The Republicans also had a list of legislative proposals that went along with the rest of their contract on America. Most of these were bad to middling.
1. THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out- of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses.
Balanced budgets in corporations mean that their assets = liability + Owners equity. In the Government, outsiders want it to mean that Governments can't borrow money. However, Gingrich and company defined this conveniently. He and his predecessor/mentor Reagan, didn't consider defense or military spending "out of control" no matter how out of control it was in reality -- as a result we've had out of control spending largely as fallout from a series of wars of choice and dumb military spending decisions.
To have long term balanced budgets Government can't put the costs on the common (where the Government gets it) while privatizing everything left and right. Gingrich's "balanced budget" idea was okay, but only if that is made a long term objective and balance is in terms of revenues and employs long term thinking. A company can justify an expensive investment and write it off over ten years or more, the Government gets pinged for being penny wise and later gets pinged for being pound foolish. This wasn't real reform.
2. THE TAKING BACK OUR STREETS ACT: An anti-crime package including stronger truth-in- sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending from this summer's "crime" bill to fund prison construction and additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and kids safe in their schools.
This law filled up our prisons, blew State and Federal Budgets, and was oppressive to ordinary citizens. Moreover, it has been unfairly enforced. It included the infamous "crack cocaine" provisions which confused crack cocaine with the Hellmouth and created the insane result of source dealers going to jail for less time than crack dealers.
3. THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: Discourage illegitimacy and teen pregnancy by prohibiting welfare to minor mothers and denying increased AFDC for additional children while on welfare, cut spending for welfare programs, and enact a tough two-years-and-out provision with work requirements to promote individual responsibility.
A real charmer this law. No need to comment.
4. THE FAMILY REINFORCEMENT ACT: Child support enforcement, tax incentives for adoption, strengthening rights of parents in their children's education, stronger child pornography laws, and an elderly dependent care tax credit to reinforce the central role of families in American society.
This turned divorced and non-custodial parents into outlaws, turned young men who read pornography into felons, and has destabilized poor and already dysfunctional societies. It turned already dysfunctional people into felons without doing anything to help anyone. It did help people trying to help their parents and make it easier for school systems to burn unpopular books.
5. THE AMERICAN DREAM RESTORATION ACT: A S500 per child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief.
Some of this made kinda sorta sense.
6. THE NATIONAL SECURITY RESTORATION ACT: No U.S. troops under U.N. command and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the world.
I kind of liked this one. It had a buy american provision, and forbade us putting our troops under UN command.
7. THE SENIOR CITIZENS FAIRNESS ACT: Raise the Social Security earnings limit which currently forces seniors out of the work force, repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance to let Older Americans keep more of what they have earned over the years.
This one made it so that my generation not only was to fund the previous generations (previously SS was pay to go) but would be trying to fund my own retirement and part of everyone elses. It had some good points.
8. THE JOB CREATION AND WAGE ENHANCEMENT ACT: Small business incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages.
This didn't really do much good.
9. THE COMMON SENSE LEGAL REFORM ACT: "Loser pays" laws, reasonable limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability laws to stem the endless tide of litigation.
Since the only litigation the Repugs were against was that of citizens, citizen groups, consumer groups and class actions, this wasn't a good law.
10. THE CITIZEN LEGISLATURE ACT: A first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators.
This wasn't even a good idea. All it does is to cause career politicians to go from job to job to job like the rest of us. We need deputies who know their subject. That takes time.
Chris
Posted by cholte at June 6, 2009 03:26 PM