It’s hard to grasp how much one trillion dollars is. Here are some ways to think about it.
1. If you spend one million dollars a day it would take over 2,739 years to spend one trillion dollars.
2. You could buy over twenty-eight and one-half million new cars at $35,000 each.
3. You could buy over two million eight hundred thousand new homes costing $350,000 each.
4. At a three percent interest rate, you would get over eighty-two million dollars a day.
5. Assuming that every American cost $100 per week to feed, you could feed the entire population for 33 weeks (probably longer if you initially invested the one trillion at the above three percent interest.
6. One trillion dollars could create one million millionaires.
I think you get the idea. One trillion dollars is a lot of money. This amount is approximately the amount that our politicians initially want to spend on health care reform in order (they say) to provide insurance for twenty-five to thirty million uninsured Americans. Let’s use the thirty million number for our calculations. That’s $33,333 dollars for each uninsured person. Doesn’t this seem a bit ridiculous? I don’t like to take sides but after seeing the Congressional Budget Office assessment for the “Pelosi” bill and the Republican alternative bill and comparing the approach, I have to believe that the alternative bill will cost you and I a lot less, keep the Government out of the insurance and health care business, and actually reduce health care costs.
There are many examples of how well the Government handles health care. Medicare – no negotiation for prescription drugs (some deal with the drug companies). Look what Walmart has done with bulk purchasing and negotiation with drug companies. The same situation exists with Medicaid, which also impacts every State (and by the way, requires State Government staff to oversee). Even the Stimulus Plan expects fraud, waste, and abuse to amount to over ten percent of the cost.
If your checkbook says zero, you stop writing checks, but not the Government! They just print more dollars. By doing so, they decrease the value of the dollar for purchasing imports and cause prices to go up. I don’t know how they are hiding it but I certainly have noticed prices creeping up.
Over the next few weeks, I am going to list those Congressmen/women who have been in Washington too long and should go home. These politicians have been in Washington so long that they no longer feel the need to listen to the voters – they have gotten comfortable taking lobbyists gifts and contributions and have forgotten that lobbyists do not have a vote! They have also gotten used to spending money that does not belong to them and doing it irresponsibly.
Keep the pressure on!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
There are Monsters Everywhere
It’s getting close to Halloween so I thought it would be a good time for a monster column. I just got back from a week in Washington DC (now that’s a scary thought). I started thinking while I was there about all the Big Monsters we hear about.
The first one I thought about was “Big Oil”. You may remember a year or so ago, when prices at the pump went over three bucks. The politicians cried “Foul, big oil is reaping massive profits on the backs of the little people.” However, I wasn’t satisfied with just a comment from some politician so I did a little investigation. The government was continuing to spend taxpayer money to buy oil to place in the strategic reserves, which added to the global demand. In addition, China and India were continuing to increase imports of oil. Finally, every request for drilling for oil in the United States was turned down by our Government. In addition, the House of Representatives, earlier this year, passed a “Cap and Trade” bill, which would increase the cost of “carbon” energy to such a point that most citizens will see a 30-60 percent increase in their electricity, gas, oil, and fuel bills.
Next, “Big Wall Street”. The politicians cried “Wall Street is getting rich by taking granny’s savings”, but the first thing they did when they heard that Wall Street was in trouble was to bail them out with “Big Money”. Wall Street has contributed massive amounts of cash to politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Next, “Big Banks and Mortgage Lenders”. Poor management by the banks has caused this problem and we have to bail them out now. Well, how did this happen? Mainly banks were forced to provide risky loans to people that were not qualified. Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac (quasi-government organizations) lied about their financial position so that the executives could receive Big Bonuses. Both were products of the Congress who supposedly has oversight. What surprises me is that both Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac are allowed to make contributions to Congressmen/women and Senators, and they have. In addition several politicians have gotten VIP treatment in new mortgages.
Next, “Big Car Makers”. GM, Ford, and Chrysler all went to Capital Hill to ask for loan guarantees. We were told that if Congress didn’t bail them out, jobs would be lost and they would all have to declare bankruptcy. Well, Congress bailed GM and Chrysler out and what happened? Both laid off significant numbers of workers and they both declared bankruptcy anyway. Now, both are continuing to lose money and the likelihood that the money loaned to them will be repaid is near zero.
Now, it’s “Big Health Insurance”. They say “it’s about competition and choice” but if that is true, the answer would be to allow purchase of health insurance across state lines (currently against the law). This would increase competition and allow choices from over 1,000 insurance companies. Second, insurance companies are protected by The McCarran-Ferguson Act, passed by Congress in 1945. The Act provides that federal anti-trust laws will not apply to the "business of insurance" as long as the state regulates in that area. This Act should be repealed. Last, under existing laws, organizations cannot act as a group to purchase health insurance and therefore do not have the advantage of size when dealing with the insurance companies. What type of deal do you think an organization like the Lions Club, Rotary International, Real Estate Brokers of America, Veteran’s of Foreign Wars, National Rifle Association, or any other large group would get? Talk about choice! There would be so many different choices that you would hardly be able to keep up with them.
So, are these the “Big Monsters” we should all be afraid of? Let’s look at a couple of Big Monsters you may not have thought about.
Big Monster Number One: The State Department.
The Department of State operates with a budget of over $35 billion dollars, has over 30,000 employees, and is responsible for developing and implementing U.S. Foreign policy. It has been responsible for overseeing reconstruction funding in Iraq and Afghanistan. It just completed building the largest Embassy in the world in Iraq at a cost to US taxpayers of over $2 billion dollars. The scary part is that the State Department, charged with monitoring expenditures in Iraq has been unable to account for several billion dollars.
Big Monster Number Two: The Department of Education.
The Department of Education operates with a budget of over $60 billion dollars, has over 5,000 employees, and is responsible for creating programs to generate funds for education and enforcement of privacy and civil rights laws. The scary part of this Department is that since its establishment under then President Jimmy Carter in 1979, costs for public education have skyrocketed and the quality of education as determined by testing scores has consistently decreased. It is also interesting to note that the Stimulus bill allocated an additional $90 billion to this Department.
Big Monster Number Three: The Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department of Health and Human Services operates with a budget of over $800 billion dollars, has over 67,000 employees, and is responsible for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Fraud, waste, and abuse account for roughly 5% of their budget or $40 billion dollars each year. As large as they are, they can’t seem to negotiate cost reductions in health care costs. The scary thing is that they might be in charge of parts or all of the proposed Health Care legislation.
Big Monster Number Four: The Department of Energy.
The Department of Energy operates with a budget of over $22 billion dollars, has over 116,000 employees, and is responsible for the nation's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy conservation, energy-related research, radioactive waste disposal, and domestic energy production. The scary thing about this Department is that they have routinely denied any requests for new Nuclear Power Plants, new domestic drilling for oil, and have actually spent more for energy each year, while advocating conservation of energy.
Happy Halloween!
The first one I thought about was “Big Oil”. You may remember a year or so ago, when prices at the pump went over three bucks. The politicians cried “Foul, big oil is reaping massive profits on the backs of the little people.” However, I wasn’t satisfied with just a comment from some politician so I did a little investigation. The government was continuing to spend taxpayer money to buy oil to place in the strategic reserves, which added to the global demand. In addition, China and India were continuing to increase imports of oil. Finally, every request for drilling for oil in the United States was turned down by our Government. In addition, the House of Representatives, earlier this year, passed a “Cap and Trade” bill, which would increase the cost of “carbon” energy to such a point that most citizens will see a 30-60 percent increase in their electricity, gas, oil, and fuel bills.
Next, “Big Wall Street”. The politicians cried “Wall Street is getting rich by taking granny’s savings”, but the first thing they did when they heard that Wall Street was in trouble was to bail them out with “Big Money”. Wall Street has contributed massive amounts of cash to politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Next, “Big Banks and Mortgage Lenders”. Poor management by the banks has caused this problem and we have to bail them out now. Well, how did this happen? Mainly banks were forced to provide risky loans to people that were not qualified. Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac (quasi-government organizations) lied about their financial position so that the executives could receive Big Bonuses. Both were products of the Congress who supposedly has oversight. What surprises me is that both Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac are allowed to make contributions to Congressmen/women and Senators, and they have. In addition several politicians have gotten VIP treatment in new mortgages.
Next, “Big Car Makers”. GM, Ford, and Chrysler all went to Capital Hill to ask for loan guarantees. We were told that if Congress didn’t bail them out, jobs would be lost and they would all have to declare bankruptcy. Well, Congress bailed GM and Chrysler out and what happened? Both laid off significant numbers of workers and they both declared bankruptcy anyway. Now, both are continuing to lose money and the likelihood that the money loaned to them will be repaid is near zero.
Now, it’s “Big Health Insurance”. They say “it’s about competition and choice” but if that is true, the answer would be to allow purchase of health insurance across state lines (currently against the law). This would increase competition and allow choices from over 1,000 insurance companies. Second, insurance companies are protected by The McCarran-Ferguson Act, passed by Congress in 1945. The Act provides that federal anti-trust laws will not apply to the "business of insurance" as long as the state regulates in that area. This Act should be repealed. Last, under existing laws, organizations cannot act as a group to purchase health insurance and therefore do not have the advantage of size when dealing with the insurance companies. What type of deal do you think an organization like the Lions Club, Rotary International, Real Estate Brokers of America, Veteran’s of Foreign Wars, National Rifle Association, or any other large group would get? Talk about choice! There would be so many different choices that you would hardly be able to keep up with them.
So, are these the “Big Monsters” we should all be afraid of? Let’s look at a couple of Big Monsters you may not have thought about.
Big Monster Number One: The State Department.
The Department of State operates with a budget of over $35 billion dollars, has over 30,000 employees, and is responsible for developing and implementing U.S. Foreign policy. It has been responsible for overseeing reconstruction funding in Iraq and Afghanistan. It just completed building the largest Embassy in the world in Iraq at a cost to US taxpayers of over $2 billion dollars. The scary part is that the State Department, charged with monitoring expenditures in Iraq has been unable to account for several billion dollars.
Big Monster Number Two: The Department of Education.
The Department of Education operates with a budget of over $60 billion dollars, has over 5,000 employees, and is responsible for creating programs to generate funds for education and enforcement of privacy and civil rights laws. The scary part of this Department is that since its establishment under then President Jimmy Carter in 1979, costs for public education have skyrocketed and the quality of education as determined by testing scores has consistently decreased. It is also interesting to note that the Stimulus bill allocated an additional $90 billion to this Department.
Big Monster Number Three: The Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department of Health and Human Services operates with a budget of over $800 billion dollars, has over 67,000 employees, and is responsible for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Fraud, waste, and abuse account for roughly 5% of their budget or $40 billion dollars each year. As large as they are, they can’t seem to negotiate cost reductions in health care costs. The scary thing is that they might be in charge of parts or all of the proposed Health Care legislation.
Big Monster Number Four: The Department of Energy.
The Department of Energy operates with a budget of over $22 billion dollars, has over 116,000 employees, and is responsible for the nation's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy conservation, energy-related research, radioactive waste disposal, and domestic energy production. The scary thing about this Department is that they have routinely denied any requests for new Nuclear Power Plants, new domestic drilling for oil, and have actually spent more for energy each year, while advocating conservation of energy.
Happy Halloween!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Support it or not – It’s a Good Bill
While reviewing current legislation being introduced in the House of Representatives, I cam across HR 3611. HR 3611, “Limiting the Intrusive Miles of International Terrorist Sponsors Act of 2009” is an example of a bill that is clear, concise, to the point, doesn’t contain any lengthy amendments, earmarks, or pork. This is what a good bill should look like. Sponsored by Representative Paul Brown (R) GA and co-sponsored by forty-seven representatives from both parties, this bill would restrict the diplomatic travel of officials and representatives of state sponsors of terrorism, and for other purposes. Basically, it keeps diplomats visiting the United Nations in New York from being able to travel outside of the immediate area of the United Nations Headquarters complex.
The bill is less than three pages long but if you take the time to read it on Thomas http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3611: you will see that it covers everything needed in simple, easy to understand language and is not cluttered up with useless information.
Although a bi-partisan bill, I doubt that the current Speaker of the House will ever allow a vote on it. Our State Department has routinely provided visas for over 8,000 suspect individuals over the past five years with very few restrictions. In addition to these individuals coming from countries who are extremely unfriendly towards the United States, no background check is ever done by the State Department. On a few occasions some of these persons were caught photographing and videotaping the New York City subway and other popular landmarks.
The United Nations has basically been a haven for third-world country dictators, military juntas, and other corrupt countries whose sole purpose is to exploit money from Western-style governments. The United Nations has been a corrupt organization for many years and should be thrown out of the Untied States. Every program they have sponsored has been full of fraud, waste, and abuse. Members are a bunch of elite socialists (at best), or a bunch of common thugs (at worst). This bill would at least keep those persons visiting the UN from straying and gathering intelligence to be used for subversive actions against the United States.
If your Representative is not on the list of sponsors, I recommend that you contact them and have them add their name as additional co-sponsor.
The bill is less than three pages long but if you take the time to read it on Thomas http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3611: you will see that it covers everything needed in simple, easy to understand language and is not cluttered up with useless information.
Although a bi-partisan bill, I doubt that the current Speaker of the House will ever allow a vote on it. Our State Department has routinely provided visas for over 8,000 suspect individuals over the past five years with very few restrictions. In addition to these individuals coming from countries who are extremely unfriendly towards the United States, no background check is ever done by the State Department. On a few occasions some of these persons were caught photographing and videotaping the New York City subway and other popular landmarks.
The United Nations has basically been a haven for third-world country dictators, military juntas, and other corrupt countries whose sole purpose is to exploit money from Western-style governments. The United Nations has been a corrupt organization for many years and should be thrown out of the Untied States. Every program they have sponsored has been full of fraud, waste, and abuse. Members are a bunch of elite socialists (at best), or a bunch of common thugs (at worst). This bill would at least keep those persons visiting the UN from straying and gathering intelligence to be used for subversive actions against the United States.
If your Representative is not on the list of sponsors, I recommend that you contact them and have them add their name as additional co-sponsor.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
“Junkies” on Capital Hill
Webster defines a junkie as “a person who derives inordinate pleasure from, or who is dependent on, something”. In the case of our elected officials, the addiction they have is POWER; so their title should be Power Junkie. How do we get them off this addiction?
There are two ways – wean them off or cold turkey.
As with most Junkies, they need help. It’s up to us to help them get off their addiction. Let’s take a look at how to wean them off. This isn’t easy but it’s our Country and we have to invest some time and effort to save it. First, you must keep up on what legislation is moving through Congress. The way I keep track is by setting up alerts at www.congress.org. They send me emails once a week with all current and pending legislation. They also send me emails telling me how my Congressman and Senators vote on each bill before Congress. There are probably other ways to keep track but I’m just sharing with you how I do it. Second, you must let your Congressman/woman and Senators know what you think of each bill and whether you want them to vote for or against a particular bill. You cannot give up, even when they vote a different way. When they vote yes when you asked them to vote no, remind them that you know how they voted and are displeased with their vote. Third, offer suggestions on modifying pending legislation or offer new legislation for them to introduce. Do not give up on them! It doesn’t matter whether they are Democrat, Republican, or some other party. Most listen to you, the voter.
Now, let’s look at the Cold Turkey option. If, after trying to wean them off their addiction, you find that it hasn’t worked; you need to get with your fellow voters of your District and get your elected official fired. That’s right – fired! You are the employer of your elected representatives and you have the power to get rid of them. Find another candidate who will listen to you and get them to sign a contract with constituents. Take some time with your neighbors and decide what things you want your elected representative to do. For example, vote against any new Federal bailouts. Make a list of these things and then find a candidate who will actually commit to abiding by them. Don’t make the list too long or too detailed – give him or her a little leeway, but not too much. Remember, their purpose is to represent YOU, not themselves and also remember that they work for you – not the other way around.
I HOPE you understand how important this is to our Country.
CHANGE is up to you!
There are two ways – wean them off or cold turkey.
As with most Junkies, they need help. It’s up to us to help them get off their addiction. Let’s take a look at how to wean them off. This isn’t easy but it’s our Country and we have to invest some time and effort to save it. First, you must keep up on what legislation is moving through Congress. The way I keep track is by setting up alerts at www.congress.org. They send me emails once a week with all current and pending legislation. They also send me emails telling me how my Congressman and Senators vote on each bill before Congress. There are probably other ways to keep track but I’m just sharing with you how I do it. Second, you must let your Congressman/woman and Senators know what you think of each bill and whether you want them to vote for or against a particular bill. You cannot give up, even when they vote a different way. When they vote yes when you asked them to vote no, remind them that you know how they voted and are displeased with their vote. Third, offer suggestions on modifying pending legislation or offer new legislation for them to introduce. Do not give up on them! It doesn’t matter whether they are Democrat, Republican, or some other party. Most listen to you, the voter.
Now, let’s look at the Cold Turkey option. If, after trying to wean them off their addiction, you find that it hasn’t worked; you need to get with your fellow voters of your District and get your elected official fired. That’s right – fired! You are the employer of your elected representatives and you have the power to get rid of them. Find another candidate who will listen to you and get them to sign a contract with constituents. Take some time with your neighbors and decide what things you want your elected representative to do. For example, vote against any new Federal bailouts. Make a list of these things and then find a candidate who will actually commit to abiding by them. Don’t make the list too long or too detailed – give him or her a little leeway, but not too much. Remember, their purpose is to represent YOU, not themselves and also remember that they work for you – not the other way around.
I HOPE you understand how important this is to our Country.
CHANGE is up to you!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
IT’S JOBS STUPID!
During the rein of George Bush the first, the cry was “It’s the Economy Stupid!” Well I guess we need a new cry now and I say “It’s Jobs Stupid!” I’m not picking on our President; after all, he doesn’t create legislation (although he does try to influence it). This cry is to our Congressmen/women and Senators. In a recent article by Douglas A. McIntyre, editor at 24/7 Wall Street, he stated: “According to the New York Times, a look at Labor Department statistics for the month of July revealed that "only 2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open, with 14.5 million people officially unemployed." “That's a six to one ratio -- the largest since they've tracked this stat.”
People that are out of work do not pay taxes, they do not spend on high value items, and they try to survive until they are back to work. Instead of our Congress looking at ways to help private industry create new jobs or keep from having to lay off additional employees, they are trying to pass legislation that spends Federal funds we don’t have for programs we don’t need and don’t want! Do they care that 14.5 million people are unemployed? Not as long as they aren’t among them!
Take a look at what our elected officials deem important:
(1) Bail out the Insurance industry;
(2) Bail out the Banking industry;
(3) Bail out the Mortgage industry;
(4) Bail out the automotive industry;
(5) Provide Stimulus money for lobbyists;
(6) Take over or radically change health insurance and health care;
(7) Tax private industry for using carbon-based energy;
(8) Reward illegal immigrants by granting amnesty; and
(9) Increase taxes on small business and wealthy Americans (those that provide jobs).
Where is the Legislation to help the 14.5 million unemployed? Don’t see it!
So, what will help create jobs?
(1) Stop spending money we don’t have;
(2) Make the Bush tax cuts permanent;
(3) Make further tax cuts for workers and small businesses;
(4) Make the Federal Government buy American goods and products (only).
It only makes common sense that the more Americans that are working, the more tax dollars that will be coming in. Stifle business by increasing taxes, put doubt in business owner’s minds that new regulations are coming, continue Government takeover of private industry and we will all be on welfare – including the Federal Government!
People that are out of work do not pay taxes, they do not spend on high value items, and they try to survive until they are back to work. Instead of our Congress looking at ways to help private industry create new jobs or keep from having to lay off additional employees, they are trying to pass legislation that spends Federal funds we don’t have for programs we don’t need and don’t want! Do they care that 14.5 million people are unemployed? Not as long as they aren’t among them!
Take a look at what our elected officials deem important:
(1) Bail out the Insurance industry;
(2) Bail out the Banking industry;
(3) Bail out the Mortgage industry;
(4) Bail out the automotive industry;
(5) Provide Stimulus money for lobbyists;
(6) Take over or radically change health insurance and health care;
(7) Tax private industry for using carbon-based energy;
(8) Reward illegal immigrants by granting amnesty; and
(9) Increase taxes on small business and wealthy Americans (those that provide jobs).
Where is the Legislation to help the 14.5 million unemployed? Don’t see it!
So, what will help create jobs?
(1) Stop spending money we don’t have;
(2) Make the Bush tax cuts permanent;
(3) Make further tax cuts for workers and small businesses;
(4) Make the Federal Government buy American goods and products (only).
It only makes common sense that the more Americans that are working, the more tax dollars that will be coming in. Stifle business by increasing taxes, put doubt in business owner’s minds that new regulations are coming, continue Government takeover of private industry and we will all be on welfare – including the Federal Government!
The Shell Game
The Constitution says, “All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills.” This was done by drafters of the Constitution to insure that spending bills were originated by the body of Congress closest to the people they represented.
However, since we have a lot of lawyers in the Senate, they figured out that they could technically violate this principal by amending HR 1424, a bill already passed by the House but not for that purpose. The Senate version of the bailout package is technically an amendment to a House bill that would require group health insurance plans to provide equivalence, or parity, in the coverage of mental and physical illnesses – HR 1424. In affect, the Senate used HR 1424 as a shell for a different purpose than what it was intended.
The other thing the Senate does is to incorporate earmarks, amendments, riders, and add-ons to House-approved legislation. Many of these changes have no relationship to the actual legislation being considered. In recent years both Houses of Congress have come up with a new strategy – make the bills so big and so complicated that unless you have a few weeks, a team of lawyers, access to every piece of legislation ever written, and a strong desire; it is impossible to determine what exactly the bill will do or not do. In addition, put in contradictions that override each other in certain cases.
THIS IS A DISGRACE!
So, what can we, The American People, do about it?
We must get our elected officials to act! What is needed is a new piece of Legislation to simplify the text of Congressional legislation so that average Americans are able to thoroughly understand exactly the intent of Congress in passing these Bills and Resolutions and to disallow earmarks, amendments, riders, and/or add-ons that have no logical relationship to the Act. The Act should be called the `Simplification of Legislation Act'. Any Legislation written after the passage of this bill must be easy to read and comprehend by:
(1) Ensuring that “legal-ease” be removed and replaced with simple to understand terms and concepts; (2) Allowing no earmarks, amendments, riders, and/or add-ons that are not directly related to the intent of the original Legislation; (3) All Legislation must be released to Legislators with adequate time to be properly read and analyzed, provide input back to their constituents and receive feedback; and (4) All legislation must provide the original source of the draft and what groups or persons outside of Congress provided input.
(2) All Legislation (with final markup) will be made available to the public a minimum of ten working days prior to scheduled final vote.
(3) No Legislation will be allowed for Floor vote without meeting those conditions stated in this bill.
(4) The Congress may waive these provisions only in the case of a National Emergency, where an immediate response is the only logical course of action.
(5) Additional Conditions – Failure of a Legislator to read Legislation prior to a Floor vote may be interpreted as non-performance of his or her duties to their respective constituents and may be used as grounds for recall.
I urge you to meet or correspond with your elected Representative and get him or her to make a commitment to get this legislation introduced and passed. If they won’t, find someone else that will and vote for them.
Inaction is not an option!
However, since we have a lot of lawyers in the Senate, they figured out that they could technically violate this principal by amending HR 1424, a bill already passed by the House but not for that purpose. The Senate version of the bailout package is technically an amendment to a House bill that would require group health insurance plans to provide equivalence, or parity, in the coverage of mental and physical illnesses – HR 1424. In affect, the Senate used HR 1424 as a shell for a different purpose than what it was intended.
The other thing the Senate does is to incorporate earmarks, amendments, riders, and add-ons to House-approved legislation. Many of these changes have no relationship to the actual legislation being considered. In recent years both Houses of Congress have come up with a new strategy – make the bills so big and so complicated that unless you have a few weeks, a team of lawyers, access to every piece of legislation ever written, and a strong desire; it is impossible to determine what exactly the bill will do or not do. In addition, put in contradictions that override each other in certain cases.
THIS IS A DISGRACE!
So, what can we, The American People, do about it?
We must get our elected officials to act! What is needed is a new piece of Legislation to simplify the text of Congressional legislation so that average Americans are able to thoroughly understand exactly the intent of Congress in passing these Bills and Resolutions and to disallow earmarks, amendments, riders, and/or add-ons that have no logical relationship to the Act. The Act should be called the `Simplification of Legislation Act'. Any Legislation written after the passage of this bill must be easy to read and comprehend by:
(1) Ensuring that “legal-ease” be removed and replaced with simple to understand terms and concepts; (2) Allowing no earmarks, amendments, riders, and/or add-ons that are not directly related to the intent of the original Legislation; (3) All Legislation must be released to Legislators with adequate time to be properly read and analyzed, provide input back to their constituents and receive feedback; and (4) All legislation must provide the original source of the draft and what groups or persons outside of Congress provided input.
(2) All Legislation (with final markup) will be made available to the public a minimum of ten working days prior to scheduled final vote.
(3) No Legislation will be allowed for Floor vote without meeting those conditions stated in this bill.
(4) The Congress may waive these provisions only in the case of a National Emergency, where an immediate response is the only logical course of action.
(5) Additional Conditions – Failure of a Legislator to read Legislation prior to a Floor vote may be interpreted as non-performance of his or her duties to their respective constituents and may be used as grounds for recall.
I urge you to meet or correspond with your elected Representative and get him or her to make a commitment to get this legislation introduced and passed. If they won’t, find someone else that will and vote for them.
Inaction is not an option!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
One Hour a Week to Save America!
OK, so we’ve had the Tea Parties, we’ve attended the Town Hall meetings; now what?
Funny you should ask because I have an answer for you. Have you ever heard of www.congress.org? No? Well, Congress.org is a service of Capitol Advantage and Knowlegis, LLC; private, non-partisan companies that specialize in facilitating civic participation. Congress.org allows users to identify and contact elected leaders in Congress, the White House, and state legislatures. You can also have your representative’s votes sent to you weekly via e-mail. Best of all registration is free!
If you spend one hour a week reviewing upcoming legislation and contact your Congressman/woman and Senators with your personal thoughts; then you can see the impact you, as an individual, can have. Congress.org will identify your elected leaders from the zip code you enter and will pre-prepare sections of you emails for you. For a small fee, they will even have your message “hand delivered” for you.
All of this takes about one hour each week. (1) Check pending legislation; (2) Tell your elected officials what you think; and (3) get an email back telling you how they voted. There are other options available on Congress.org that will let you publish a “soapbox” issue where you can ask others to help support you.
By now you must be thinking either (1) “Does he own this site – what’s the catch?” or (2) “How much is he making by referring us to this site?” Well, the answer is that I found out about Congress.org by accident (so I don’t own it) and I get nothing for telling you about it – except knowing that more people will be able to keep track of what our elected officials are up to and be held accountable.
So, get off your duff for one hour per week and don’t let your elected officials get away with not representing you! Tell your relatives and friends to check up on their elected officials too. If we all keep track of them, then we know what they are up to. If they don’t do what we want, find someone else to run against them that will! Just over one year to the 2010 elections!
Funny you should ask because I have an answer for you. Have you ever heard of www.congress.org? No? Well, Congress.org is a service of Capitol Advantage and Knowlegis, LLC; private, non-partisan companies that specialize in facilitating civic participation. Congress.org allows users to identify and contact elected leaders in Congress, the White House, and state legislatures. You can also have your representative’s votes sent to you weekly via e-mail. Best of all registration is free!
If you spend one hour a week reviewing upcoming legislation and contact your Congressman/woman and Senators with your personal thoughts; then you can see the impact you, as an individual, can have. Congress.org will identify your elected leaders from the zip code you enter and will pre-prepare sections of you emails for you. For a small fee, they will even have your message “hand delivered” for you.
All of this takes about one hour each week. (1) Check pending legislation; (2) Tell your elected officials what you think; and (3) get an email back telling you how they voted. There are other options available on Congress.org that will let you publish a “soapbox” issue where you can ask others to help support you.
By now you must be thinking either (1) “Does he own this site – what’s the catch?” or (2) “How much is he making by referring us to this site?” Well, the answer is that I found out about Congress.org by accident (so I don’t own it) and I get nothing for telling you about it – except knowing that more people will be able to keep track of what our elected officials are up to and be held accountable.
So, get off your duff for one hour per week and don’t let your elected officials get away with not representing you! Tell your relatives and friends to check up on their elected officials too. If we all keep track of them, then we know what they are up to. If they don’t do what we want, find someone else to run against them that will! Just over one year to the 2010 elections!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
100 to One
As of March 2009, there is one Federal employee to every 150 persons in the United States. There is also roughly one State employee to every 300 persons in the United States. For Municipality employees (county, city, village, etc.) there is roughly one Municipality employee for every 750 persons in the United States. This makes a total of roughly three million government employees or one government employee for every 100 persons in the United States. Don’t you think that is a bit excessive?
If you assume that the average salary for these persons is $40,000 per year, we are talking about $4,000 per year spent on every person in the United States. So, the question is – What do you get for the $4,000? (By the way, that assumes that everyone pays taxes – the real number per taxpayer is more like $12,000). The other thing to consider is that this amount only represents salaries (and I am probably low-balling the number).
Why in the world do we need this many government employees?
The annual calculation for the cost of government is said to be without increase if the amount is the same as last year plus a cost of living adjustment (inflation). Therefore, if inflation is five percent, the new annual budget would be considered the same as the previous year with a five percent increase in cost. The government operates against a budget (often overinflated). Towards the end of the fiscal year, each Agency reviews what it has spent. If they have under spent, they immediately figure out ways to spend the excess so that they can go back next year and ask for more. This practice has been going on for a very long time.
What we really need is to start running the government more like a business and have it reviewed by non-government entities. Each Agency should re-justify itself every year and there should be an analysis of the value each service represents to the taxpayer. If the service doesn’t provide a cost savings to the taxpayer, it should not be done.
The unemployment rate for non-government workers is somewhere between nine and twenty percent depending on where you live so with revenue (in the form of taxes) decreasing, why are there no layoffs for government workers? The fact of the matter is that there has actually been an INCREASE in the number of government workers over the first half of 2009, and they are expecting to increase that number even more. We need to get control of this monster called government before it completely eats us alive!
If you assume that the average salary for these persons is $40,000 per year, we are talking about $4,000 per year spent on every person in the United States. So, the question is – What do you get for the $4,000? (By the way, that assumes that everyone pays taxes – the real number per taxpayer is more like $12,000). The other thing to consider is that this amount only represents salaries (and I am probably low-balling the number).
Why in the world do we need this many government employees?
The annual calculation for the cost of government is said to be without increase if the amount is the same as last year plus a cost of living adjustment (inflation). Therefore, if inflation is five percent, the new annual budget would be considered the same as the previous year with a five percent increase in cost. The government operates against a budget (often overinflated). Towards the end of the fiscal year, each Agency reviews what it has spent. If they have under spent, they immediately figure out ways to spend the excess so that they can go back next year and ask for more. This practice has been going on for a very long time.
What we really need is to start running the government more like a business and have it reviewed by non-government entities. Each Agency should re-justify itself every year and there should be an analysis of the value each service represents to the taxpayer. If the service doesn’t provide a cost savings to the taxpayer, it should not be done.
The unemployment rate for non-government workers is somewhere between nine and twenty percent depending on where you live so with revenue (in the form of taxes) decreasing, why are there no layoffs for government workers? The fact of the matter is that there has actually been an INCREASE in the number of government workers over the first half of 2009, and they are expecting to increase that number even more. We need to get control of this monster called government before it completely eats us alive!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic
Remember the good old school days and the three R’s? Reading, Writing and Arithmetic have been the basis of good education for many, many years. So what happened to our Congressmen/women and Senators?
Reading – Most of our Legislators have apparently forgotten how to read and those that apparently can read can’t understand what they do read. Since the majority of them are lawyers, I wonder if they have gotten used to having someone else read it for them. Even so, somewhere along the line whoever is reading it for them has certainly got to tell them what it says. Maybe legislation should be like audio books – have someone else read it and put it on a CD so it can be listened to while traveling in D.C. traffic to and from meetings with lobbyists. Better yet, why doesn’t the Legislative Branch get Hollywood to create a movie describing what each bill represents. Oh wait, you would have to have two versions – one where the bill actually worked (a rarity I know) and a second version where the bill didn’t work. Then they could see which version brings in the most money and decide whether to vote yes or no based on that. They don’t listen to the voters that put them there so why not?
Writing – Apparently Legislators can’t write either. They have to have staffers and outside lobbyists write the bills for them. Take for example the recent Stimulus Bill. Most of it was written by an organization called the “Apollo Alliance” (Who is Apollo Alliance? One thing for sure, they are very active behind the scenes. They practically wrote the Stimulus bill and the Cap and Trade bill that nobody read. Apollo Alliance is a very radical leftist organization. The founder, Van Jones, (self …claimed radical communist) was one of Obama’s Czars until he resigned under pressure recently). This is just one example. Another would be the “form” responses that you receive from your Legislator. Wonder why they ask what particular subject area you are writing about? That’s because they then know which form email or letter to send you back (written by a staffer of course). I wrote to my local Senator three times on Health Care. First response was the form email. I then picked apart his form email and sent a new email to him. What did I get back? You guessed it – the same form email! The third time I chastised him for sending me the second form email and of course, I received the same form email back!
Arithmetic – I don’t know about you, but once a month (sometimes twice) I sit down and look at all the bills I have and try to determine if my income will cover them all and then look at what I have left (if anything) so I can determine what I have to live on during the month. Obviously, our Legislators don’t do this. They love to spend money – especially when it’s not really theirs. They love to tell us how the Government is taking care of everything and since there are a lot of robot idiots out there who either don’t pay taxes or get all their money from their parents, they get away with it. Well, I say, NO MORE. I’m sorry that some people don’t have health insurance or just can’t afford it. The majority of the problems with health insurance and health care costs are because of the Government not allowing people to purchase health insurance across State lines and Tort reform. It’s time to tell them two simple words – STOP IT!
Maybe it’s time to send these Legislators back to school – that is, if the Public Schools still teach the three R’s.
Reading – Most of our Legislators have apparently forgotten how to read and those that apparently can read can’t understand what they do read. Since the majority of them are lawyers, I wonder if they have gotten used to having someone else read it for them. Even so, somewhere along the line whoever is reading it for them has certainly got to tell them what it says. Maybe legislation should be like audio books – have someone else read it and put it on a CD so it can be listened to while traveling in D.C. traffic to and from meetings with lobbyists. Better yet, why doesn’t the Legislative Branch get Hollywood to create a movie describing what each bill represents. Oh wait, you would have to have two versions – one where the bill actually worked (a rarity I know) and a second version where the bill didn’t work. Then they could see which version brings in the most money and decide whether to vote yes or no based on that. They don’t listen to the voters that put them there so why not?
Writing – Apparently Legislators can’t write either. They have to have staffers and outside lobbyists write the bills for them. Take for example the recent Stimulus Bill. Most of it was written by an organization called the “Apollo Alliance” (Who is Apollo Alliance? One thing for sure, they are very active behind the scenes. They practically wrote the Stimulus bill and the Cap and Trade bill that nobody read. Apollo Alliance is a very radical leftist organization. The founder, Van Jones, (self …claimed radical communist) was one of Obama’s Czars until he resigned under pressure recently). This is just one example. Another would be the “form” responses that you receive from your Legislator. Wonder why they ask what particular subject area you are writing about? That’s because they then know which form email or letter to send you back (written by a staffer of course). I wrote to my local Senator three times on Health Care. First response was the form email. I then picked apart his form email and sent a new email to him. What did I get back? You guessed it – the same form email! The third time I chastised him for sending me the second form email and of course, I received the same form email back!
Arithmetic – I don’t know about you, but once a month (sometimes twice) I sit down and look at all the bills I have and try to determine if my income will cover them all and then look at what I have left (if anything) so I can determine what I have to live on during the month. Obviously, our Legislators don’t do this. They love to spend money – especially when it’s not really theirs. They love to tell us how the Government is taking care of everything and since there are a lot of robot idiots out there who either don’t pay taxes or get all their money from their parents, they get away with it. Well, I say, NO MORE. I’m sorry that some people don’t have health insurance or just can’t afford it. The majority of the problems with health insurance and health care costs are because of the Government not allowing people to purchase health insurance across State lines and Tort reform. It’s time to tell them two simple words – STOP IT!
Maybe it’s time to send these Legislators back to school – that is, if the Public Schools still teach the three R’s.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Why Tuition keeps going up at Colleges and Universities and how to fix it
Information contained in this article is supported by articles by Gary Wolfra, George Munson Professor of Political Economy at Hillsdale College in Michigan link at http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3344; The College Cost Crisis September 4, 2003 A Congressional Analysis of College Costs and Implications for America’s Higher Education System by: Rep. John A. Boehner (R-OH), Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce & Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), Chairman, U.S. House Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness link at http://cssp.us/pdf/CollegeCostCrisisReport.pdf and private research conducted by the author.
It should be pointed out that increasing tuition costs have been an issue since the early 1980s. Congress has passed many bills aimed at assisting incoming students with affordable student loans with an emphasis on those coming from financially disadvantaged families. Institutes of higher learning (colleges and universities) are provided appropriations by the individual States and the amount appropriated varies by State. In addition, several Colleges and Universities are private and receive no appropriations from the State but do receive funding from private sources.
What were the reasons that caused tuition to begin escalating in the early 1980s? Let’s take a look.
1. College and University administrators are more concerned with their institutions profile than with streamlining operations.
2. The Federal Government continues to subsidize tuition costs regardless of how much they rise. Currently, the Federal Government guarantees 97 percent of student loan amounts to lending institutions.
3. Academic institutions have made little effort, either on campus or off, to become more transparent, in explaining their finances. As a result, there is no readily available information about college costs and prices nor is there a common national reporting standard for either.
4. Finally, even with the large number of colleges and universities, there is little competition among them.
There may be more reasons such as inflation, higher salaries and benefits, decrease in State funding, etc. However, let’s look at what can be done to solve this problem.
The first step is to contact your State Congressmen/women and Senators. Demand that legislation be passed requiring public release of all financial records including salaries paid, benefit packages, severance packages, building costs and maintenance, classroom furniture, equipment, as well as any and all additional expenses. Also to be included should be the amount of tuition, parking fees, cafeteria revenue, dormitory charges, and any other amounts collected from students and charged public events (football games, basketball games, all sports and civic events), amounts provided by the State, and any grants or other amounts provided by the Federal Government. From this disclosure it will be possible to determine where cost-cutting measures can be applied.
The next step is to contact your Federal Congressmen/women and Senators. Reform is needed in the student loan process. As I mentioned, currently the Federal Government guarantees 97% of the value of a student loan, regardless of cost. When not paid (and many of them are not), the taxpayer foots the bill. The Federal Government needs to issue vouchers instead of open-ended student loans. Here’s how it would work. Each voucher is good for one semester (or quarter depending on the school). The Federal Government would establish a set amount for the value of these vouchers. All Colleges and Universities that receive any type of Federal or State assistance would be required to accept these vouchers as full payment for each semester or quarter up to a maximum of 60 percent of the current year admissions. If not – no Federal or State aide (including grants). The Department of Education (since we’re stuck with it for now) should create a scale for Professors similar to the GS scale used by the Federal Government. This scale would list the criteria for each level of Professor and what range of pay they could receive. This should be applied uniformly across all 4-year colleges and universities. Finally, each applicant for voucher will sign a loan agreement with the Federal Government to repay within four years of graduation but with a caveat that they could perform Government service at a pay level equivalent to a private in the Armed Forces. For each year served, the debt would be reduced by one year. After four years of Government service, the loan would be fully paid.
The final step is to allow Colleges and Universities to purchase goods and services off the GSA schedule, established by the Federal Government to provide uniform cost across all the various Departments. This would keep College and University administrators from contracting with relatives and friends at inflated prices for goods and services.
It should be pointed out that increasing tuition costs have been an issue since the early 1980s. Congress has passed many bills aimed at assisting incoming students with affordable student loans with an emphasis on those coming from financially disadvantaged families. Institutes of higher learning (colleges and universities) are provided appropriations by the individual States and the amount appropriated varies by State. In addition, several Colleges and Universities are private and receive no appropriations from the State but do receive funding from private sources.
What were the reasons that caused tuition to begin escalating in the early 1980s? Let’s take a look.
1. College and University administrators are more concerned with their institutions profile than with streamlining operations.
2. The Federal Government continues to subsidize tuition costs regardless of how much they rise. Currently, the Federal Government guarantees 97 percent of student loan amounts to lending institutions.
3. Academic institutions have made little effort, either on campus or off, to become more transparent, in explaining their finances. As a result, there is no readily available information about college costs and prices nor is there a common national reporting standard for either.
4. Finally, even with the large number of colleges and universities, there is little competition among them.
There may be more reasons such as inflation, higher salaries and benefits, decrease in State funding, etc. However, let’s look at what can be done to solve this problem.
The first step is to contact your State Congressmen/women and Senators. Demand that legislation be passed requiring public release of all financial records including salaries paid, benefit packages, severance packages, building costs and maintenance, classroom furniture, equipment, as well as any and all additional expenses. Also to be included should be the amount of tuition, parking fees, cafeteria revenue, dormitory charges, and any other amounts collected from students and charged public events (football games, basketball games, all sports and civic events), amounts provided by the State, and any grants or other amounts provided by the Federal Government. From this disclosure it will be possible to determine where cost-cutting measures can be applied.
The next step is to contact your Federal Congressmen/women and Senators. Reform is needed in the student loan process. As I mentioned, currently the Federal Government guarantees 97% of the value of a student loan, regardless of cost. When not paid (and many of them are not), the taxpayer foots the bill. The Federal Government needs to issue vouchers instead of open-ended student loans. Here’s how it would work. Each voucher is good for one semester (or quarter depending on the school). The Federal Government would establish a set amount for the value of these vouchers. All Colleges and Universities that receive any type of Federal or State assistance would be required to accept these vouchers as full payment for each semester or quarter up to a maximum of 60 percent of the current year admissions. If not – no Federal or State aide (including grants). The Department of Education (since we’re stuck with it for now) should create a scale for Professors similar to the GS scale used by the Federal Government. This scale would list the criteria for each level of Professor and what range of pay they could receive. This should be applied uniformly across all 4-year colleges and universities. Finally, each applicant for voucher will sign a loan agreement with the Federal Government to repay within four years of graduation but with a caveat that they could perform Government service at a pay level equivalent to a private in the Armed Forces. For each year served, the debt would be reduced by one year. After four years of Government service, the loan would be fully paid.
The final step is to allow Colleges and Universities to purchase goods and services off the GSA schedule, established by the Federal Government to provide uniform cost across all the various Departments. This would keep College and University administrators from contracting with relatives and friends at inflated prices for goods and services.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Hope and Change - Defined
Hope and Change. Hope and Change! Sounds good, doesn’t it?
But what does it actually mean?
It is so vague as to be able to mean many different things to many different people. Because it is so vague, I am going to take the liberty to break it down into the ten letters that make it up:
H-O-P-E-C-H-A-N-G-E.
Yes, I know there are two letter H’s and two letter E’s; but not to worry. I will handle them. So, let’s get started.
H – Help. Help your neighbor if they need it. Know who your neighbors are without being intrusive. Help your neighborhood by first keeping your own property in order. Have pride in your home AND your neighborhood. If there are poor or elderly persons living in your neighborhood, try to assist them by acts of kindness. Help your community but don’t rely on your community government to do all the work. If you do, their only option is to add staff to do work that you and your neighbors could do for just your time.
O – Organize. Meet with your neighbors and members of your community to work out problem solving without intervention by local government. Set up volunteer groups to help clean up vacant properties, parks, vacant land, house painting, and repairing fences. This can be done with the help of local merchants who might be willing to donate materials. Become active in interfacing with your local government – mayor, city council members, city manager, etc.
P – Participate. Instead of watching the boob tube, set aside time to attend the local school PTA meetings, city board meetings, city council meetings, planning commission meetings. Know what your local government and school are trying to do and if you don’t agree, make your voice heard.
E – Evaluate. Use common sense when looking at local issues. Think about what local government and local schools are telling you they want and need. If it seems excessive or unreasonable – say so but have a logical explanation as to why you feel that way. Get dialogue going between supporters and non-supporters and try to come to a logical solution that is cost effective and reasonable.
C – Contribute. Contribute your time and money (as you can afford) to local church groups and other non-profit charitable organizations. Keep the government, especially State and Federal levels out of your local communities. If your community cannot keep control locally, you are asking for trouble! If your community accepts funding from the State or Federal Government, it allows them to have a say in how that money is used, how it is spent, and takes away control from you and your fellow neighbors.
H – Heal. It’s time for each and every one of you to join together in your own community to help heal our wayward society. If you know your neighbor on your right, left, and across the street; and they know their neighbor on their right, left, and across the street; pretty soon all your neighbors together know everyone in the community. Most people are basically good people but political correctness has caused us to turn our heads and not get involved or just ignore what is going on down the street. Work with you local police department, neighborhood watch, and civic organizations to weed out the troublemakers. Stop worrying about hurting other people’s feelings and start worrying about keeping control of your neighborhood and community.
A – Assemble. There is strength in numbers. That is why lobby groups get their way with Congressmen/women and Senators. However, you and I have something the professional lobbyists do not have – the vote. By forming local groups of like-minded individuals and meeting peacefully with your representatives, you can use the “power of the people” to get your view across. If he or she knows that a large voting block is for or against a bill and his or her vote could mean losing those votes, it stands to reason which way they will decide.
N – News. Don’t rely on newspapers, radio, or television to get your news. Question everything that you hear when it relates to legislation, how good things are, how bad things are, what it will cost, how it will be good for you, how it is necessary, how it is a crisis, etc. Do your own research and look at both sides before deciding what the REAL truth is.
G – Grow up. Take responsibility for your own actions. Stop asking the Government for help. They are the most inefficient group of people in the United States. Imagine running a company where at the end of every year each division is told that they have to spend all of the money they budgeted or next year they will receive less. That is how the Federal and many State Governments operate. They are happy to “help you” because it isn’t their money; they won’t lose any portion of their salary by giving it to you; it’s almost impossible for them to get fired; and if they run short, Congress will just raise your taxes.
E – Engage. Engage your family, friends, relatives, neighbors, and politicians. Encourage get-togethers, pot-luck dinners, picnics – whatever it takes to get people back together again with common interests that make each and every neighborhood and community beam with a sense of pride.
Now you know how I view Hope & Change. How do you view it?
But what does it actually mean?
It is so vague as to be able to mean many different things to many different people. Because it is so vague, I am going to take the liberty to break it down into the ten letters that make it up:
H-O-P-E-C-H-A-N-G-E.
Yes, I know there are two letter H’s and two letter E’s; but not to worry. I will handle them. So, let’s get started.
H – Help. Help your neighbor if they need it. Know who your neighbors are without being intrusive. Help your neighborhood by first keeping your own property in order. Have pride in your home AND your neighborhood. If there are poor or elderly persons living in your neighborhood, try to assist them by acts of kindness. Help your community but don’t rely on your community government to do all the work. If you do, their only option is to add staff to do work that you and your neighbors could do for just your time.
O – Organize. Meet with your neighbors and members of your community to work out problem solving without intervention by local government. Set up volunteer groups to help clean up vacant properties, parks, vacant land, house painting, and repairing fences. This can be done with the help of local merchants who might be willing to donate materials. Become active in interfacing with your local government – mayor, city council members, city manager, etc.
P – Participate. Instead of watching the boob tube, set aside time to attend the local school PTA meetings, city board meetings, city council meetings, planning commission meetings. Know what your local government and school are trying to do and if you don’t agree, make your voice heard.
E – Evaluate. Use common sense when looking at local issues. Think about what local government and local schools are telling you they want and need. If it seems excessive or unreasonable – say so but have a logical explanation as to why you feel that way. Get dialogue going between supporters and non-supporters and try to come to a logical solution that is cost effective and reasonable.
C – Contribute. Contribute your time and money (as you can afford) to local church groups and other non-profit charitable organizations. Keep the government, especially State and Federal levels out of your local communities. If your community cannot keep control locally, you are asking for trouble! If your community accepts funding from the State or Federal Government, it allows them to have a say in how that money is used, how it is spent, and takes away control from you and your fellow neighbors.
H – Heal. It’s time for each and every one of you to join together in your own community to help heal our wayward society. If you know your neighbor on your right, left, and across the street; and they know their neighbor on their right, left, and across the street; pretty soon all your neighbors together know everyone in the community. Most people are basically good people but political correctness has caused us to turn our heads and not get involved or just ignore what is going on down the street. Work with you local police department, neighborhood watch, and civic organizations to weed out the troublemakers. Stop worrying about hurting other people’s feelings and start worrying about keeping control of your neighborhood and community.
A – Assemble. There is strength in numbers. That is why lobby groups get their way with Congressmen/women and Senators. However, you and I have something the professional lobbyists do not have – the vote. By forming local groups of like-minded individuals and meeting peacefully with your representatives, you can use the “power of the people” to get your view across. If he or she knows that a large voting block is for or against a bill and his or her vote could mean losing those votes, it stands to reason which way they will decide.
N – News. Don’t rely on newspapers, radio, or television to get your news. Question everything that you hear when it relates to legislation, how good things are, how bad things are, what it will cost, how it will be good for you, how it is necessary, how it is a crisis, etc. Do your own research and look at both sides before deciding what the REAL truth is.
G – Grow up. Take responsibility for your own actions. Stop asking the Government for help. They are the most inefficient group of people in the United States. Imagine running a company where at the end of every year each division is told that they have to spend all of the money they budgeted or next year they will receive less. That is how the Federal and many State Governments operate. They are happy to “help you” because it isn’t their money; they won’t lose any portion of their salary by giving it to you; it’s almost impossible for them to get fired; and if they run short, Congress will just raise your taxes.
E – Engage. Engage your family, friends, relatives, neighbors, and politicians. Encourage get-togethers, pot-luck dinners, picnics – whatever it takes to get people back together again with common interests that make each and every neighborhood and community beam with a sense of pride.
Now you know how I view Hope & Change. How do you view it?
Sunday, August 30, 2009
No Justice for Former US Hostages Held in Iraq
A recent headline in the Washington Post stated "$13 Billion in Iraq Aid Wasted Or Stolen, Ex-Investigator Says". The total amount of aid provided by the U.S. is somewhere in excess of $50 Billion U.S. Dollars.
In the meantime, approximately 200 U.S. Citizens held hostage in Iraq nineteen years ago have yet to receive justice. During the Bush Administration, numerous attempts were made by Congress to get Iraq to pay compensation to these hostages. Each time, the Bush Administration vetoed the bills and the Senate was too "weak minded" to attempt to override his vetoes.
Last year, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 5167, which would have forced Iraq to negotiate a settlement with suggested maximum compensation per person of $900,000 - in some cases a significant decrease from awards granted in 2002, to those cases that had already received judgements. The Senate did not take up this bill as they were told by the Bush Administration that it would be vetoed and again the Senate was too weak minded to attempt to override his threatened veto.
In May of this year, Congressman Sestak of Pennsylvania introduced H.R. 2241, titled "
‘‘Equitable Compensation for American Victims of Torture Act of 2009’’. This bill has been in committee since that time with no action taken. The primary reason given for "no action taken" is that the U.S. State Department has been attempting to negotiate a settlement with the Government of Iraq and Congress has been waiting for either a positive or negative result before considering the new bill.
Unfortunately, most Congressmen/women and Senators do not understand how the Middle Eastern culture deals with Westerners (friend or foe). First, they will tell you what they think you want to hear while at the same time delaying any concrete action as long as possible. Second, they will find many reasons to not take any responsibility for something done while they were not in charge. Lastly, they will take no action unless the consequences cost more than the action. This is why it is important for the House of Representatives (or Senate) to show movement on getting H.R. 2241 passed. If the Iraqis see that a bill is coming which would force them to settle these outstanding claims, then and only then will they negotiate with the State Department in good faith.
Many of those U.S. Citizens that were held hostage have suffered either physically or mentally from their ordeal in Iraq. In addition, they have been riding a roller coaster for the past nineteen years with promises that never materialized. Lastly, several former hostages have died without seeing justice prevail. The total cost to Iraq to settle all these claims is one-tenth the amount that U.S. Taxpayers have seen wasted in aid to the Iraq Government.
It is time to put pressure on the Iraq Government to settle these claims and live up to their International responsibilities!
In the meantime, approximately 200 U.S. Citizens held hostage in Iraq nineteen years ago have yet to receive justice. During the Bush Administration, numerous attempts were made by Congress to get Iraq to pay compensation to these hostages. Each time, the Bush Administration vetoed the bills and the Senate was too "weak minded" to attempt to override his vetoes.
Last year, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 5167, which would have forced Iraq to negotiate a settlement with suggested maximum compensation per person of $900,000 - in some cases a significant decrease from awards granted in 2002, to those cases that had already received judgements. The Senate did not take up this bill as they were told by the Bush Administration that it would be vetoed and again the Senate was too weak minded to attempt to override his threatened veto.
In May of this year, Congressman Sestak of Pennsylvania introduced H.R. 2241, titled "
‘‘Equitable Compensation for American Victims of Torture Act of 2009’’. This bill has been in committee since that time with no action taken. The primary reason given for "no action taken" is that the U.S. State Department has been attempting to negotiate a settlement with the Government of Iraq and Congress has been waiting for either a positive or negative result before considering the new bill.
Unfortunately, most Congressmen/women and Senators do not understand how the Middle Eastern culture deals with Westerners (friend or foe). First, they will tell you what they think you want to hear while at the same time delaying any concrete action as long as possible. Second, they will find many reasons to not take any responsibility for something done while they were not in charge. Lastly, they will take no action unless the consequences cost more than the action. This is why it is important for the House of Representatives (or Senate) to show movement on getting H.R. 2241 passed. If the Iraqis see that a bill is coming which would force them to settle these outstanding claims, then and only then will they negotiate with the State Department in good faith.
Many of those U.S. Citizens that were held hostage have suffered either physically or mentally from their ordeal in Iraq. In addition, they have been riding a roller coaster for the past nineteen years with promises that never materialized. Lastly, several former hostages have died without seeing justice prevail. The total cost to Iraq to settle all these claims is one-tenth the amount that U.S. Taxpayers have seen wasted in aid to the Iraq Government.
It is time to put pressure on the Iraq Government to settle these claims and live up to their International responsibilities!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Current Political Slogans
"The current system is broken and needs to be fixed".
"We need to ensure that every American has access".
"Cost increases are out of control - the cost keeps going up and the quality doesn't".
"Competition is the cornerstone to keeping them honest".
"It is fast becoming unaffordable for the average American".
Do these sound familiar? These are what politicians are saying about Health Care. However, I would like to re-word them a bit. Here goes!
"Our current Government is broken and needs to be fixed".
"Politicians need to make themselves accessible to every American".
"The National Debt is out of control. The Government keeps spending but quality of service does not improve".
"Perhaps having more than two political parties will provide more competition and choices for the American people and we can actually have politicians that serve the voters and not themselves or special interest".
"With continued spending by our Government, soon we will face hyper-inflation and everything from food to fuel will be unaffordable for the average American".
Government should work from the bottom up, not the top down. Local communities should be responsible for themselves first. What is above and beyond their control should be handled by the county and city. What is above and beyond their control should be handled by the State. Finally, what is above and beyond their control should be handled by the Federal Government. When I was a kid, the store owners in the small town I lived in swept the sidewalks in front of each of their respective stores without relying on the City to do it. They shoveled and salted the walks in the winter, and in a lot of cases cleared the parking areas so customers could visit their stores. After a typical winter's storm, most people were out shoveling their own walks and driveways AND helping those neighbors who couldn't do it for themselves.
What happened to those days?
Let's get them back!
"We need to ensure that every American has access".
"Cost increases are out of control - the cost keeps going up and the quality doesn't".
"Competition is the cornerstone to keeping them honest".
"It is fast becoming unaffordable for the average American".
Do these sound familiar? These are what politicians are saying about Health Care. However, I would like to re-word them a bit. Here goes!
"Our current Government is broken and needs to be fixed".
"Politicians need to make themselves accessible to every American".
"The National Debt is out of control. The Government keeps spending but quality of service does not improve".
"Perhaps having more than two political parties will provide more competition and choices for the American people and we can actually have politicians that serve the voters and not themselves or special interest".
"With continued spending by our Government, soon we will face hyper-inflation and everything from food to fuel will be unaffordable for the average American".
Government should work from the bottom up, not the top down. Local communities should be responsible for themselves first. What is above and beyond their control should be handled by the county and city. What is above and beyond their control should be handled by the State. Finally, what is above and beyond their control should be handled by the Federal Government. When I was a kid, the store owners in the small town I lived in swept the sidewalks in front of each of their respective stores without relying on the City to do it. They shoveled and salted the walks in the winter, and in a lot of cases cleared the parking areas so customers could visit their stores. After a typical winter's storm, most people were out shoveling their own walks and driveways AND helping those neighbors who couldn't do it for themselves.
What happened to those days?
Let's get them back!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
How to Tell if a Politician is Lying
You've probably heard the old joke
"How do you know when a Politician is lying?"
Answer "His or her lips move."
Well, these days it's not so much that they are lying to us but rather they aren't telling the entire truth. If you haven't noticed, it seems that both the Executive and Legislative Branch of our U.S. Federal Government want more power over you and I. Why do I say that? Well, if the current debate over Health Care Reform REALLY had to do with Health Care Reform then why did they change it to Health Insurance Reform? Now the question is "Is it REALLY about Health Insurance Reform?" We all know that the cost of health insurance continues to go up and many politicians have claimed that the "Public Option" (code word for Government-run Health Care or Insurance) will help bring down the cost. I don't know about you but I have yet to see anything that the Government has run come down in cost. In fact, I can't remember seeing anything the Government has done in any area where it has cost less than if some private company had done it.
I think that most people think that the Government can pay for anything. What they can't seem to grasp is that the Government has no money! We, the people, have the money and through taxation of one kind or another, we provide money to the Government to spend WISELY on our behalf to support those things that we need in order to go about leading our lives; like highways, secure borders, dealings with Foreign countries, etc. Make no mistake, the Federal Government does not like the limits placed on them by the Constitution. So, in order to get around the Constitution, the Politicians tell you that the Government can provide you with MORE security. Look at Social Security. It was sold as a means to insure that every senior citizen would have the ongoing income to keep them off the welfare rolls. Two things the Government did not do - (1) invest your contributions (not tax but contributions) in such a way as to have them grow over time - I guess they never heard of COMPOUND INTEREST!
(2) they allowed your contributions to be borrowed by the Congress for use in the General Fund (with no intention of ever paying it back and certainly not with interest).
Now, persons that are dependant on Social Security are trapped by the Government. If most of them had been able to purchase US Savings Bonds (held by the Social Security Administration) and used those as the basis for continued retirement income, the average amount that a retired person would have received is approximately four times what they are receiving now. If you think I am exaggerating, get a copy of your earnings statement and for each year you contributed, see what the going rate for Series E, EE, or I were for that year and calculate it yourself.
Mark my words, the Government wants SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE, which means Government-run Health Care. When they re-convene in September, there will be a lot of talk about how they have listened to the American People and now know what to do. But, remember that these are mostly lawyers who would fight to the death for a favorable verdict - innocent or guilty as the client might be. Also, the longer the bill, the more complicated it becomes - change a word here - change a word there - redo a section here - redo a section there- add some additional legal jargon here and some more there; and presto, you can't find where they have embedded what they really want.
Be careful my friends; this snake has two heads!
"How do you know when a Politician is lying?"
Answer "His or her lips move."
Well, these days it's not so much that they are lying to us but rather they aren't telling the entire truth. If you haven't noticed, it seems that both the Executive and Legislative Branch of our U.S. Federal Government want more power over you and I. Why do I say that? Well, if the current debate over Health Care Reform REALLY had to do with Health Care Reform then why did they change it to Health Insurance Reform? Now the question is "Is it REALLY about Health Insurance Reform?" We all know that the cost of health insurance continues to go up and many politicians have claimed that the "Public Option" (code word for Government-run Health Care or Insurance) will help bring down the cost. I don't know about you but I have yet to see anything that the Government has run come down in cost. In fact, I can't remember seeing anything the Government has done in any area where it has cost less than if some private company had done it.
I think that most people think that the Government can pay for anything. What they can't seem to grasp is that the Government has no money! We, the people, have the money and through taxation of one kind or another, we provide money to the Government to spend WISELY on our behalf to support those things that we need in order to go about leading our lives; like highways, secure borders, dealings with Foreign countries, etc. Make no mistake, the Federal Government does not like the limits placed on them by the Constitution. So, in order to get around the Constitution, the Politicians tell you that the Government can provide you with MORE security. Look at Social Security. It was sold as a means to insure that every senior citizen would have the ongoing income to keep them off the welfare rolls. Two things the Government did not do - (1) invest your contributions (not tax but contributions) in such a way as to have them grow over time - I guess they never heard of COMPOUND INTEREST!
(2) they allowed your contributions to be borrowed by the Congress for use in the General Fund (with no intention of ever paying it back and certainly not with interest).
Now, persons that are dependant on Social Security are trapped by the Government. If most of them had been able to purchase US Savings Bonds (held by the Social Security Administration) and used those as the basis for continued retirement income, the average amount that a retired person would have received is approximately four times what they are receiving now. If you think I am exaggerating, get a copy of your earnings statement and for each year you contributed, see what the going rate for Series E, EE, or I were for that year and calculate it yourself.
Mark my words, the Government wants SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE, which means Government-run Health Care. When they re-convene in September, there will be a lot of talk about how they have listened to the American People and now know what to do. But, remember that these are mostly lawyers who would fight to the death for a favorable verdict - innocent or guilty as the client might be. Also, the longer the bill, the more complicated it becomes - change a word here - change a word there - redo a section here - redo a section there- add some additional legal jargon here and some more there; and presto, you can't find where they have embedded what they really want.
Be careful my friends; this snake has two heads!
Friday, August 14, 2009
List of Obama's Czars
Following is a copy of the link: http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1578659602833824887. They did a better job (they also have more resources) than I could have done.
List of Obama's Czars
August 14, 2009 - 12:50 ET
As of July 20, 2009:
• The Brainroom counts 32 czars in the Obama administration, based on media reports from reputable sources that have identified the official in question as a czar.
• In addition, President Obama has said that he will create the position of cyber czar, and there have been media reports that there could be a health insurance czar and a copyright czar. When and if those positions are filled, that would bring the total to 35.
• Since czar isn't an official job title, the number is somewhat in the eye of the beholder.
NOTE: positions that also existed under previous administrations are indicated with an *.
1. Afghanistan Czar - Richard Holbrooke
Title: Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will work with CENTCOM head Gen. David Petraeus to integrate U.S. civilian and military efforts in the region.
• 45 years of experience have made him a fixture of the Democrats' foreign policy establishment.
• Was U.S. ambassador to U.N., 1999-2001
• Brokered the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia
• Also served as Assistant secretary of state, East Asia and the Pacific (1976 to 1980); worked in foreign service (1962 to 1976)
• From 1972 through 1976, was the editor of Foreign Policy magazine.
2. AIDS Czar * - Jeffrey Crowley
Title: Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy
Salary: $102,000
Reports to: President Obama (as part of the Executive Office of the President’s Domestic Policy Council)
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Coordinates HIV/AIDS policy domestically and internationally.
• Senior Research Scholar at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute and a Senior Scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
• Was Deputy Executive Director for Programs at the National Association of People with AIDS
• Has Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
3. Auto Recovery Czar - Ed Montgomery
Title: Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Larry Summers, the president's top economic adviser, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Labor
• Will work to leverage government resources to support the workers, communities and regions that rely on the American auto industry.
• Was Deputy Secretary and Chief Economist at the Labor Department (1997 to 1998)
• Is Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland (2003 to present)
• Has PhD in economics from Harvard
• In 2008, made $1,200 in political donations, all of which went to Obama’s presidential campaign.
• Wife is the granddaughter of a General Motors worker from Portland, Mich.
• Drives a 2000 Lincoln
4. Border Czar * - Alan Bersin
Title: Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Appointed: April 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Will coordinate all of the department's border security and law-enforcement efforts.
• Essentially had the same job under President Clinton; served as Attorney General Janet Reno's special representative on border issues, a job that he held while retaining the position of U.S. attorney for San Diego.
• This time, boss will be Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who will expect him to handle illegal immigration and drug violence issues along the Mexican-American border
• Previous experience: Chairman of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority (2006 to 2009); Secretary of Education for California (2005 to 2006); Superintendent of San Diego Public Schools (1998 to 2005); U.S. Attorney for San Diego (1993 to 1998)
• Graduate of Harvard and Yale Law School
• Talking about border security shortly before he was named Clinton border czar in 1995, said he wanted to focus on suspected smugglers of both drugs and people and was not interested in prosecuting “economic migrants.”
• Often tied to the 1994 border policy called “Operation Gatekeeper.” The policy shifted the U.S. focus from the arresting of immigrants who actually crossed the border to an increased border presence designed to stop border crossing in the first place. When Bersin left the position in 1998, border arrests were on pace for an 18-year low of just more than 200,000. Latino groups complained that Operation Gatekeeper was immoral, saying the program monitored the border near San Diego but simply forced illegal immigrants to other, more dangerous areas.
• Has given more than $50,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of it to Democrats.
5. California Water Czar - David J. Hayes
Title: Deputy Interior Secretary
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Appointed: June 2009 Confirmed by Senate (as Deputy Interior Security): May 20, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Interior
• Charged with coordinating federal agencies to ease California's water shortage
• Graduate of Stanford Law School; clerked for U.S. District Court for the D.C., has been a partner at two big D.C. law firms
• Was deputy interior secretary under Bruce Babbitt during Clinton administration
• From 1993 to 1995, was chairman of the board at the Environmental Law Institute, a non-profit research center.
• As a lobbyist, represented the Southern California Metropolitan Water District in 2001
• In August 2008, wrote a policy report while working at the Progressive Policy Institute accusing the Bush administration of leaving a “damaging legacy” in their natural resource management policies
• Donated $2,300 to Clinton during 2008 campaign; after she withdrew, donated $2,300 to Obama
6. Car Czar - Ron Bloom NOTE: on July 13, 2009, Bloom took over as head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, replacing Steven Rattner
Title: Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council head Larry Summers
Appointed: July 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• A leader of the White House task force overseeing auto company bailouts; worked on restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler LLC.
• Was special assistant to president of the United Steelworkers union from 1996-Feb 2009
• Has negotiated restructuring deals for more than 50 companies, getting major concessions from unions and companies.
• Was raised in New York in a pro-union family, which included a schoolteacher mother and unionized relatives.
• After working for the Service Employees International Union, got an MBA from Harvard University because he thought unions lacked business smarts, he said in a 1996 interview in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• From 1985 to 1990, he worked as an investment banker with Lazard Freres & Co., which specializes in mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring, before co-founding the investment-banking firm Keilin and Bloom.
7. Central Region Czar - Dennis Ross
Title: Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region (encompasses the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia)
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Spent 12 years in the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations trying to create a permanent agreement between the governments of Israel and the Palestinian territories
• In 1981, was named to President Ronald Reagan’s national security staff as the director of Near East and South Asian Affairs.
• Was director of the State Department’s Policy Planning office during President George H. W. Bush’s term.
• 1993: appointed to the position of Middle East coordinator, making him the top negotiator for peace between Israel and Palestinian territories
• After he left government in 2000, headed up Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a hawkish think tank with a pro-Israeli bent
8. Climate Czar - Todd Stern
Title: Special Envoy for Climate Change
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; State
• Responsible for developing international approaches to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Served in the Clinton White House from 1993 to 1999; Was Head of the Initiative on Global Climate Change (1997 to 1999) and Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury (1999 to 2001)
• As a top aide to President Clinton, helped negotiate the Kyoto and Buenos Aires climate pacts, both of which fell apart partially because of a lack of U.S. support during Bush administration.
• After Bush was elected to office, went to the Wilmer Hale law firm, where he is a partner in the regulatory and government affairs division.
• Was most recently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focused on climate change and environmental issues.
• Has written extensively on climate change, and has called on the American government and the international community to take a series of steps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Supports a national cap-and-trade system that would limit carbon emissions and reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil
• Has law degree from Harvard
9. Domestic Violence Czar - Lynn Rosenthal
Title: White House adviser on Violence Against Women
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama and Vice President Biden
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Will advise the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues.
• 2000-2006: served as the Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence
• Was an advocate for the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 and 2005 and has assisted states and local communities with implementation of this federal legislation
• Was director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence
10. Drug Czar * - Gil Kerlikowske
Title: Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009 Confirmed by Senate: May 7, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice
• Directs drug-control policy in the U.S.; is expected to shift drug policy to intervention, treatment and a reduction of problem drug use.
• Was police chief for the city of Seattle from 2000-2009
• Was Deputy Director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (1998 to 2000); Police Chief for the city of Buffalo (1994 to 1998); Police chief of Fort Pierce, Fla. (N/A to 1994)
• A strong gun-control advocate, urged both the Washington legislature and the U.S. Congress to pass an assault-weapons ban and has worked to close the loophole that doesn't require background checks at gun shows
• 2003: admitted that busting people for personal marijuana possession was not a top priority of the Seattle police department.
• As Seattle police chief, assigned an officer full-time to the drug court, which commuted sentences of drug users who complete medical treatment in lieu of going to jail.
11. Economic Czar * - Paul Volcker
Title: Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Salary: Volcker reportedly isn't paid for his advice.
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Charged with offering independent, nonpartisan information, analysis, and advice to the President as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery.
• Some reports say he's been marginalized by Larry Summers.
• Former Federal Reserve chairman (1979-1987)
• Was Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1969 to 1974); Deputy Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1963 to 1965)
• Gave Obama campaign $2,300 in 2008.
12. Energy and Environment Czar - Carol Browner
Title: Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: EPA
• Coordinates energy and climate policy, emphasizing regulation and conservation.
• Was Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Clinton administration (1993-2000)
• Was Florida Secretary of the Environment (1991 to 1993)
• Founded and continues to serve as a principal of The Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Also a principal of Albright Capital Management, an investment advisory firm that concentrates on emerging markets.
• Worked on the Socialist International's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which argues that the global community must work collectively to address environmental policies
• Described Bush administration as the "worst environmental administration ever"
• While orchestrating private discussions between the White House and auto industry officials on vehicle fuel efficiency standards, kept the talks as quiet as possible. Mary Nichols, the head of the California Air Resources Board, said, "We put nothing in writing, ever."
• 2003: A federal judge held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt for destroying computer files during the Clinton administration that had been sought by a conservative legal foundation. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered the EPA to pay the Landmark Legal Foundation's legal fees and costs because the agency disobeyed his order to preserve the electronic records of Browner, the former EPA chief.
13. Faith-Based Czar * - Joshua DuBois
Title: Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Salary: $98,000
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Acts as a liaison between faith and secular community groups and the White House, often partnering with them to tackle social issues. Helps these groups apply for federal grants available to them.
• Is 26 years old
• Has master’s in public affairs from Princeton University; served as associate pastor
• Worked for Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) as an intern and then as a fellow for Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N. Y.).
• Hired as a legislative correspondent in Obama’s Senate office in May 2005
• In 2008, at the age of 25, was appointed director of religious affairs for the Obama campaign.
14. Government Performance Czar - Jeffrey Zients
Title: Chief Performance Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag
Appointed: April 2009 Confirmed by the Senate (as deputy director for management for the OMB): June 19, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Charged with cutting costs and finding best practices throughout government.
• Has never worked in government before
• Was a chief executive and former management consultant
• Was founder of Portfolio Logic (2004 to present); Partner of the Washington Baseball Club (2004 to 2006); CEO of the Advisory Board (1998 to 2004)
• Has donated just over $90,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of which went to Democratic candidates
15. Great Lakes Czar - Cameron Davis
Title: Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
Appointed: June 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency
• Oversees the administration's initiative to restore the Great Lakes' environment.
• President of the Chicago-based environmentalist group Alliance for the Great Lakes
• Was a litigating attorney and served as an adjunct clinical assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.
• Served with the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi, Kenya, where he worked on the Montreal Protocol to protect the Earth’s ozone layer, and U.S. EPA’s Office of Regional Counsel in Chicago.
16. Green Jobs Czar - Van Jones
Title: Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Head of Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley
Appointed: March 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; Labor
• Will focus on environmentally-friendly employment within the administration and boost support for the idea nationwide
• Rose from near obscurity in the Oakland, Calif., grassroots organizing scene to the leader of a national movement to spur the green economy.
• Founded Green For All, an organization focused on creating green jobs in impoverished areas
• Also co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change, which includes Bay Area PoliceWatch, a group devoted to "protect[ing] the community from police misconduct"
• Published New York Times best-seller The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, in October 2008
• Started career as a prison-reform advocate in Oakland, Calif., lobbying for reform of the juvenile justice system and youth-violence prevention programs
• Has law degree from Yale
• 2007: worked on the Green Jobs Act with then-Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored the bill in the House
• 1993: was arrested at the Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of cops in the Rodney King beating. "I was arrested simply for being a police observer," says Jones, who had just graduated from Yale Law School and was working with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.
• 1999: was arrested in the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization
• Excerpt from a Nov. 2005 interview in the East Bay Express: Jones had planned to move to Washington, DC, and had already landed a job and an apartment there. But in jail, he said, "I met all these young radical people of color -- I mean really radical, communists and anarchists. And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a part of.'" Although he already had a plane ticket, he decided to stay in San Francisco. "I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary." In the months that followed, he let go of any lingering thoughts that he might fit in with the status quo. "I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th," he said. "By August, I was a communist." In 1994, the young activists formed a socialist collective, Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM, which held study groups on the theories of Marx and Lenin and dreamed of a multiracial socialist utopia. They protested police brutality and got arrested for crashing through police barricades. In 1996, Jones decided to launch his own operation, which he named the Ella Baker Center after an unsung hero of the civil-rights movement.
17. Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried
Title: Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice; State
• Works to get help of foreign governments in moving toward closure of Guantanamo Bay, in fulfillment of Obama's promise to close the prison within a year of taking office.
• Was Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2005 to 2009); Director for European and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2001 to 2005); U.S. Ambassador to Poland (1997 to 2001)
18. Health Czar * - Nancy-Ann DeParle
Title: Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Coordinates the development of the Administration's healthcare policy agenda.
• Experience: Managing Director, CCMP Capital (since 2001); Adjunct professor (focusing on healthcare policy), Wharton School of Business (since 2001); Commissioner, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (since 2001); Fellow, Harvard Institue of Politics (2000 to 2001); Director, Healthcare Financing Administration (1997 to 2000)
• Has law degree from Harvard
• Served as the OMB’s representative on health-care reform during Bill Clinton’s first term
• As head of the HHS Health Care Financing Administration under Clinton, ran the largest health insurance provider in America, overseeing $600 billion in payments annually to 74 million recipients of Medicare and Medicaid
• 2001: left government to take a year-long fellowship at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, where she was part of Harvard’s Health Care Policy Forum and led a weekly study group on reforming Medicare.
• During Bush administration, sat on the boards of many health companies, from medical treatment producers to hospital systems
• In September 2008, donated $2,300 each to Clinton and Barack Obama.
19. Information Czar - Vivek Kundra
Title: Federal Chief Information Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag
Appointed: March 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: other federal agency CIOs
• Basically in charge of overseeing other federal agency CIOs and for setting technology policy across the government.
• Head of a federal technology budget that amounts to $71 billion annually
• Operation is housed in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and will likely have authority to question how money in departmental technology budgets is used
• Formerly head of the District of Columbia's technology operations
• Shortly after he joined the OMB, federal authorities raided his old District government office. They arrested two technology office managers and a subcontractor, charging them with a bribery scheme that allegedly defrauded the city out of at least $500,000. Kundra was not a suspect in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
• Has a masters from Maryland in information technology.
• Experience: Washington, D.C. Chief Technology Officer (2007 to 2009); State of Virginia's Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade (2006 to 2007); CEO of computer security firm Creostar
20. Intelligence Czar * - Dennis Blair
Title: Director of National Intelligence
Salary: $197,700
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009 Confirmed by Senate: January 28, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: CIA
• Nation’s top intelligence official.
• Retired four-star admiral.
• Graduate of the United States Naval Academy, 1968; sixth-generation naval officer
• Lacks professional roots in the world of intelligence
• Held a number of prestigious Washington posts, including the Pentagon’s top liaison to the CIA and director of the Joint Staff.
• Ran the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), which focuses primarily on issues related to national security, and does a lot of work for the Defense Department. Left IDA under a cloud of controversy in mid-2006.
21. Mideast Peace Czar - George Mitchell
Title: Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Works to maintain the shaky peace between Israel and Hamas after recent hostilities
• Senate majority leader from 1989 to 1994
• Was special envoy to Northern Ireland during the Clinton administration and lead investigator into steroid use in Major League Baseball.
• 2000: led a fact-finding committee to study violence in the Middle East; 2001's Mitchell Report formed the basis for the road map for Middle East peace
22. Pay Czar - Kenneth R. Feinberg
Title: Special Master on executive pay
Salary: reportedly receiving no compensation for his work.
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Named to examine compensation practices at companies that have been bailed out more than once by the federal government
• Oversaw the payouts to the families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks
• Was the chief administrator to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, which commemorates the students who died in the April 2007 shooting rampage at Virginia Tech
• Founder and managing partner of Feinberg Rozen LLP (1992 to present), law firm specializing in mediation
• Was Chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy (1978 to 1980)
• While working with the Feinberg Group, donated over $150,000, nearly all of which has gone to Democratic candidates and political action committees. In 2007, donated $2,300 to 2008 presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani (R).
23. Regulatory Czar - Cass R. Sunstein *
Title: Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget head Peter Orszag
Appointed: January 2009 Nomination was sent to Senate on April 20, 2009 - no action yet taken
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Will be responsible for reviewing draft regulations and assessing their costs and benefits
• Is a Harvard Law School professor; prior to that, was a professor at the Univ. of Chicago Law School (1981-2008)
• Academic specialties: constitutional law, administrative law, and regulatory policy
• Obama: "Cass is not only a valued advisor, he is a dear friend"
• Known for advancing a field called "law and behavioral economics" that seeks to shape law and policy around the way research shows people actually behave; though embraced by conservatives, critics say it fails to account for the sometimes less-than-rational aspects of human behavior.
• In his 2002 book, Republic.com, discussed the drawbacks of limitless choices on the Internet that allow people to seek out only like-minded people and opinions that merely fortify their own views; he talked about the idea of the government requiring sites to link to opposing views. He later came to realize it was a "bad idea."
• In his 2004 book, Animal Rights, suggested that animals ought to be able to bring suit, with private citizens acting as their representatives, to ensure that animals are not treated in a way that violates current law.
• In a 2007 speech at Harvard he called for banning hunting in the U.S. • The American Conservative Union started a website, Stop Sunstein, in an effort to keep him out of the White House.
24. Science Czar - John Holdren
Title: Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: December 2008 Confirmed by Senate: March 19, 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Energy
• Top adviser to Obama on science and technology, issues that are increasingly relevant to other issues such as homeland security, energy and environmentalism
• Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director, Program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (1996-2009); Harvard University Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy (1996-2009); University of California, Berkeley Professor of Energy and Resources Emeritus (1996 to present)
• Studied aerospace engineering and plasma physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — where he earned his BS and MS — and Stanford University, where he received his doctorate in 1970
• Is an outspoken advocate of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and believes the United States should sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.
• In a 2008 New York Times op-ed, Holdren called climate change skeptics “dangerous” members of a “denier fringe.”
• In 1971, co-authored a paper in Global Ecology suggesting "some form of ecocatastrophe, if not thermonuclear war, seems almost certain to overtake us before the end of the century."
• Some conservative media outlets have called attention to a book Holdren co-authored in 1977 titled Ecoscience: Population, Resources, and Environment. The book reportedly includes this statement: "population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution." Holdren's office says he "does not now and never has been an advocate of compulsory abortions or other repressive measures to limit fertility."
25. Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney
Title: Chair of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Vice President Biden
Appointed: February 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Leads oversight board that monitors money spent by the stimulus package
• Experience: Inspector General at the Interior Department (1999 to present); Director of criminal enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency (1991 to 1999); Special Agent at the Secret Service (1970 to 1991)
• During his tenure at Interior, uncovered the shady dealings of disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, an investigation that eventually led to Abramoff's imprisonment and the resignation of Interior's no. 2, J. Steven Griles, for lying under oath about his own role in the scandal.
• On July 8, 2009, the U.S. General Services Administration issued a press release announcing an $18 million contract for a new recovery.gov web site, which quoted Devaney as saying, “We are pleased that another major milestone has been achieved."
26. Sudan Czar - J. Scott Gration
Title: Special Envoy to Sudan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will coordinate U.S. role in the aftermath of the genocide in Darfur
• Experience: Supreme Allied Command, NATO (2004 to 2005); Air Force assistant deputy undersecretary for international affairs (2003 to 2004)
• Commanded all air operations during the Iraq war in 2003 • 2006: left Air Force position to join Obama’s staff after traveling to Africa with the then-Senator from Illinois, even though he was a Republican
• Has won a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Defense Superior Service Medal and 16 other awards
• Is a fluent Swahili speaker who grew up in the Congo
• Has called on the Obama administration to incentivize participation by the Sudanese government in peace talks by lifting sanctions, a position that is controversial. Also worked to position himself as the principal negotiator between the Sudanese government and its adversaries in Darfur, and is planning an international conference for September 2009
• Has M.A. in security studies from Georgetown
27. TARP Czar - Herb Allison
Title: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Leads the government's $700 billion financial rescue program in the office of financial stability
• Veteran Wall Street banker and interim head of the mortgage-finance company Fannie Mae
• Worked at Merrill Lynch for 28 years, reaching position of president and COO
• Was CEO of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund (2002 to 2008); CEO of the Alliance for Lifelong Learning (2000 to 2002)
• Has undergraduate degree from Yale and MBA from Stanford
• 2000: was John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign finance chairman
• In 2008, donated $2,300 to Obama's presidential campaign
28. Technology Czar - Aneesh Chopra
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: April 2009 Confirmed by Senate: May 21, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Commerce
• Will lead in the effort to eliminate wasteful government programs
• Will probably work to increase broadband access nationwide and computerize medical records
• Was Virginia’s secretary of technology (2005-2009)
• Has degree in public health from Johns Hopkins, Master's from Harvard in public policy
• Worked at Morgan Stanley as investment banker; also worked at Advisory Board, a health-care research and consultancy firm
• Has donated more than $24,000 since 1997 to various campaigns. With the exception of a $1,000 donation to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) in 2004, all of Chopra’s contributions have gone to Democrats. From 2007 to 2008, Chopra donated $2,750 to Obama’s presidential campaign.
29. Terrorism Czar - John Brennan
Title: Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: National Security Adviser James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Homeland Security
• Under Obama's plan the homeland security adviser’s office would be eliminated, and the National Security Council would take over those duties. Brennan would be responsible for guarding against natural disasters and terrorism.
• Has called for increased integration between the Departments of Commerce, State and Defense
• Graduated from Fordham University in 1977 after a year of intensive Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in Cairo. Earned his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin before joining the CIA as an intelligence director in 1980.
• Is a CIA veteran and fluent Arabic speaker
• Was CIA deputy executive director (2001 to 2003) and National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chair (2004 to 2005)
• Worked at Analysis Corp, (2005 to 2008);
• Staunch supporter of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Program; defended the use of extraordinary rendition, saying it is “an absolutely vital tool.”
30. Urban Affairs Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Title: White House Director of Urban Affairs
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Housing and Urban Development
• Job entails coordinating transportation and housing initiatives, as well as serving as a conduit for federal aid to economically hard-hit cities.
• Has undergraduate degree in world religions from Kings College; became an associate pastor at a Bronx church; earned his master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College
• Was Bronx Borough President (2001-2009); President of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (since 2007); City Council member (1998 to 2000)
• Many reporters say he has higher ambitions and will probably run for New York City mayor in the next ten years.
• Was an active campaigner for Obama, travelling across the country to speak on his behalf. He focused particularly on states with large Hispanic populations.
• The NY Daily News reported numerous developers made tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations to Carrión around the same time he was considering approving their projects in the Bronx.
31. Weapons Czar - Ashton Carter
Title: Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Appointed: April 2009 Confirmed by Senate: April 23, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Defense
• Will coordinate the Pentagon's acquisitions, technology and logistics for weapons.
• Will oversee a weapons-buying system that Obama has placed at the top of his list of federal programs he wants to fix and will be asked to quickly weigh in on difficult decisions concerning at least 10 major defense programs, while also instantly dissecting the procurement system’s ailments so he can advise the administration on its Pentagon acquisition reform agenda
• Is a physicist and Harvard academic whose only previous Pentagon stint was in a mid-level policy post from 1993 until 1996 under the Clinton administration
• Graduated from Yale summa cum laude; studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and earned a doctorate in theoretical physics.
• Chair of Harvard’s International Relations, Science & Security Area International Security Program within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (1993 to 1996); Director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School (early 1990s)
• Has donated primarily to Democratic politicians since 2000. He donated $6,900 to then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in 2007 and 2008. He gave the same amount to then Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during that same span.
32. WMD Policy Czar - Gary Samore
Title: White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department or agency that might have handled similar issues: NSC; Defense; State
• Will coordinate issues related to weapons of mass destruction across the government. His portfolio includes proliferation, nuclear and conventional arms control, threat reduction, and terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.
• Position sits within the National Security Council.
• Is a veteran arms control negotiator.
• B.A. in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his PhD in government from Harvard University in 1984.
• After brief stints with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the RAND Corporation, joined the State Department during the Reagan administration in 1987. Held several positions there, including director of the Office of Regional Non-proliferation Affairs; special assistant to the Ambassador-at-Large for Non-proliferation and Nuclear Energy Policy; and deputy to Ambassador-at-Large for Korean Affairs Robert Gallucci. Helped to negotiate the 1994 U.S.-North Korea Framework Treaty
• Joined the Clinton administration’s National Security Council in 1995 as an adviser on nonproliferation. Coordinated U.S. policy on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
• Was Director, Council on Foreign Relations (2006 to 2009); Vice President for Global Security and Sustainability, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2005); Researcher, International Institute of Strategic Studies (2001 to 2005)
List of Obama's Czars
August 14, 2009 - 12:50 ET
As of July 20, 2009:
• The Brainroom counts 32 czars in the Obama administration, based on media reports from reputable sources that have identified the official in question as a czar.
• In addition, President Obama has said that he will create the position of cyber czar, and there have been media reports that there could be a health insurance czar and a copyright czar. When and if those positions are filled, that would bring the total to 35.
• Since czar isn't an official job title, the number is somewhat in the eye of the beholder.
NOTE: positions that also existed under previous administrations are indicated with an *.
1. Afghanistan Czar - Richard Holbrooke
Title: Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will work with CENTCOM head Gen. David Petraeus to integrate U.S. civilian and military efforts in the region.
• 45 years of experience have made him a fixture of the Democrats' foreign policy establishment.
• Was U.S. ambassador to U.N., 1999-2001
• Brokered the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia
• Also served as Assistant secretary of state, East Asia and the Pacific (1976 to 1980); worked in foreign service (1962 to 1976)
• From 1972 through 1976, was the editor of Foreign Policy magazine.
2. AIDS Czar * - Jeffrey Crowley
Title: Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy
Salary: $102,000
Reports to: President Obama (as part of the Executive Office of the President’s Domestic Policy Council)
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Coordinates HIV/AIDS policy domestically and internationally.
• Senior Research Scholar at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute and a Senior Scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
• Was Deputy Executive Director for Programs at the National Association of People with AIDS
• Has Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
3. Auto Recovery Czar - Ed Montgomery
Title: Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Larry Summers, the president's top economic adviser, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Labor
• Will work to leverage government resources to support the workers, communities and regions that rely on the American auto industry.
• Was Deputy Secretary and Chief Economist at the Labor Department (1997 to 1998)
• Is Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland (2003 to present)
• Has PhD in economics from Harvard
• In 2008, made $1,200 in political donations, all of which went to Obama’s presidential campaign.
• Wife is the granddaughter of a General Motors worker from Portland, Mich.
• Drives a 2000 Lincoln
4. Border Czar * - Alan Bersin
Title: Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Appointed: April 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• Will coordinate all of the department's border security and law-enforcement efforts.
• Essentially had the same job under President Clinton; served as Attorney General Janet Reno's special representative on border issues, a job that he held while retaining the position of U.S. attorney for San Diego.
• This time, boss will be Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who will expect him to handle illegal immigration and drug violence issues along the Mexican-American border
• Previous experience: Chairman of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority (2006 to 2009); Secretary of Education for California (2005 to 2006); Superintendent of San Diego Public Schools (1998 to 2005); U.S. Attorney for San Diego (1993 to 1998)
• Graduate of Harvard and Yale Law School
• Talking about border security shortly before he was named Clinton border czar in 1995, said he wanted to focus on suspected smugglers of both drugs and people and was not interested in prosecuting “economic migrants.”
• Often tied to the 1994 border policy called “Operation Gatekeeper.” The policy shifted the U.S. focus from the arresting of immigrants who actually crossed the border to an increased border presence designed to stop border crossing in the first place. When Bersin left the position in 1998, border arrests were on pace for an 18-year low of just more than 200,000. Latino groups complained that Operation Gatekeeper was immoral, saying the program monitored the border near San Diego but simply forced illegal immigrants to other, more dangerous areas.
• Has given more than $50,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of it to Democrats.
5. California Water Czar - David J. Hayes
Title: Deputy Interior Secretary
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Appointed: June 2009 Confirmed by Senate (as Deputy Interior Security): May 20, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Interior
• Charged with coordinating federal agencies to ease California's water shortage
• Graduate of Stanford Law School; clerked for U.S. District Court for the D.C., has been a partner at two big D.C. law firms
• Was deputy interior secretary under Bruce Babbitt during Clinton administration
• From 1993 to 1995, was chairman of the board at the Environmental Law Institute, a non-profit research center.
• As a lobbyist, represented the Southern California Metropolitan Water District in 2001
• In August 2008, wrote a policy report while working at the Progressive Policy Institute accusing the Bush administration of leaving a “damaging legacy” in their natural resource management policies
• Donated $2,300 to Clinton during 2008 campaign; after she withdrew, donated $2,300 to Obama
6. Car Czar - Ron Bloom NOTE: on July 13, 2009, Bloom took over as head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, replacing Steven Rattner
Title: Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council head Larry Summers
Appointed: July 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• A leader of the White House task force overseeing auto company bailouts; worked on restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler LLC.
• Was special assistant to president of the United Steelworkers union from 1996-Feb 2009
• Has negotiated restructuring deals for more than 50 companies, getting major concessions from unions and companies.
• Was raised in New York in a pro-union family, which included a schoolteacher mother and unionized relatives.
• After working for the Service Employees International Union, got an MBA from Harvard University because he thought unions lacked business smarts, he said in a 1996 interview in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• From 1985 to 1990, he worked as an investment banker with Lazard Freres & Co., which specializes in mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring, before co-founding the investment-banking firm Keilin and Bloom.
7. Central Region Czar - Dennis Ross
Title: Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region (encompasses the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia)
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Spent 12 years in the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations trying to create a permanent agreement between the governments of Israel and the Palestinian territories
• In 1981, was named to President Ronald Reagan’s national security staff as the director of Near East and South Asian Affairs.
• Was director of the State Department’s Policy Planning office during President George H. W. Bush’s term.
• 1993: appointed to the position of Middle East coordinator, making him the top negotiator for peace between Israel and Palestinian territories
• After he left government in 2000, headed up Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a hawkish think tank with a pro-Israeli bent
8. Climate Czar - Todd Stern
Title: Special Envoy for Climate Change
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; State
• Responsible for developing international approaches to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Served in the Clinton White House from 1993 to 1999; Was Head of the Initiative on Global Climate Change (1997 to 1999) and Adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury (1999 to 2001)
• As a top aide to President Clinton, helped negotiate the Kyoto and Buenos Aires climate pacts, both of which fell apart partially because of a lack of U.S. support during Bush administration.
• After Bush was elected to office, went to the Wilmer Hale law firm, where he is a partner in the regulatory and government affairs division.
• Was most recently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he focused on climate change and environmental issues.
• Has written extensively on climate change, and has called on the American government and the international community to take a series of steps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Supports a national cap-and-trade system that would limit carbon emissions and reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil
• Has law degree from Harvard
9. Domestic Violence Czar - Lynn Rosenthal
Title: White House adviser on Violence Against Women
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama and Vice President Biden
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Will advise the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues.
• 2000-2006: served as the Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence
• Was an advocate for the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 and 2005 and has assisted states and local communities with implementation of this federal legislation
• Was director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence
10. Drug Czar * - Gil Kerlikowske
Title: Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009 Confirmed by Senate: May 7, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice
• Directs drug-control policy in the U.S.; is expected to shift drug policy to intervention, treatment and a reduction of problem drug use.
• Was police chief for the city of Seattle from 2000-2009
• Was Deputy Director of the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (1998 to 2000); Police Chief for the city of Buffalo (1994 to 1998); Police chief of Fort Pierce, Fla. (N/A to 1994)
• A strong gun-control advocate, urged both the Washington legislature and the U.S. Congress to pass an assault-weapons ban and has worked to close the loophole that doesn't require background checks at gun shows
• 2003: admitted that busting people for personal marijuana possession was not a top priority of the Seattle police department.
• As Seattle police chief, assigned an officer full-time to the drug court, which commuted sentences of drug users who complete medical treatment in lieu of going to jail.
11. Economic Czar * - Paul Volcker
Title: Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Salary: Volcker reportedly isn't paid for his advice.
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Charged with offering independent, nonpartisan information, analysis, and advice to the President as he formulates and implements his plans for economic recovery.
• Some reports say he's been marginalized by Larry Summers.
• Former Federal Reserve chairman (1979-1987)
• Was Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1969 to 1974); Deputy Undersecretary for Monetary Affairs, Department of the Treasury (1963 to 1965)
• Gave Obama campaign $2,300 in 2008.
12. Energy and Environment Czar - Carol Browner
Title: Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: EPA
• Coordinates energy and climate policy, emphasizing regulation and conservation.
• Was Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Clinton administration (1993-2000)
• Was Florida Secretary of the Environment (1991 to 1993)
• Founded and continues to serve as a principal of The Albright Group LLC, a global strategy firm led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Also a principal of Albright Capital Management, an investment advisory firm that concentrates on emerging markets.
• Worked on the Socialist International's Commission for a Sustainable World Society, which argues that the global community must work collectively to address environmental policies
• Described Bush administration as the "worst environmental administration ever"
• While orchestrating private discussions between the White House and auto industry officials on vehicle fuel efficiency standards, kept the talks as quiet as possible. Mary Nichols, the head of the California Air Resources Board, said, "We put nothing in writing, ever."
• 2003: A federal judge held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt for destroying computer files during the Clinton administration that had been sought by a conservative legal foundation. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth also ordered the EPA to pay the Landmark Legal Foundation's legal fees and costs because the agency disobeyed his order to preserve the electronic records of Browner, the former EPA chief.
13. Faith-Based Czar * - Joshua DuBois
Title: Director of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Salary: $98,000
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services
• Acts as a liaison between faith and secular community groups and the White House, often partnering with them to tackle social issues. Helps these groups apply for federal grants available to them.
• Is 26 years old
• Has master’s in public affairs from Princeton University; served as associate pastor
• Worked for Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) as an intern and then as a fellow for Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N. Y.).
• Hired as a legislative correspondent in Obama’s Senate office in May 2005
• In 2008, at the age of 25, was appointed director of religious affairs for the Obama campaign.
14. Government Performance Czar - Jeffrey Zients
Title: Chief Performance Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag
Appointed: April 2009 Confirmed by the Senate (as deputy director for management for the OMB): June 19, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Charged with cutting costs and finding best practices throughout government.
• Has never worked in government before
• Was a chief executive and former management consultant
• Was founder of Portfolio Logic (2004 to present); Partner of the Washington Baseball Club (2004 to 2006); CEO of the Advisory Board (1998 to 2004)
• Has donated just over $90,000 to political campaigns since 1999, almost all of which went to Democratic candidates
15. Great Lakes Czar - Cameron Davis
Title: Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
Appointed: June 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency
• Oversees the administration's initiative to restore the Great Lakes' environment.
• President of the Chicago-based environmentalist group Alliance for the Great Lakes
• Was a litigating attorney and served as an adjunct clinical assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.
• Served with the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi, Kenya, where he worked on the Montreal Protocol to protect the Earth’s ozone layer, and U.S. EPA’s Office of Regional Counsel in Chicago.
16. Green Jobs Czar - Van Jones
Title: Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Head of Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley
Appointed: March 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Environmental Protection Agency; Labor
• Will focus on environmentally-friendly employment within the administration and boost support for the idea nationwide
• Rose from near obscurity in the Oakland, Calif., grassroots organizing scene to the leader of a national movement to spur the green economy.
• Founded Green For All, an organization focused on creating green jobs in impoverished areas
• Also co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change, which includes Bay Area PoliceWatch, a group devoted to "protect[ing] the community from police misconduct"
• Published New York Times best-seller The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, in October 2008
• Started career as a prison-reform advocate in Oakland, Calif., lobbying for reform of the juvenile justice system and youth-violence prevention programs
• Has law degree from Yale
• 2007: worked on the Green Jobs Act with then-Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored the bill in the House
• 1993: was arrested at the Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of cops in the Rodney King beating. "I was arrested simply for being a police observer," says Jones, who had just graduated from Yale Law School and was working with the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.
• 1999: was arrested in the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization
• Excerpt from a Nov. 2005 interview in the East Bay Express: Jones had planned to move to Washington, DC, and had already landed a job and an apartment there. But in jail, he said, "I met all these young radical people of color -- I mean really radical, communists and anarchists. And it was, like, 'This is what I need to be a part of.'" Although he already had a plane ticket, he decided to stay in San Francisco. "I spent the next ten years of my life working with a lot of those people I met in jail, trying to be a revolutionary." In the months that followed, he let go of any lingering thoughts that he might fit in with the status quo. "I was a rowdy nationalist on April 28th, and then the verdicts came down on April 29th," he said. "By August, I was a communist." In 1994, the young activists formed a socialist collective, Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement, or STORM, which held study groups on the theories of Marx and Lenin and dreamed of a multiracial socialist utopia. They protested police brutality and got arrested for crashing through police barricades. In 1996, Jones decided to launch his own operation, which he named the Ella Baker Center after an unsung hero of the civil-rights movement.
17. Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried
Title: Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Justice; State
• Works to get help of foreign governments in moving toward closure of Guantanamo Bay, in fulfillment of Obama's promise to close the prison within a year of taking office.
• Was Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2005 to 2009); Director for European and Eurasian Affairs, State Department (2001 to 2005); U.S. Ambassador to Poland (1997 to 2001)
18. Health Czar * - Nancy-Ann DeParle
Title: Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Coordinates the development of the Administration's healthcare policy agenda.
• Experience: Managing Director, CCMP Capital (since 2001); Adjunct professor (focusing on healthcare policy), Wharton School of Business (since 2001); Commissioner, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (since 2001); Fellow, Harvard Institue of Politics (2000 to 2001); Director, Healthcare Financing Administration (1997 to 2000)
• Has law degree from Harvard
• Served as the OMB’s representative on health-care reform during Bill Clinton’s first term
• As head of the HHS Health Care Financing Administration under Clinton, ran the largest health insurance provider in America, overseeing $600 billion in payments annually to 74 million recipients of Medicare and Medicaid
• 2001: left government to take a year-long fellowship at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, where she was part of Harvard’s Health Care Policy Forum and led a weekly study group on reforming Medicare.
• During Bush administration, sat on the boards of many health companies, from medical treatment producers to hospital systems
• In September 2008, donated $2,300 each to Clinton and Barack Obama.
19. Information Czar - Vivek Kundra
Title: Federal Chief Information Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag
Appointed: March 2009
Agencies that might have handled similar issues: other federal agency CIOs
• Basically in charge of overseeing other federal agency CIOs and for setting technology policy across the government.
• Head of a federal technology budget that amounts to $71 billion annually
• Operation is housed in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and will likely have authority to question how money in departmental technology budgets is used
• Formerly head of the District of Columbia's technology operations
• Shortly after he joined the OMB, federal authorities raided his old District government office. They arrested two technology office managers and a subcontractor, charging them with a bribery scheme that allegedly defrauded the city out of at least $500,000. Kundra was not a suspect in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
• Has a masters from Maryland in information technology.
• Experience: Washington, D.C. Chief Technology Officer (2007 to 2009); State of Virginia's Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade (2006 to 2007); CEO of computer security firm Creostar
20. Intelligence Czar * - Dennis Blair
Title: Director of National Intelligence
Salary: $197,700
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: January 2009 Confirmed by Senate: January 28, 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: CIA
• Nation’s top intelligence official.
• Retired four-star admiral.
• Graduate of the United States Naval Academy, 1968; sixth-generation naval officer
• Lacks professional roots in the world of intelligence
• Held a number of prestigious Washington posts, including the Pentagon’s top liaison to the CIA and director of the Joint Staff.
• Ran the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), which focuses primarily on issues related to national security, and does a lot of work for the Defense Department. Left IDA under a cloud of controversy in mid-2006.
21. Mideast Peace Czar - George Mitchell
Title: Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Works to maintain the shaky peace between Israel and Hamas after recent hostilities
• Senate majority leader from 1989 to 1994
• Was special envoy to Northern Ireland during the Clinton administration and lead investigator into steroid use in Major League Baseball.
• 2000: led a fact-finding committee to study violence in the Middle East; 2001's Mitchell Report formed the basis for the road map for Middle East peace
22. Pay Czar - Kenneth R. Feinberg
Title: Special Master on executive pay
Salary: reportedly receiving no compensation for his work.
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Named to examine compensation practices at companies that have been bailed out more than once by the federal government
• Oversaw the payouts to the families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks
• Was the chief administrator to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, which commemorates the students who died in the April 2007 shooting rampage at Virginia Tech
• Founder and managing partner of Feinberg Rozen LLP (1992 to present), law firm specializing in mediation
• Was Chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy (1978 to 1980)
• While working with the Feinberg Group, donated over $150,000, nearly all of which has gone to Democratic candidates and political action committees. In 2007, donated $2,300 to 2008 presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani (R).
23. Regulatory Czar - Cass R. Sunstein *
Title: Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Office of Management and Budget head Peter Orszag
Appointed: January 2009 Nomination was sent to Senate on April 20, 2009 - no action yet taken
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Will be responsible for reviewing draft regulations and assessing their costs and benefits
• Is a Harvard Law School professor; prior to that, was a professor at the Univ. of Chicago Law School (1981-2008)
• Academic specialties: constitutional law, administrative law, and regulatory policy
• Obama: "Cass is not only a valued advisor, he is a dear friend"
• Known for advancing a field called "law and behavioral economics" that seeks to shape law and policy around the way research shows people actually behave; though embraced by conservatives, critics say it fails to account for the sometimes less-than-rational aspects of human behavior.
• In his 2002 book, Republic.com, discussed the drawbacks of limitless choices on the Internet that allow people to seek out only like-minded people and opinions that merely fortify their own views; he talked about the idea of the government requiring sites to link to opposing views. He later came to realize it was a "bad idea."
• In his 2004 book, Animal Rights, suggested that animals ought to be able to bring suit, with private citizens acting as their representatives, to ensure that animals are not treated in a way that violates current law.
• In a 2007 speech at Harvard he called for banning hunting in the U.S. • The American Conservative Union started a website, Stop Sunstein, in an effort to keep him out of the White House.
24. Science Czar - John Holdren
Title: Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: December 2008 Confirmed by Senate: March 19, 2009
Agency or department that might have handled similar issues: Energy
• Top adviser to Obama on science and technology, issues that are increasingly relevant to other issues such as homeland security, energy and environmentalism
• Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director, Program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (1996-2009); Harvard University Professor of Environmental Science and Public Policy (1996-2009); University of California, Berkeley Professor of Energy and Resources Emeritus (1996 to present)
• Studied aerospace engineering and plasma physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — where he earned his BS and MS — and Stanford University, where he received his doctorate in 1970
• Is an outspoken advocate of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and believes the United States should sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.
• In a 2008 New York Times op-ed, Holdren called climate change skeptics “dangerous” members of a “denier fringe.”
• In 1971, co-authored a paper in Global Ecology suggesting "some form of ecocatastrophe, if not thermonuclear war, seems almost certain to overtake us before the end of the century."
• Some conservative media outlets have called attention to a book Holdren co-authored in 1977 titled Ecoscience: Population, Resources, and Environment. The book reportedly includes this statement: "population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution." Holdren's office says he "does not now and never has been an advocate of compulsory abortions or other repressive measures to limit fertility."
25. Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney
Title: Chair of the Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Vice President Biden
Appointed: February 2009
Agency that might have handled similar issues: OMB
• Leads oversight board that monitors money spent by the stimulus package
• Experience: Inspector General at the Interior Department (1999 to present); Director of criminal enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency (1991 to 1999); Special Agent at the Secret Service (1970 to 1991)
• During his tenure at Interior, uncovered the shady dealings of disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, an investigation that eventually led to Abramoff's imprisonment and the resignation of Interior's no. 2, J. Steven Griles, for lying under oath about his own role in the scandal.
• On July 8, 2009, the U.S. General Services Administration issued a press release announcing an $18 million contract for a new recovery.gov web site, which quoted Devaney as saying, “We are pleased that another major milestone has been achieved."
26. Sudan Czar - J. Scott Gration
Title: Special Envoy to Sudan
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Appointed: March 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: State
• Will coordinate U.S. role in the aftermath of the genocide in Darfur
• Experience: Supreme Allied Command, NATO (2004 to 2005); Air Force assistant deputy undersecretary for international affairs (2003 to 2004)
• Commanded all air operations during the Iraq war in 2003 • 2006: left Air Force position to join Obama’s staff after traveling to Africa with the then-Senator from Illinois, even though he was a Republican
• Has won a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a Defense Superior Service Medal and 16 other awards
• Is a fluent Swahili speaker who grew up in the Congo
• Has called on the Obama administration to incentivize participation by the Sudanese government in peace talks by lifting sanctions, a position that is controversial. Also worked to position himself as the principal negotiator between the Sudanese government and its adversaries in Darfur, and is planning an international conference for September 2009
• Has M.A. in security studies from Georgetown
27. TARP Czar - Herb Allison
Title: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
Appointed: June 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Treasury
• Leads the government's $700 billion financial rescue program in the office of financial stability
• Veteran Wall Street banker and interim head of the mortgage-finance company Fannie Mae
• Worked at Merrill Lynch for 28 years, reaching position of president and COO
• Was CEO of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund (2002 to 2008); CEO of the Alliance for Lifelong Learning (2000 to 2002)
• Has undergraduate degree from Yale and MBA from Stanford
• 2000: was John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign finance chairman
• In 2008, donated $2,300 to Obama's presidential campaign
28. Technology Czar - Aneesh Chopra
Title: Chief Technology Officer
Salary: unknown
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: April 2009 Confirmed by Senate: May 21, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Commerce
• Will lead in the effort to eliminate wasteful government programs
• Will probably work to increase broadband access nationwide and computerize medical records
• Was Virginia’s secretary of technology (2005-2009)
• Has degree in public health from Johns Hopkins, Master's from Harvard in public policy
• Worked at Morgan Stanley as investment banker; also worked at Advisory Board, a health-care research and consultancy firm
• Has donated more than $24,000 since 1997 to various campaigns. With the exception of a $1,000 donation to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) in 2004, all of Chopra’s contributions have gone to Democrats. From 2007 to 2008, Chopra donated $2,750 to Obama’s presidential campaign.
29. Terrorism Czar - John Brennan
Title: Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
Salary: $172,200
Reports to: National Security Adviser James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Homeland Security
• Under Obama's plan the homeland security adviser’s office would be eliminated, and the National Security Council would take over those duties. Brennan would be responsible for guarding against natural disasters and terrorism.
• Has called for increased integration between the Departments of Commerce, State and Defense
• Graduated from Fordham University in 1977 after a year of intensive Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in Cairo. Earned his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin before joining the CIA as an intelligence director in 1980.
• Is a CIA veteran and fluent Arabic speaker
• Was CIA deputy executive director (2001 to 2003) and National Counter-Terrorism Center, Chair (2004 to 2005)
• Worked at Analysis Corp, (2005 to 2008);
• Staunch supporter of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Program; defended the use of extraordinary rendition, saying it is “an absolutely vital tool.”
30. Urban Affairs Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Title: White House Director of Urban Affairs
Salary: $158,500
Reports to: President Obama
Appointed: February 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Housing and Urban Development
• Job entails coordinating transportation and housing initiatives, as well as serving as a conduit for federal aid to economically hard-hit cities.
• Has undergraduate degree in world religions from Kings College; became an associate pastor at a Bronx church; earned his master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College
• Was Bronx Borough President (2001-2009); President of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (since 2007); City Council member (1998 to 2000)
• Many reporters say he has higher ambitions and will probably run for New York City mayor in the next ten years.
• Was an active campaigner for Obama, travelling across the country to speak on his behalf. He focused particularly on states with large Hispanic populations.
• The NY Daily News reported numerous developers made tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations to Carrión around the same time he was considering approving their projects in the Bronx.
31. Weapons Czar - Ashton Carter
Title: Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
Salary: unknown
Reports to: Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Appointed: April 2009 Confirmed by Senate: April 23, 2009
Department that might have handled similar issues: Defense
• Will coordinate the Pentagon's acquisitions, technology and logistics for weapons.
• Will oversee a weapons-buying system that Obama has placed at the top of his list of federal programs he wants to fix and will be asked to quickly weigh in on difficult decisions concerning at least 10 major defense programs, while also instantly dissecting the procurement system’s ailments so he can advise the administration on its Pentagon acquisition reform agenda
• Is a physicist and Harvard academic whose only previous Pentagon stint was in a mid-level policy post from 1993 until 1996 under the Clinton administration
• Graduated from Yale summa cum laude; studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar and earned a doctorate in theoretical physics.
• Chair of Harvard’s International Relations, Science & Security Area International Security Program within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (1993 to 1996); Director of the Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School (early 1990s)
• Has donated primarily to Democratic politicians since 2000. He donated $6,900 to then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in 2007 and 2008. He gave the same amount to then Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) during that same span.
32. WMD Policy Czar - Gary Samore
Title: White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction, Security and Arms Control
Salary: unknown
Reports to: National Security Advisor Gen. James L. Jones
Appointed: January 2009
Department or agency that might have handled similar issues: NSC; Defense; State
• Will coordinate issues related to weapons of mass destruction across the government. His portfolio includes proliferation, nuclear and conventional arms control, threat reduction, and terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.
• Position sits within the National Security Council.
• Is a veteran arms control negotiator.
• B.A. in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his PhD in government from Harvard University in 1984.
• After brief stints with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the RAND Corporation, joined the State Department during the Reagan administration in 1987. Held several positions there, including director of the Office of Regional Non-proliferation Affairs; special assistant to the Ambassador-at-Large for Non-proliferation and Nuclear Energy Policy; and deputy to Ambassador-at-Large for Korean Affairs Robert Gallucci. Helped to negotiate the 1994 U.S.-North Korea Framework Treaty
• Joined the Clinton administration’s National Security Council in 1995 as an adviser on nonproliferation. Coordinated U.S. policy on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
• Was Director, Council on Foreign Relations (2006 to 2009); Vice President for Global Security and Sustainability, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (2005); Researcher, International Institute of Strategic Studies (2001 to 2005)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Who's In Charge?
Lately, there have been a lot of "Town Meetings". I'm sure you have heard all the concerned citizens (both pro and con) ask questions of their Representatives about the proposed Health Care Legislation. Some got legitimate answers and some got platitudes and generalizations that bear no relationship to the current House Bill. It is obvious to me that most of these Representatives have not read the bill or if they have, they quite frankly don't understand what they have read. That is no surprise to me. I spent several days reading through the bill and found that there are many contradictions within the bill itself. I'm not going to waste my time pointing these out to you because the bill, quite frankly, does nothing to lower health insurance costs or provide better quality health care at a reduced cost. However, when I hear Congressmen say that these people don't represent the "real" people, I ask myself, "Who's in Charge?" Do we work for them or do they work for us?
This bill shows the disconnect between what Citizens are expecting and what Congress sees as an opportunity to control one-sixth of the US Economy. It doesn't take over 1,000 pages of text to fix the problem with costs. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the primary reason for higher costs is the cost of malpractice insurance that doctors, hospitals, and others have to pay to protect themselves from lawsuits. Since the Congress is made up (in large part) of lawyers, it is clear to me that they have their own self-preservation (or their friends) in mind and do not want to address tort reform, which would lower the settlement costs and therefore fees that lawyers collect on large malpractice lawsuits.
Quite honestly, it would be cheaper to add all the uninsured to the Government's Health Care package, administered by Blue Cross - Blue Shield. Oh yes, they don't want Government-run health care. Why should they? After all, we are footing the bill for their health insurance coverage.
I heard President Obama's town hall address in "friendly" New Hampshire, and couldn't believe my ears. He was making the analogy that having a public option would not affect profitability of private insurance companies. In the analogy, he stated that Federal Express and United Parcel Service were doing just fine competing against the US Post Office and that it was the Post Office that was having difficulty. I do agree with his statement but it just points out that a privately run company can be far more efficient and cost effective than a Government bureaucracy.
People, stop listening to the generalities put forth by your Congressmen and Senators. Think about what needs to be done and then ask them how the current proposed bill will solve those problems. This isn't rocket science. The problem has been there for a long time. What they were hoping was that you would be so frustrated with the rising cost of health insurance that they could just take it over - possibly not right away but over time. Single payer health care is not the solution to quality health care - it will not reduce costs; it will not provide better health care; it will not be efficient. Ask any retired military how well they like their insurance; ask anyone utilizing VA health services (you may have seen the article where several x-military persons ended up with Hepatitis and HIV from Colonoscopies. Most of the doctors at the VA are either right out of school and just getting some early training, or they can't make it on their own (I did say most, not all).
Quite honestly, I am more concerned with Dental insurance costs than I am with health care insurance. Let's reform Dental insurance!
This bill shows the disconnect between what Citizens are expecting and what Congress sees as an opportunity to control one-sixth of the US Economy. It doesn't take over 1,000 pages of text to fix the problem with costs. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the primary reason for higher costs is the cost of malpractice insurance that doctors, hospitals, and others have to pay to protect themselves from lawsuits. Since the Congress is made up (in large part) of lawyers, it is clear to me that they have their own self-preservation (or their friends) in mind and do not want to address tort reform, which would lower the settlement costs and therefore fees that lawyers collect on large malpractice lawsuits.
Quite honestly, it would be cheaper to add all the uninsured to the Government's Health Care package, administered by Blue Cross - Blue Shield. Oh yes, they don't want Government-run health care. Why should they? After all, we are footing the bill for their health insurance coverage.
I heard President Obama's town hall address in "friendly" New Hampshire, and couldn't believe my ears. He was making the analogy that having a public option would not affect profitability of private insurance companies. In the analogy, he stated that Federal Express and United Parcel Service were doing just fine competing against the US Post Office and that it was the Post Office that was having difficulty. I do agree with his statement but it just points out that a privately run company can be far more efficient and cost effective than a Government bureaucracy.
People, stop listening to the generalities put forth by your Congressmen and Senators. Think about what needs to be done and then ask them how the current proposed bill will solve those problems. This isn't rocket science. The problem has been there for a long time. What they were hoping was that you would be so frustrated with the rising cost of health insurance that they could just take it over - possibly not right away but over time. Single payer health care is not the solution to quality health care - it will not reduce costs; it will not provide better health care; it will not be efficient. Ask any retired military how well they like their insurance; ask anyone utilizing VA health services (you may have seen the article where several x-military persons ended up with Hepatitis and HIV from Colonoscopies. Most of the doctors at the VA are either right out of school and just getting some early training, or they can't make it on their own (I did say most, not all).
Quite honestly, I am more concerned with Dental insurance costs than I am with health care insurance. Let's reform Dental insurance!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Reality Check!
I recently received an email from the White House (Chief of Staff - I think). Anyway, in case you aren't aware of it, the White House is attempting to organize their base (I sort of snuck in) by providing a Web site to tell us how to counter those crazy Seniors and Veterans who are concerned about what Congress and the current Administration are trying to do to Health Care Insurance and Health Care overall. You know, the Political Terrorists!
I truly cannot believe that our Government has gone completely crazy! We elected these people but yet they think they know better than the majority of Americans. OK, most of us fell asleep at the wheel - for quite some time. Now that we are starting to wake up, our Government is acting like they deserve to be in charge whether we put them there or not! They have become the "Elite", who can make no mistakes and know better what we need than we do ourselves.
Any sane person knows that when you are in debt, you readjust your lifestyle and cut expenses. What these fools are doing is spending like drunken sailors, adding new people to the Government payroll, establishing new programs that cost Billions, spending on things for themselves that they chastised private companies for spending on (new jets to carry them exclusively), sending money to their cronies, bailing out their buddies, and increasing spending on existing programs.
The "Washington state of mind" has poisoned them, if their minds weren't poisoned already. The majority of these Representatives and Senators have never had a real job. They don't understand profit and loss because to them, there is no profit and loss - only spending. Folks, it's time we got a handle on these people.
What does it cost to support the average Congressman or Senator? Do you know how many staffers your Congressman and Senator has? Do you know what your Congressman or Senator spends every year to support himself? Oh yes, I almost forgot. They also have NON-Government run health insurance that you and I are paying for. So, the next time you contact your Congressman or Senator, ask him or her how much they spend each and every year they are in office. Then ask them how they can justify spending that much of YOUR money.
These "Elites" need to be held accountable for how they spend OUR money. Private companies continually evaluate the effectiveness of how they spend their money and look at the Return on Investment (ROI). We should make the Government do the same. I don't have all the answers, but together we can force our Government to act responsibly. If your current Congressman or Senator doesn't want to act responsibly, vote him or her out and put someone in who will. We have to stop putting all these lawyers in Congress. All they do is write the rules in such a way as to favor themselves remaining there. Elect a local merchant, business owner, doctor, mechanic, or anyone EXCEPT a lawyer. Let's get some diversity in the House and Senate!
I truly cannot believe that our Government has gone completely crazy! We elected these people but yet they think they know better than the majority of Americans. OK, most of us fell asleep at the wheel - for quite some time. Now that we are starting to wake up, our Government is acting like they deserve to be in charge whether we put them there or not! They have become the "Elite", who can make no mistakes and know better what we need than we do ourselves.
Any sane person knows that when you are in debt, you readjust your lifestyle and cut expenses. What these fools are doing is spending like drunken sailors, adding new people to the Government payroll, establishing new programs that cost Billions, spending on things for themselves that they chastised private companies for spending on (new jets to carry them exclusively), sending money to their cronies, bailing out their buddies, and increasing spending on existing programs.
The "Washington state of mind" has poisoned them, if their minds weren't poisoned already. The majority of these Representatives and Senators have never had a real job. They don't understand profit and loss because to them, there is no profit and loss - only spending. Folks, it's time we got a handle on these people.
What does it cost to support the average Congressman or Senator? Do you know how many staffers your Congressman and Senator has? Do you know what your Congressman or Senator spends every year to support himself? Oh yes, I almost forgot. They also have NON-Government run health insurance that you and I are paying for. So, the next time you contact your Congressman or Senator, ask him or her how much they spend each and every year they are in office. Then ask them how they can justify spending that much of YOUR money.
These "Elites" need to be held accountable for how they spend OUR money. Private companies continually evaluate the effectiveness of how they spend their money and look at the Return on Investment (ROI). We should make the Government do the same. I don't have all the answers, but together we can force our Government to act responsibly. If your current Congressman or Senator doesn't want to act responsibly, vote him or her out and put someone in who will. We have to stop putting all these lawyers in Congress. All they do is write the rules in such a way as to favor themselves remaining there. Elect a local merchant, business owner, doctor, mechanic, or anyone EXCEPT a lawyer. Let's get some diversity in the House and Senate!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
ec·o·nom·ic - stim·u·lus
Of or relating to an economy - Something causing or regarded as causing a response.
Combined: Some action causing a response to the Economy (my definition).
OK, so the Congress passed a Stimulus Bill, which they (and the Administration) claimed would save jobs and make the Economy better. They also said that without the Stimulus Bill, unemployment would go to 8-1/2 percent, which would be disastrous! The American people (for the most part) did not want this Stimulus Bill or at least wanted it slowed down enough for Congressmen and Senators to read the entire bill, allow we citizens to read the bill, and perhaps suggest some changes for the better. As we all know, that didn't happen.
So, what has the Stimulus Bill done for you and I, Mr & Mrs Average American? As best I can determine - nothing! Yes, it may have helped fund some Federal or State projects that were already in the works or on hold but most likely they would have happened even without the Stimulus Bill. Nearly 1 trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000.00) - a lot of zeros.
The biggest problem we, as American Citizens face is that the people (mostly lawyers) that we send to Washington don't seem to have a lot of "street" sense! Giving money from one Government Agency (the Federal Treasury) to another Government Agency (the States) means that THEY set the priorities as to where the money goes. When was the last time you heard an elected official say "We need to look at what we are providing and determine the value to our Citizens". For example, if the Government spends $1 million dollars to cover health care costs for 1,000 citizens per year; that amounts to $1,000 per person. Is that a reasonable amount? Where is it going to come from? What is the average amount that an average person spends per year on Health Care? If the answer is less than $1,000 per year, then the Government is overspending. If they want to create a new Web site that costs $100,000 in initial costs and an additional $50,000 a year to maintain, but saves the average Citizen $50 per year, then it would mean that 3,000 Citizens would have to utilize it just to break even.
The Government - Federal, State, County, and local do not operate like a normal business (although they should). They just keep adding costs that NEVER go down and in a lot of cases do not provide the benefits that were initially cited. Economic Stimulus is only as good as what it provides to the non-Government entities that pay taxes, create jobs, and help support local communities. That means you and I, as well as the companies we work for. In every instance where taxes have gone down, there has been an increase in the amount of money collected by our Government. Rarely, if ever, does that surplus ever get back to we taxpayers. Each level of Government finds new and creative ways to spend it. What we really need is a simpler, more open Government that listens to us taxpayers (we did put them there to represent us). We need each Agency in the Federal Government (as well as State and local) to justify the benefits of a new program against the costs and where cost exceeds benefit - STOP SPENDING!
So, how do we stimulate the economy? First, since the Government has no money and is in debt up to their ears, cut programs where the cost exceeds the benefit (by the way, Government has no money anyway - it's OUR MONEY). Second, stop creating new laws that hinder growth (Cap and Trade, Environmental studies for impact to snails, toads, flowers, birds (which have no value to the human society), Licensing restrictions on drilling for new oil, building new refineries, building nuclear power plants, placing wind turbines off Cape Cod (if we need new energy sources, don't place undue restrictions on them). Third and most important, YOU! Yes, you. You must pay attention to what is going on. Stop watching stupid TV shows, dumb movies, and plugging your i-pod into your ears! All of the problems we are now having did not occur overnight. The Politicians (both parties) did what they wanted because NO ONE CARED! The fringe groups (left and right) were organized but those of us in the middle (yes, myself included) brushed it off thinking that things would go on pretty much as usual - no one would listen to those idiots on the left and right. WRONG AGAIN! Now we must get organized and we must have our voices heard. Hope and Change, but this time in the direction we intended!
Combined: Some action causing a response to the Economy (my definition).
OK, so the Congress passed a Stimulus Bill, which they (and the Administration) claimed would save jobs and make the Economy better. They also said that without the Stimulus Bill, unemployment would go to 8-1/2 percent, which would be disastrous! The American people (for the most part) did not want this Stimulus Bill or at least wanted it slowed down enough for Congressmen and Senators to read the entire bill, allow we citizens to read the bill, and perhaps suggest some changes for the better. As we all know, that didn't happen.
So, what has the Stimulus Bill done for you and I, Mr & Mrs Average American? As best I can determine - nothing! Yes, it may have helped fund some Federal or State projects that were already in the works or on hold but most likely they would have happened even without the Stimulus Bill. Nearly 1 trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000.00) - a lot of zeros.
The biggest problem we, as American Citizens face is that the people (mostly lawyers) that we send to Washington don't seem to have a lot of "street" sense! Giving money from one Government Agency (the Federal Treasury) to another Government Agency (the States) means that THEY set the priorities as to where the money goes. When was the last time you heard an elected official say "We need to look at what we are providing and determine the value to our Citizens". For example, if the Government spends $1 million dollars to cover health care costs for 1,000 citizens per year; that amounts to $1,000 per person. Is that a reasonable amount? Where is it going to come from? What is the average amount that an average person spends per year on Health Care? If the answer is less than $1,000 per year, then the Government is overspending. If they want to create a new Web site that costs $100,000 in initial costs and an additional $50,000 a year to maintain, but saves the average Citizen $50 per year, then it would mean that 3,000 Citizens would have to utilize it just to break even.
The Government - Federal, State, County, and local do not operate like a normal business (although they should). They just keep adding costs that NEVER go down and in a lot of cases do not provide the benefits that were initially cited. Economic Stimulus is only as good as what it provides to the non-Government entities that pay taxes, create jobs, and help support local communities. That means you and I, as well as the companies we work for. In every instance where taxes have gone down, there has been an increase in the amount of money collected by our Government. Rarely, if ever, does that surplus ever get back to we taxpayers. Each level of Government finds new and creative ways to spend it. What we really need is a simpler, more open Government that listens to us taxpayers (we did put them there to represent us). We need each Agency in the Federal Government (as well as State and local) to justify the benefits of a new program against the costs and where cost exceeds benefit - STOP SPENDING!
So, how do we stimulate the economy? First, since the Government has no money and is in debt up to their ears, cut programs where the cost exceeds the benefit (by the way, Government has no money anyway - it's OUR MONEY). Second, stop creating new laws that hinder growth (Cap and Trade, Environmental studies for impact to snails, toads, flowers, birds (which have no value to the human society), Licensing restrictions on drilling for new oil, building new refineries, building nuclear power plants, placing wind turbines off Cape Cod (if we need new energy sources, don't place undue restrictions on them). Third and most important, YOU! Yes, you. You must pay attention to what is going on. Stop watching stupid TV shows, dumb movies, and plugging your i-pod into your ears! All of the problems we are now having did not occur overnight. The Politicians (both parties) did what they wanted because NO ONE CARED! The fringe groups (left and right) were organized but those of us in the middle (yes, myself included) brushed it off thinking that things would go on pretty much as usual - no one would listen to those idiots on the left and right. WRONG AGAIN! Now we must get organized and we must have our voices heard. Hope and Change, but this time in the direction we intended!
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