Posted on 10/18/2008 6:59:51 AM PDT by Kaslin
Thanks to the now famous Joe the Plumber, all of America has been served notice of Barack Obama's plans for the American economy.
Obama intends to spread the wealth around: From your accounts to those of his friends and supporters.
Rarely have we had candor from Obama in this long campaign, and even rarer have been the efforts of the Manhattan-Beltway media elites to tease the details out from the Chicago machine's favorite pol.
But in a matter of two minutes, Joe's objections to Obama's soak-the-small-businesses-of-America's tax plan evoked from Obama not just a rebuke about the need to take care of "the people behind Joe," but Obama's own pithy summary of his objective: To spread the wealth around.
John McCain could not have hoped for such a bit of clarity, and now that it has been delivered from The One, McCain ought to make it the one theme of the last three weeks of the campaign.
Not only does Obama intend for the Death Tax to return in time for the passing of the Greatest Generation --spreading their wealth from their grandchildren to the tax coffers of the state-- Obama also intends to spread the fruits of long labors far and wide.
The ants have been told that the grasshoppers need a break. The grasshoppers have been behind the ants for a long time, after all, and the winter is upon us all.
Clarity, as my friend Dennis Prager likes to say, is much to be preferred over agreement and Obama has provided clarity. Not about Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko and Jeremiah Wright, but very much about his plans for your (much reduced these past few weeks) savings.
From each according to their productivity, to each according to their wants.
The polls inched closer in the days before and following the debate, and as word of Obama's rebuke of Joe the Plumber travels, they should draw closer still. Our enemies are not much discussed these days as Iraq has stabilized and the jihadists have gone to ground for the duration of the election, and Obama's platitudes went unchallenged by Lehrer, Brokaw and Schieffer.
But Joe did the MSM's trio's work for them, and we do indeed have a focus for the last few days of the very long campaign.
John Murtha offered even more focus, branding half of Pennsylvania as "racist," and reminding us all of Obama's slam of rural and small town America as clinging to God and guns in their bitterness.
Is the sudden infusion of Obamian candor enough to bring the battleground states back to red, and the race back to the dead-heat it was in early September?
There's no way to know yet, but if America dodges European style statism, it will be because of a plumber from Ohio.
The Framers would be pleased.
Keep hammering the “Spread the wealth around” quote. This is the Obama policy. It’s socialism.
Joe the plumber has a role and it can make the campaign about the people but let’s never forget that this quote has not been played enough and CAN NOT BE PLAYED ENOUGH. Force Obama to defend socialism
Furthermore, no matter what Obama says, he will try to grab "windfall profits" from corporations, which will drive more American companies offshore to tax havens.
Obama's coddling of unions will price even more American jobs out of competition with the rest of the world.
Obama intends to take all the money you "don't need" and buy votes with it, Democratic votes which will remain loyally Democratic as long as the welfare checks continue to come and the free benefits continue to flow.
As for Obama's claim that he will provide three times the tax relief for middle-income Americans, what will happen when a Democratic supermajority finally gets universal healthcare? Does anyone really think healthcare will be free? Healthcare is very expensive. It will be paid for, at greatly reduced efficiency, from our paychecks.
My money does not belong to the government, nor does it belong to Acorn. Lenin is probably sitting up in his glass box right now.
Spot on!
Play the tape of Obama saying this. Joe the Plumber is irrelevant. Obama's words are relevant.
I was listening to some Hannity yesterday and he was only taking calls from Obamabots and they were all for redistribution of wealth and socialism.
This is the 'two Americas'.
The America that still believes in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and the America that is ready to chuck it all for a socialist state.
Did you here the guy from MS who said is retired and needs money so he thinks other people should give it to him. I wanted to smack him.
His stupidity doesn’t surprise me. Obama is a product of Affirmative Action, where all you have to do is be the trendy minority and you get to be showered with favors and advantages.
He (Obama) thinks that people are just handed wealth and advantages, he and his minions in Hollywood think of it as just luck. They don’t see the process of learning marketable skills, building a resume, and making sacrifices to plan for a solid future.
And this is why, the Socialism spilled out of the snake-charmer’s mouth........
I’M WITH JOE! This theme needs to go big very fast. I’M WITH JOE!
Freepers need to spread the word in every place there is a MAC or BO raly.
Purchase plungers and make signs in this theme to take to the rallies.
We are all plumbers now that need to unclog the system from impending over-taxation (Socialism) and the legalized ‘theft’ of our hard earned income.
Call to MAC/Palin campaigns and organize people to go with you.
If you are going to bring a plunger, remember that you can’t bring the stick part into a rally. So if you are staying outside a BO rally, that’s fine. If you are headed into the rally, you need to replace the stick with rolled corrogated paper carried separately until you’re in the rally.
This theme needs to be the universal cry against Socialism and carries the implicit message of unclogging the “waste’ from the system.
A dozen guys with plungers just freeped a BO rally in VA!
Support Joe, the first average Joe to stand up to the tyranny of neo-Marxism!
Bonus: We can shout his middle name, “JOE” outloud without the fear of taking a lead pipe to the knees! Try and escape the wrath of the Left if you are bold enough to utter.......barack HUSSEIN obama.
I did not save-save-save for the last 15 years so hussein can take-take-take.
JoMa
Global Poverty Act of 2007 (Introduced in Senate)
S 2433 IS
110th CONGRESS
1st Session S. 2433 To require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty , the elimination of extreme global poverty , and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 7, 2007 Mr. OBAMA (for himself, Mr. HAGEL, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
A BILL To require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty , the elimination of extreme global poverty , and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Global Poverty Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) More than 1,000,000,000 people worldwide live on less than $1 per day, and another 1,600,000,000 people struggle to survive on less than $2 per day, according to the World Bank.
(2) At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the United States joined more than 180 other countries in committing to work toward goals to improve life for the world's poorest people by 2015.
(3) The year 2007 marks the mid-point to the Millennium Development Goals deadline of 2015.
(4) The United Nations Millennium Development Goals include the goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, that live on less than $1 per day, cutting in half the proportion of people suffering from hunger and unable to access safe drinking water and sanitation, reducing child mortality by two-thirds, ensuring basic education for all children, and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria, while sustaining the environment upon which human life depends.
(5) On March 22, 2002, President George W. Bush stated: `We fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror. We fight against poverty because opportunity is a fundamental right to human dignity. We fight against poverty because faith requires it and conscience demands it. We fight against poverty with a growing conviction that major progress is within our reach.'.
(6) The 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States notes: `[A] world where some live in comfort and plenty, while half of the human race lives on less than $2 per day, is neither just nor stable. Including all of the world's poor in an expanding circle of development and opportunity is a moral imperative and one of the top priorities of U.S. international policy.'.
(7) The 2006 National Security Strategy of the United States notes: `America's national interests and moral values drive us in the same direction: to assist the world's poor citizens and least developed nations and help integrate them into the global economy.'.
(8) The bipartisan Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States recommends: `A comprehensive United States strategy to counter terrorism should include economic policies that encourage development, more open societies, and opportunities for people to improve the lives of their families and enhance prospects for their children.'.
(9) At the summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) nations in July 2005, leaders from all eight participating countries committed to increase aid to Africa from the current $25,000,000,000 annually to $50,000,000,000 by 2010, and to cancel 100 percent of the debt obligations owed to the World Bank, African Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund by 18 of the world's poorest nations.
(10) At the United Nations World Summit in September 2005, the United States joined more than 180 other governments in reiterating their commitment to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
(11) The United States has recognized the need for increased financial and technical assistance to countries burdened by extreme poverty , as well as the need for strengthened economic and trade opportunities for those countries, through significant initiatives in recent years, including the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.), the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and trade preference programs for developing countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
(12) In January 2006, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice initiated a restructuring of the United States foreign assistance program, including the creation of a Director of Foreign Assistance, who maintains authority over Department of State and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) foreign assistance funding and programs.
(13) In January 2007, the Department of State's Office of the Director of Foreign Assistance added poverty reduction as an explicit, central component of the overall goal of United States foreign assistance. The official goal of United States foreign assistance is: `To help build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.'.
(14) Economic growth and poverty reduction are more successful in countries that invest in the people, rule justly, and promote economic freedom. These principles have become the core of several development programs of the United States Government, such as the Millennium Challenge Account.
SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to promote the reduction of global poverty , the elimination of extreme global poverty , and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY.
(a) Strategy- The President, acting through the Secretary of State, and in consultation with the heads of other appropriate departments and agencies of the United States Government, international organizations, international financial institutions, the governments of developing and developed countries, United States and international nongovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, and other appropriate entities, shall develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty , the elimination of extreme global poverty , and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.
(b) Content- The strategy required by subsection (a) shall include specific and measurable goals, efforts to be undertaken, benchmarks, and timetables to achieve the objectives described in subsection (a).
(c) Components- The strategy required by subsection (a) should include the following components:
(1) Continued investment or involvement in existing United States initiatives related to international poverty reduction, such as the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.), the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), and trade preference programs for developing countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
(2) Improving the effectiveness of development assistance and making available additional overall United States assistance levels as appropriate.
(3) Enhancing and expanding debt relief as appropriate.
(4) Leveraging United States trade policy where possible to enhance economic development prospects for developing countries.
(5) Coordinating efforts and working in cooperation with developed and developing countries, international organizations, and international financial institutions.
(6) Mobilizing and leveraging the participation of businesses, United States and international nongovernmental organizations, civil society, and public-private partnerships.
(7) Coordinating the goal of poverty reduction with other development goals, such as combating the spread of preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, increasing access to potable water and basic sanitation, reducing hunger and malnutrition, and improving access to and quality of education at all levels regardless of gender.
(8) Integrating principles of sustainable development and entrepreneurship into policies and programs.
(d) Reports-
(1) INITIAL REPORT-
(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act , the President, acting through the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the strategy required under subsection (a).
(B) CONTENT- The report required under subparagraph (A) shall include the following elements:
(i) A description of the strategy required under subsection (a).
(ii) An evaluation, to the extent possible, both proportionate and absolute, of the contributions provided by the United States and other national and international actors in achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.
(iii) An assessment of the overall progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per day.
(2) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS- Not later than December 31, 2012, and December 31, 2015, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees reports on the status of the implementation of the strategy, progress made in achieving the global poverty reduction objectives described in subsection (a), and any changes to the strategy since the date of the submission of the last report.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act :
(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES- The term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2) EXTREME GLOBAL POVERTY - The term `extreme global poverty' refers to the conditions in which individuals live on less than $1 per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity in 1993 United States dollars, according to World Bank statistics.
(3) GLOBAL POVERTY - The term `global poverty' refers to the conditions in which individuals live on less than $2 per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity in 1993 United States dollars, according to World Bank statistics.
(4) MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS- The term `Millennium Development Goals' means the goals set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, General Assembly Resolution 55/2 (2000).
I would also hope that in the next two years the Republicans would wake up, get some leadership and sweep the Congress in 2010 and the White House in 2012 riding the wave of dissatisfaction the Democrats have brought. Sadly the American economy will be in a massive recession by 2012 and it may take a decade to undo the mess Obama, Pelosi and Reid have created.
We have never undone any of the massive entitlement programs that FDR and LBJ created such as Social Security and Medicare; if we were to ever get another massive entitlement program such as a United States "National Health Service," we would never be able to undo that either.
It's proven to be impossible to do anything but grow these monsters; President Bush couldn't even get Social Security at least moved to a more sustainable basis with private accounts.
Capitalism creates wealth... Socialism uses that wealth UP..
Socialism is a parasite on wealth, a political Vampire..
Drains the wealth of a country, bleeds the economy dry..
Socialism is a symptom of democracy(Mob Rule).. because democracy is the political social disease that causes socialism.. Democracy is never ever democratic because democracy is operated by an elite.. AN elite that bleeds the economy like a VAMPIRE.. and lives off the sheeple..
Democracy is Mob Rule by mobsters.. always absolutely..
And should be a dirty word in the mouth of a NoN Vampire..
When someone uses the word democracy around you THEY SHOULD BE MARKED..
MARKED as a one that a VAMPIRE has bitten..
May God's truth reign and expose this charlatan for what he really is.
From what I’ve seen his supporters will be more enthusiastic now that he’s actually stated his intentions.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
