Archives for April 2012

The national unemployment rate officially stands at 8.2 percent.  But if the government factored in Americans who have given up trying to find work, the rate would be 9.6 percent.  California Rep. Duncan Hunter says that should be the real unemployment rate because it gives a far more accurate picture into how many Americans would like to be working but cannot find a job.  Hunter says the change would be easy because the monthly jobless reports already calculate that rate but it is not the official unemployment number.  He adds that people leaving the labor market after their jobless benefits expire actually make the traditional unemployment go down – which is exactly the wrong way to look at ‘discouraged’ workers.  Hunter tells us why this change is needed after so many years of most people accepting the current calculation for unemployment without any problems.  He also explains why he does not want to count the “underemployed” in the jobless rate.  Those are people who want to be working full-time but have to settle for part-time jobs.  Hunter also discusses how policy decisions might be made differently if lawmakers had the real unemployment rate in mind.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review like Mitt Romney’s assertiveness by saying he’ll build the Keystone Pipeline himself if that’s what it takes.  They also groan as another provision in Obamacare is exposed that wastes billions and does not improve care.  And they discuss the Sunday morning appearance of Keith Olbermann on ABC’s “This Week”.

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The Secret Service is getting an abundance of unwanted media attention, but the author of a book on the group charged with protecting the president says this scandal doesn’t come as a surprise to him and may actually help to spark some much need changes in the organization.  Ron Kessler is author of “In the President’s Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents they Protect”.  Kessler says Secret Service management has become increasingly sloppy over the years so it’s to be expected that attitude would trickle down to agents in the field.  Kessler describes how basic security procedures are overlooked, critical tests are falsified and weapons standards are well behind the FBI and others.  He also reports that agents are afraid to reject requests outside their job descriptions because Secret Service leaders routinely side with egotistical leaders and their family members and against agents who don’t want to be treated like hired help.  Kessler explains what changes are needed to improve the agency and he tells us why outside oversight is necessary to make the changes stick.

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The Capitol Steps bid a tearful but inspirational farewell to the presidential candidacy of Rick Santorum.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Daniel Foster of National Review are encouraged that a Democratic senator could vote for a Republican nominee for a third straight cycle.  They’re also shocked that money spent on food stamps has more than doubled in just four years.  And they slam the liberal media double standard that allows the religion of the likely GOP nominee to be attacked but considers any reference to Obama’s background to be off limits.

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Last summer, President Obama and Congress agreed to a deal to raise the debt ceiling and impose spending cuts.  The plan called for a “super committee” to find $1.2 trillion in cuts over the next decade.  To provide incentive for the committee to achieve consensus, both parties’ leaders agreed that failure of the committee would trigger big cuts in areas they regularly defended – entitlements for Democrats and defense for Republicans.  The committee failed to come to an agreement so those default cuts are now scheduled to take effect at the start of 2013.  Republicans are now trying to short circuit the automatic defense cuts, which would amount to some $500 billion in the next decade.  However, President Obama is vowing to veto any changes to the plan and is ordering the Pentagon to proceed as though that money will not be at its disposal.  Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.  He says spending should be cut in all areas of the economy, but he contends 50 percent of the burden should not be placed upon a sector that makes up less than 20 percent of the budget.  Brooks says it’s clear that defense is at the bottom of Obama’s priority list.  The congressman also explains what the cuts would mean to our troops strength, civilian jobs and our military arsenal.  Brooks discusses his strong opposition to the debt ceiling deal that led to all of this and explains why there’s little that can be done to ward off the huge defense cuts unless major changes come at the ballot box in November.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Daniel Foster of National Review cheer House Speaker John Boehner for revealing that President Obama “checked out” of the legislative process back around Labor Day and has been solely focused on campaigning ever since.  They wonder whether the higher weekly jobless numbers mean the purported Obama recovery is over before we realized it started.  And they wonder why Newt Gingrich is costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars per day by continuing his Secret Service detail.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review give rare credit to the mainstream media for exposing Obama’s war on speculators to be all bluster and no substance.  They also groan as Obama racks up more debt in 39 months than the entire nation did in its first 200 years combined.  And they discuss the 2012 impact of President Obama admitting he ate dog meat when he was a boy in Indonesia.

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Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, author of “The Debt Bomb”, says America will solve its massive debt problem.  He says we will either address the crisis in a real way while we still have time or we will have the terms forced upon us the way Europe is now dealing with Greece.  Coburn tells us how he would like to see tax reform addressed and whether he thinks a consensus can be reached in this political climate.  He also explains how entitlement reform – and Medicare reform in particular – can be achieved in a way that saves the system by making it more efficient.  Coburn also offers his thoughts on the Ryan plan and how much the results of the 2012 elections will impact the likelihood of real action on our debt.

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Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn has been crusading for smaller government throughout his years in the House and Senate.  Despite his efforts, Congress has only accelerated spending and our debt continues to soar.  Now the author of “Debt Bomb”, Sen. Coburn tells us why we’re already well past the tipping point and economic calamity is getting very close.  Coburn tells us why congressional leaders of both parties are guilty of cowardice for kicking this issue down the road for so long.  He also explains why a “tyranny of good intentions” is responsible for our explosive spending and how the U.S. will either resolve this crisis soon or solve it very painfully when no ones buys our debt anymore.

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