Obama's Economy: Stop the Madness

The Democrats’ disconnect with kitchen table issues and the reality faced by families, workers, and small businesses is growing more evident by the minute. The reckless agenda being pushed by Speaker Pelosi, President Obama, and many Democrats on Capitol Hill is not helping struggling Americans and small business job creators – but it is hurting our country. Their agenda continues to expand the reach of government, increase the deficit to alarming levels, and require even more money from foreign countries. On everything from spending to cap-and-trade to card check, jobs and fiscal responsibility have taken a back seat.

This disconnect will reach new heights next week as the President and Speaker Pelosi prepare to fly to Copenhagen to promote job killing cap & trade legislation as unemployment continues to rise and the deficit continues to soar here at home. Cap and Trade is a tax raising scheme that some wrongly believe can reduce carbon emissions. It starts with the misguided belief that Washington can identify a commodity, assess its value and charge people for its use. That is contrary to the America many of us believe in, and contrary to the reality that free markets should determine the price of commodities.

Small businesses, families, and young workers would have to pay an additional charge to turn on the light switch, to fill up the gas tank, or do whatever it is that Washington regulates. Has the President or the Speaker considered the impact of these tax increases? I don’t think the American people, especially during these tough times, want Washington to tell us what kind of fuel to use, what kind of car to drive, when we can turn on our lights – and then taxing us to do so.

It’s time to stop the madness. Putting aside, for the moment, the recent global warming scandal, the resignation of Phil Jones, and the serious questions surrounding his research, the President and the Speaker have far more pressing problems to worry about here at home – namely stopping runaway spending, getting our fiscal house back in order, and working on some common-sense solutions that get Americans back to work.