these cherished traditional values.
Ron is an avid fisherman and outdoorsman who believes strongly in maintaining a clean and healthy environment. He believes Wisconsin’s sporting traditions and the Constitution’s 2nd Amendment should be protected.
Ron and Jane have been married for 32 years and together they have three children
Most of this is take it or leave it kind of stuff that does not lend itself to non-emotional argument. The big red flag is that Ron believes that freedom of religion doesn't meant freedom from religion. What does he mean by that, must everyone follow a religion? Does Ron mean that religion should not be absent from the public square, like school prayer and whatnot? Well, if that is the case then whose religion should the government endorse in the public square? Islam? Judaism? Buddhism? Probably not, I'm pretty sure Ron wants the government to endorse Christianity in clear violation of the 1st Amendment.
Issue #6
“My work in education has taught me that we are making it difficult for teachers to teach. The education of our children is not something that can be dictated from Washington or Madison. We need to return to local control of education, and bring the dollars we send to Washington back to Wisconsin’s local school districts.” – Ron Johnson
Ron will vote to reduce federal mandates that strip power from states and local school boards, and instead provide for more local control over education.
Ron supports reforming the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to reduce waste in education spending and return more flexibility and decision-making powers to states, local school boards and teachers. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t fit Wisconsin.
Wow! Ron and I agree on something. I think federal mandates for education are not the solution either and local control is important. I want to go with you here Ron, but give me something concrete to hold on to!
