Deeper in debt without creating promised jobs
7/25/10 | Bucks County Courier Times

In the July 9th editions of this newspaper, Congressman Patrick Murphy acknowledges that our county lost 15,000 jobs, but goes on to blame everyone but the failed economic policies he has endorsed, supported and voted for.

Unemployment has risen 100 percent in the four years Congressman Murphy has been in Congress; notably, his party has been in the majority in every one of those years.

Yet he had the audacity to criticize a constituent in last Sunday's Courier Times simply because that letter writer questioned the congressman's claim that he helped create 3,000 jobs in Bucks County. Instead of providing some detail as to the whereabouts of these 3,000 jobs, the congressman labeled the critical letter writer "cynical" and "arrogant."

There is no need to "defend" the letter writer. I'm responding to the congressman's political posturing and, especially, his revisionist history, which is becoming bolder and more unbelievable as we move closer to the November election.

I am running against Congressman Murphy because I support a doable plan to stabilize the shaky economy that could bankrupt our country. I am running to shine a light on the deceptive spin the congressman puts on his record. I am running because Congressman Murphy and his cohorts in Congress are not solving anything by throwing billions of dollars into the wind and running our national debt into the trillions.

I am running because 46-cents out of every dollar that Congressman Murphy has voted for is borrowed from our children and grandchildren.

After spending trillions of taxpayer dollars on bailouts, stimulus bills and a federal takeover of our major industries, Congressman Murphy is at it again. Following his leader, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, he began pushing the American Job and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, this month. According to the Washington Post, this measure is expected to cost almost $200 billion over the next decade. The Washington Post headline: "Congress as usual: There is an election coming. Time to spend."

This misguided adventure is sending our country deeper into debt without creating the jobs promised by the Obama administration. I recall the president warning that without the stimulus bill, unemployment would rise above 8 percent. Now, with the money half-spent, unemployment is pushing 10 percent - and few employers are hiring. And at least one million people have stopped looking for work in the last year.

Not only has the stimulus bill (the congressman proudly voted for) failed to jump-start the economy, but there are a number of tax hikes scheduled to begin in 2011: The highest personal income tax rate will rise from 35 percent to 39.6 percent, the highest federal dividend tax rate will jump from 15 percent to 39.6 percent and the capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent to 20 percent. In addition, the estate tax, which temporarily dropped to zero in 2010, kicks back in at a crushing 55 percent.

Sure, it's a bleak picture, but we are not without hope.

I am running for Congress with a plan to jump-start our economy and allow the private sector to create jobs, not the federal government. A few bold changes to our tax system will provide small businesses with immediate liquidity and change the underlying tax structure of America to set the stage for long-term economic growth. Also, we could:

• Reduce the payroll tax to provide additional funds for companies and employees;
• Reduce or suspend the capital gains tax to encourage investment in new companies;
• Reduce the corporate tax rate (currently the highest in the world) to 12.5 percent to make our employers globally competitive;
• Permanently eliminate the "death tax," or estate tax, so small businesses and family farms can continue creating jobs for future generations; and
• Immediately expand the ability of small businesses to write off expenses so America's workers can have the best equipment.

The above are time-tested methods. Unleashing the power of the individual and the entrepreneur by decreasing spending and cutting taxes proved to be a bipartisan solution to joblessness. It worked when President Kennedy did it. It worked when President Reagan did it.

Yes, we can grow the economy and add jobs again, but we need to take these steps with the highest sense of urgency. America's best days lie ahead - if we change direction in Washington. What we have now is unacceptable, but most of all, it is unsustainable.