Video at link
COSTELLO: So in the next debate, you’re going on the attack?
CAIN: I’m going on the attack.
COSTELLO: You’re ready to do that.
CAIN: Yes, I am.
COSTELLO: Really, you’ve been the nice guy through all this.
CAIN: Yes.
COSTELLO: The likable guy.
CAIN: I’ve been trying. But they’re getting on my last nerve.
Oct 19, 2011
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday indicated Congress needs to worry about government jobs more than private-sector jobs, and that this is why Senate Democrats are pushing a bill aimed at shoring up teachers and first-responders.
“It’s very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing just fine; it’s the public-sector jobs where we’ve lost huge numbers, and that’s what this legislation is all about,” Reid said on the Senate floor.
Reid was responding to recent comments from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who accused Democrats of purposefully pursuing higher taxes as part of the teacher/first-responder bill, S. 1723, so that Republicans would oppose it. McConnell said the bill was meant to fail in order to give Democrats an issue to run on in the 2012 election, but Reid said the Republicans are simply trying to defeat President Obama any way they can
The legislation Reid is defending is part of Obama’s jobs package. Vice President Biden was in Pennsylvania, an important election state, on Tuesday to push for the administration’s plan on increasing the number of teachers.
Reid reiterated his emphasis on creating government jobs by saying Democrats are looking to “put hundreds of thousands of people back to work teaching children, have more police patrolling our streets, firefighters fighting our fires, doing the rescue work that they do so well …
Private-sector jobs have increased over the last 19 months, while government jobs have lagged. They’ve also seen cuts in several states that are struggling to balanced their books.
Despite these comments, a spokesman for Reid pointed out that Senate Democrats have tried to pass several bills aimed at spurring private sector job growth, but have been blocked by Republicans. Among other things, Democrats have proposed tax cuts to help companies hire workers and write off expenses, as well as infrastructure jobs that would add to private construction payrolls.
“Senator Reid believes that Congress must work to spur job-creation in the private sector, which is why he’s working to pass tax cuts for small businesses to hire new workers, tax cuts for small businesses to write off business expenses, and investments to create private-sector construction jobs,” Spokesman Adam Jentleson said. “Republicans are blocking all of these proposals to create jobs in the private sector because they care more about defeating President Obama than putting Americans back to work.”
Reid also said a majority of people polled support the bill, and that the tax hike needed to fund the $35 billion spending program is minimal.
“My friend, the Republican leader … is complaining about a tax of one-half of 1 percent … on people who make more than $1 million a year to pay for a program that would stop teachers from being laid off and rehire some of the teachers that have been laid off,” Reid said.
Democrats who support the bill have said it would help save 400,000 teacher jobs and thousands of first-responder jobs that have either been cut or could soon be cut. Reid said Wednesday that these layoffs are “rooted in the last administration,” but did not explain further.
Senate Democrats are hoping to pass S. 1723 as early as this week, although votes could be delayed until early November, depending on the progress made on passing a 2012 spending bill.
Reid also dismissed efforts by the Republican House to ease environmental regulations as a way to create jobs.
“The Republican response has been cutting back environmental health safeguards, I guess hoping that a sicker, more polluted country is a better place to create jobs, and it’s not,” Reid said.
A different take on last nights debate.
not sure who won, but I sure know who lost. We did.
I really have no idea of what exactly that cat fight called a “debate” was about. Far too many people on our side saw the sniping and snarling as a good thing. I see it as a waste of time.
Continue reading at http://adriennescatholiccorner.blogspot.com/2011/10/obligatory-who-won-debate-post.html
In the meantime, here are some quotes and stories to consider and pass along. Every American should care about parental rights. Those who don’t simply aren’t paying attention to some of the things going on in our country. Consider:
Read more at:
Nothing like trying to buy a few million votes. There won’t be any extra money going into the pockets, the increase will be offset by increased Medicare payment.
Published October 19, 2011
| Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Some 55 million Social Security recipients will get a 3.6 percent increase in benefits next year, their first raise since 2009, the government announced Wednesday.
The increase, which starts in January, is tied to a measure of inflation released Wednesday morning.
About 8 million people who receive Supplemental Security Income will also receive the 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, meaning the announcement will affect about one in five U.S. residents.
passed in 2009.
Monthly Social Security payments average $1,082, or about $13,000 a year. A 3.6 percent increase will amount to about $39 a month, or just over $467 a year, on average.
Advocates for seniors said the raise will provide a much-needed boost to the millions of retirees and disabled people who have seen retirement accounts dwindle and home values drop during the economic downturn. Economists say the increase should provide a modest boost to consumer spending, which should help the economy.
Still, many seniors feel like they have been falling behind.
Nancy Altman, co-chair of the Strengthen Social Security Campaign, said she is pleased Social Security recipients will get a raise next year. But, she added, “The COLA is still not enough to keep up with health care costs.”
“Despite the absence of a Social Security COLA, over the last two years out-of-pocket health care costs rose 14.1 percent for seniors and people with disabilities, effectively reducing the value of Social Security benefits,” Altman said.
Most retirees rely on Social Security for a majority of their income, according to the Social Security Administration. Many rely on it for more than 90 percent of their income.
“For many of our seniors, the creeping costs of medical care, food and housing have forced them to stretch their limited incomes to the breaking point,” said Rep. Xavier Becerra of California, the top Democrat on the House Social Security subcommittee. “And after two years without any cost-of-living increases, our seniors are getting some much-needed relief.”
Some of the increase in January will be lost to higher Medicare premiums, which are deducted from Social Security payments. Medicare Part B premiums for 2012 are expected to be announced next week, and the trustees who oversee the program are projecting an increase.
The amount of wages subject to Social Security taxes will also go up next year. This year, the first $106,800 in wages is subject to Social Security payroll taxes. Next year, the limit will increase to $110,100, the Social Security Administration said.
Of the 161 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes next year, about 10 million will get a tax increase from the change, the agency said.
Workers pay a 6.2 percent Social Security tax on wages, which is matched by employers. For 2011, the tax rate for workers was reduced to 4.2 percent. The tax cut is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, though President Barack Obama wants to expand it and extend it for another year.
Several economists said the Social Security increase should provide a modest boost in consumer spending next year. However, David Wyss, former chief economist at Standard & Poor’s, noted that most analysts have already factored the COLA into their growth estimates for next year.
“The COLA will help the economy a bit,” Wyss said. “At least, it is moving in the right direction. But it is not a game-changer.”
Federal law requires the program to base annual payment increases on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Officials compare inflation in the third quarter of each year — the months of July, August and September — with the same months in the previous year.
If consumer prices increase from year to year, Social Security recipients automatically get higher payments, starting the following January. If price changes are negative, the payments stay unchanged.
Social Security payments increased by 5.8 percent in 2009, the largest increase in 27 years, after energy prices spiked in 2008. But energy prices quickly dropped and home prices became soft in markets across the country, contributing to lower inflation in the past two years.
As a result, Social Security recipients got an increase that was far larger than actual overall inflation.
However, they can’t get another increase until consumer prices exceed the levels measured in 2008. Wednesday’s announcement shows that prices have exceeded those measured in 2008, said Polina Vlasenko, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, based in Great Barrington, Mass.
Wednesday’s COLA announcement comes as a special joint committee of Congress weighs options to reduce the federal government’s $1.3 trillion budget deficit. In talks this summer, Obama floated the idea of adopting a new measure of inflation to calculate the COLA, one that would reduce the annual increases.
Advocates for seniors mounted an aggressive campaign against the proposal, and it was scrapped. But it could resurface in the ongoing talks.
“The relief expressed by many should serve as a reminder about how important the COLA is — the difference between filling a prescription, cutting back on food or turning the heat up during a cold spell,” said Eric Kingson, co-director of Social Security Works, an advocacy group. “It also should remind those politicians who are talking about cutting all future COLAs that they are playing with fire, the lives of fellow Americans and their own political futures.”
Via Cousin Oliver
via We’re in trouble!.
Published October 19, 2said 011
The FBI and local police Wednesday they were trying to figure out why five French-Moroccan nationals tried to break into a Texas courthouse in the middle of the night.
At least five foreign nationals are in custody after the attempted break-in at the Bexar County Courthouse in San Antonio, which triggered a bomb scare and FBI terror investigation, a source close to the case tells FoxNews.com.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said the suspects are believed to be of French-Moroccan descent.
FBI agents and a bomb squad were called to the courthouse after three men were found inside the building early Wednesday.
The men, along with two others who were outside in a rented RV, were arrested by San Antonio police. The five suspects are currently being questioned by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“We’re looking into all aspects of these individuals,” FBI spokesman Erik Vasys told FoxNews.com.
Documents found inside the van showed the men, all in their 20s, had traveled extensively to high-level security facilities around the country, according to local media reports. Investigators also told the Associated Press that 90-day visas, maps, cell phones and computers were found inside the vehicle.
The source declined to comment on whether any bomb-making materials were found at the scene, saying only that the suspects’ motive is still under investigation.
Police said two of the men climbed a fire escape and entered an unlocked door on the fourth floor of the courthouse at around 2 a.m., KHOU.com reports.
The men allegedly told investigators that they were visiting from out of town and said they were trying to get a tour of the city, according to the station.
Sheriff’s department spokesman Louis Antu told the Associated Press that there’s no information to indicate that the incident might be affiliated with terrorism. He said the case is being investigated as burglary of a building.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said surveillance video from inside the courthouse showed the men wearing sombreros and waving around a gavel. He said they appear to “just be some guys on a prank.”
Bexar County Sheriff Amadeo Ortiz said the men speak little English but are cooperating with a translator’s help.
The men, whose names have not yet been released, were taken to a jail holding facility.
