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Sunday, May 20, 2012 | 2 a.m.
What do you think?
Send us a letter c/o Letters to the Editor, Las Vegas Sun, 2360 Corporate Circle, Third Floor, Henderson, NV 89074. Or send a letter via email: letters@lasvegassun.com. Or fax: (702) 383-7264.Nevada’s unemployment rate dropped to 11.7 percent in April, the lowest it has been since July 2009. That was nearly two percentage points lower than it was a year ago.
In a statement, Gov. Brian Sandoval said the state has “recorded year-after-year private sector job gains every month since early 2011, a clear sign that we are slowly but steadily working our way toward a stronger economy.”
That’s good news, but it doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet. The unemployment rate is still too high. The national average is 8.1 percent. And job growth is far from spectacular. Bill Anderson, Nevada’s chief economist, noted that part of the drop in unemployment is due to people leaving the job market.
The nation still needs help, and over the next six months, the airwaves will be filled with people talking about the economy. However, we don’t expect to see much come of the talk because of the election year and the gridlock in Washington. There seems to be little willingness to do anything before November, especially among Republicans who see a sour economy as a way to win the election.
With a Republican-controlled House, President Barack Obama is getting little help in Congress on his economic plans. So what are the plans of Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, other than to try pinning the blame on Obama? More tax cuts for the rich? Let the housing market continue to fall? Wait for things to trickle down?
Meanwhile, House Republicans have balked at working to find ways to push the economy forward. Instead of addressing the economy with any real legislation, they are setting the stage for another fight over the debt ceiling. The last time they did that the United States’ credit rating was downgraded, and that didn’t help the economy. Another fight like that will only further delay a full recovery.
It’s no wonder Congress’ approval rating is so low.
The gridlock in Congress, paced by obstructionist Republicans, is a serious problem. Some members of Congress, including Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller, think the answer to that is to push a bill that would cut lawmakers’ pay if they fail to pass a budget. Some lawmakers argued this would be a great step, but it would do little toward actually pushing progress forward.
But Congress finds ways all the time to work around its own rules, not to mention the law. Last week, the House approved a plan that exceeds spending limits prescribed for the Pentagon in the Budget Control Act of 2011.
If lawmakers can do that, or work around any number of other rules, why would anyone think they wouldn’t bypass a law that would cut their pay?
The nation’s elected leaders need to stop wasting time and focus on what matters. Voters elect people to find solutions, not play games or block progress.
There’s a long time between now and the election, and Congress could take steps to improve the economy. But that would require both sides to work together and find solutions they can agree upon, a task that seems all but impossible at this point.
Of course, they should be warned, if they can’t turn things around, they can expect voters to make things happen in November. And that could lead to some newly unemployed on Capitol Hill.
You have the wrong narrative. It's the democratic-led senate that is the "do-nothing" branch of government:
House Republicans have passed two budgets and 15 jobs bills that remain stuck in the Senate, they are:
1) The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act (H.R 872) - Reduces overlapping and unnecessary regulation on
pesticides; thereby reducing costs to both farmers and small business owners.
Introduced by Rep. Bob Gibbs (OH) on March 2, 2011
2) The Energy Tax Prevention Act (H.R. 910) - Prohibits the federal government from regulating
greenhouse gas emissions; thereby by preventing a needless increase in energy prices for American
households and businesses.
Introduced by Rep. Fred Upton (MI) on March 3, 2011
3) A Resolution of Disapproval Regarding FCC's Regulation (H.J. Res. 37) - Prevents the federal
government from regulating the Internet and broadband providers
Introduced by Rep. Greg Walden (OR) on February 16, 2011
4) Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act (H.R 1230) -- Helps to reduce energy prices and
promote job creation by expediting offshore oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and the
Virginia coast.
Introduced by Rep. Doc Hastings (WA) on March 29, 2011
5) Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act (H.R. 1229) -- Promotes job creation and reduces energy
prices by reinstating oil drilling permits in the Gulf Coast.
Introduced by Rep. Doc Hastings (WA) on March 29, 2011
6) Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act (H.R 1231) -- Promotes lower energy costs and
job creation by allowing drilling in at least 50 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf areas known to contain
the most oil and gas.
7) The Jobs and Energy Permitting Act H.R 2021) -- Promotes job growth and reduces energy costs by
expediting the process of obtaining an offshore drilling permit.
Introduced by Rep. Cory Gardner (CO) on May 26, 2011
8) The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act (H.R 2018) - Prevents the federal government from
interfering with a state's water quality program once that state has already met existing federal standards;
thereby eliminating needless red tape and tinkering by bureaucrats.
9) The Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness Improvement Act of 2011 (H.R. 1315) -
Improves consumer protection and provides greater economic stability by allowing the Financial Stability
Oversight Council to vote to set aside any harmful federal regulation.
Continued.....
Continued 2.....
10) The North American-Made Energy Security Act (H.R. 1938) -- Promotes job creation and energy
security by ending the needless delay of the construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Introduced by Rep. Terry Lee (NE) on May 23, 2011
11) The Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act (H.R. 2587) - Seeks to guarantee private
companies the flexibility to develop their businesses in the state that offers the best opportunities for
growth, job creation and stability.
Introduced by Rep. Tim Scott (SC) on July 19, 2011
12) The Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts (TRAIN) Act (H.R. 2401) - establishes an
interagency committee to evaluate the economic impacts of EPA regulations and delay the final dates for
both the maximum achievable control technology (Utility MACT) standards and the cross-state air pollution
rule (CSAPR) until the full impact has been studied. Both regulations would cost consumers and
businesses $184 billion from 2011-2030 and would skyrocket electrical prices.
Passed the House by a vote of 249-169 on September 23, 2011
13) The Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 2681) -- provides a stay of the EPA's overly burdensome
rules and allows for the implementation of effective regulation that protects communities both
environmentally and economically.
Passed the House by a vote of 262-161 on October 6, 2011
14) The EPA Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 2250) -- alleviates the excessive regulatory burden placed on
employers by the EPA's Boiler MACT rules, potentially costing companies $14 billion and 224,000
American jobs, and replacing them with sensible, achievable rules that do not destroy jobs.
Passed the House by a vote of 275-142 on October 13, 2011
15) The Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act (H.R. 2273) -- bipartisan legislation providing
consistent, safe management of coal combustion residuals in a way that protects jobs and encourages
recycling and beneficial use.
http://kevinmccarthy.house.gov/images/st...
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The modest uptick can be directly linked to the 2010 House which stopped all the stimulus spending, new regulations on small businesses, and higher taxes. And is starting to slow the national debt.
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Notice all the laws listed above are either deregulation or cutting taxes-loser postering no solutions. Vote for Democrats only !
Stop spending. Cut tax write-offs and deductions for EVERYONE and work towards a flat tax. Families with lots of kids don't pay anything anyhow so let's stop pretending. Eliminate refundable credits so we stop paying people to have kids they cannot and will not support. Bring ALL our troops home from Europe, Asia, Africa, Afghanistan. We need our troops on our southern border.
How about a jobs bill or have the government directly hiring people? This job creator theory should go the way of the tax cuts reduce deficits prevarication.
How about the department of Energy directly hiring people building Solar and Wind powered electric plants. This would eliminate all the nonsense listed above.
Remmember these clowns oil slicked the Gulf of Mexico. No more concessions to energy companies. Deficits are not the problem; unemployment is. We should elect democrats if you want jobs;These "job creators" want hostages not employees.
What won't be done is breaking up too big to fail bamks and other monopolies in almost every industry who have killed opportunity. Never talked about by Politicians bought and paid for by monopolies to run cover for them.
example:Why don't we have real alternative energy development in Nevada? simply NV Energy runs things and the last thing they want is 1,000 upstarts eating into their government protected monopoly.
look around, we all know what the problems are, concentrated everything.
How many elections does it take for citizens to recognize that our disgraceful campaign funding method allows for only subtle difference rather than needed change? How many have occurred under present circumstances? Many have occured and I suggest change would have occurred long ago had media endorsed change. The few dissenting Justices would have had to yield to overwhelming public opinion and the scales of opinion weigh most heavily on the side of change.
"Culture Warriors" see the trend towards violence in America against Americans while we pay for everyone to have food, shelter, "education", health care, "democracy".
Comment removed by moderator. Personal Attack
Notacon complains about calling Obama on his policy failures.
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But The Obama elitist (we are better you) re-election approach is to condescending vilify, intimidate, excoriate, bash and denigrate small businesses out of existence and break and eliminate job creators.
Obama is not running on his record so all his ads are character assassination and vilification of an honest family man Mitt Romney - right out of the Sal Alinsky play book.
Obama's campaign has a stated intention to "KILL" Romney; and
Obama and Biden have stated that Romney and all conservatives are the ENEMY
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Note folks, anytime that some FOX news, Limbaugh, or Hannity robot claims that the centrist Obama is a socialist, communist, "Alinskyist" or equates him with Stalin, Mao, Hitler(?), etc., your wacko meter should be in the red zone when you read their drivel. There are plenty of solid conservative arguments to be made against the president, his policies, etc. Calling him a radical leftist and equating him with political criminals of the 20th century is ridiculous, and all sane Americans know that.
@ notacon: But its Ok when the Dems or Libs do it though right?
The radicalization on the right is orders of magnitude greater than that on the left. When was the last time you heard of armed LEFT wing militia groups in this country. These neo-nazi groups have grown dramatically during the Clinton, and now the Obama administration. Their growth is accelerating, and a lack of denunciation by those in the Republican party speaks volumes. Basically, when Republicans are not happy with an election outcome, they form militia groups and act out, essentially threatening military-like action.
I've learned two things from the above comments:
1) Some people have no earthly idea what socialism is (President Obama is not even close to being one-- try actually looking it up instead of just spouting nonsense)
2) Some people have no idea how our system of government works. We have separate and co-equal branches. It doesn't matter if the House passes a million bills if they don't have support in the Senate or the President. By not compromising with the Democrats (who have been willing to compromise), Republicans are the obstacles.
Our founding fathers purposely placed checks and balances in our system of government to encourage compromise. Ideologues are more dangerous to our great nation than communists or terrorists. Compromise is necessary (and a good thing) and is being vilified, particularly by Republicans (although some democrats are guilty as well).
We can start by raising the level of discourse here. President Obama is not evil and does not wake up each morning trying to destroy the country. He does his best, as does Speaker Boehner, Majority Leaders Reid and Cantor, and Minority Leaders Pelosi and McConnell. We are all Americans... could we start acting like it, please?
If the present day Republican Party moves any further to the right, it will fall off of the planet...
I mean that in a joking way but let's face it.....the right-wing nuts in this country have taken over control of the GOP. I can't, for the life of me, name one single moderate Republican currently serving in Congress.
The present leaders of the GOP don't plan to EVER compromise with the other party. Even if that means that this country will go down the drain (cease to exist...) with out compromise taking place.....
The formation of this country came about only because the Founding Fathers were willing to work together & compromise time & time again...
I wonder what the Founders would think if they were around today?
Sun......
YES, the economy is getting better, despite the
teabaggers in Congress trying to block everything
the Democrats want to do to improve it.
We voters will fix this blockage by voting out
as many teabaggers as possible.
PROBLEM SOLVED.
El_Lobo.....good comment.
Our Founding Fathers are turning over in their
graves over these extreme, right-wing republicans.
"With a Republican-controlled House, President Barack Obama is getting little help in Congress on his economic plans"
God God did you ACTUALLY print this?!?!? Did you see what HIS Senate did to his budget bill yesterday?? My God your hypocrisy shows no bounds, does it? Just make up all the crap you want, throw it against the wall and see what sticks, right?
Not only didn't Obama's budget pass nor get a single GOP vote, NOT A SINGLE DEMOCRAT VOTED FOR IT! GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND!!! STOP LYING TO YOUR READERS!
jetzman: YOU are unable to utilize the English language to say whatever it is you mean. "Co-equal?" "Compromise" has gotten us here. We must STOP the compromise and insist on self reliance. Furthermore, most of us don't care a bit about Obama.
I don't know if you were paying attention. The GOP has passed more than a dozen bills in the House designed to alleviate unemployment. All have been blocked by your Senator Harry Reid and not even taken up. Meanwhile the Senate prefers to take up its time in doubling grope fees for the TSA and avoiding passing a budget.
It's not the opposition party's job to help the president. Sometimes voters do elect representatives to obstruct "progress," because that's what they see as the "solution."
Self reliance is the single factor upon which the persistence of slavery depends. Slaves cannot count on anyone else in the world to look after themselves as they have no representatives, no unions, no governments nor laws for protection so they depend on self reliance as it is the key to survival.
Self reliance was the only way a person could survive in a Soviet Gulag or concentration camp because there were no safety nets.
Furthermore, unregulated capitalism does not create freedom, except for the privileged. The Confederate States of America was both a God fearing Christian nation and a capitalistic state. Capitalism, religion and slavery co-exist in a strong, supportive fashion if there are no societal values. The only law to change capitalism in the South was the law of fire, brought to them by William Tecumseh Sherman.
Capitalism rewards those with privilege because it has no social virtues. It is an economic system, not a social system. Capitalism has no need for a single measure of equality because those with money determine the outcome of legal and political decisions. The irony is that few people in this country understand capitalism or read history and they determine the geologic history of the earth while sitting on their front porch.
Marriage is socialism and so are the police, fire and military departments. Privatized fire police will end up serving only the privileged. Privatized military will serve only the oligarchy and those with no options will be forced to join for a paycheck an meal ticket, like it was in old Europe.
Needed change would happen if only the 3 branches of government could leave special interests in the hallways and close the door to begin the process of compromise and reasonableness on behalf of the People of the United States of America and the World.
These strict, hard line, partisan attitudes bring nothing but fruitless posturing towards continual reelection goals. This has to STOP for the good of our country.
Blessings and Peace,
Star
When the two major parties fundamentally disagree about the direction of the country, whining about "gridlock" does no service. The President's fiscal & economic policy prescriptions are no longer acceptable to most Americans, the Senate does nothing of substance, and the House lacks the ability to push any of their proposals past the do-nothing Senate. We are stuck where we are and will be until the people choose in November.
Scratch 2000 hi-payin jobs at Yucca. Thanks Harry.
What did you expect when you have a community organizer and a plagerist in charge? Obama budget voted down 414-0.
Freeman, why are you compelled to believe propaganda and then republish it -- even when it is not relevant to the topic? Nevada's problem with unemployment is of its' own making. We put all our eggs in two baskets: Casinos and Construction. The Casino basket is recovering slowly along with the national economy. But the Construction basket is 10% of what it was -- and likely to stay at about 10% of its former level for at least the next 5 years. Because we refused to fund our education systems and we refused to do anything to diversify, we have (1) no place for the unemployed from construction and construction-supported jobs to go AND (2) no way to retrain them for the skills which are in demand (and unable to attract the companies that need such skills). We did this to ourselves -- and we continue to do it to ourselves. If it makes you feel better to be partisan about Nevada's own mess, go right ahead, but we made our own bed all by ourselves....
The Suns myopic and partisan position belies any productive discussion.
When the Sun begins to publish honest evaluations and report complete stories; well as the song says, I'll invite you over to watch pigs grow wings and fly.
There is no story here, just the Suns dishonest rantings.