Daily Archives: January 7, 2014

January 7, 2014

By Kimberly Morin

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Statistics and figures are not the Democrats’ friends. While they push to extend unemployment benefits yet again to the long-term unemployed, they fail to grasp that it is their own policies that are keeping these people unemployed. From the almost trillion dollar shovel-ready job stimulus that was thrust upon this country by Democrats ( including New Hampshire’s own Senator Shaheen and Representative Carol Shea-Porter) that failed to being insane enough to believe unemployment benefits create jobs, Democrats have failed on every level to produce (If unemployment benefits actually created jobs, our economy would be booming because we’ve had such long term unemployment). There are millions of people who are unemployed, under-employed, jumped ship to disability insurance or are just not working at all because they have given up and it’s thanks to Democrat policies that are killing jobs and hurting the economy.

Some facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

  • The Labor Force Participation Rate is only 63% – Down from 65.7% when President Obama took office In 2009. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/6/14)
  • There are 762,000 Discouraged Workers in the U.S. who, despite wanting a job, are not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/6/14)
  • There were 734,000 Discouraged Workers when Obama took office in January 2009. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/6/14)
  • There Are 7.7 Million Americans who are currently working part-time only because they cannot find full-time employment. (BLS Website, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
  • 27% of Unemployed Americans who have been unemployed for a year or more – Up From 11% when Obama took office in 2009. (BLS, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
  • The “Real” Unemployment Rate, including those who have given up looking for work or are involuntarily working part-time is 11% in New Hampshire alone! (BLS, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)
  • The Real Unemployment Rate in New Hampshire Was 8.7% when Shaheen took office in 2009. (BLS, www.data.bls.gov, Accessed 1/5/14)

Obama, Senator Shaheen and Carol Shea-Porter claim they care about workers, jobs and the economy yet it is policies they have put into place that have continued the long cycle of unemployment across the U.S. and in New Hampshire. Today they are pushing to extend unemployment benefits to the tune of $26 billion. Rather than address the issues that cause long-term unemployment, they continue to create it. Democrats have had 6 years to turn the economy around and they haven’t. Neither Obama, Shaheen nor Shea-Porter will ever admit failure but the unemployment signs in this country have certainly proven exactly that.

Originally posted here: http://www.examiner.com/article/democrats-are-the-reason-for-the-long-term-unemployment

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in America, Democrats, Economy, Obama, Poverty

January 7, 2014

Democrats’ Medicaid Expansion plan – stick taxpayers with $18 Million bill

By Kimberly Morin

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The House released the Medicaid Expansion bill HB544 yesterday that they are desperately pushing to pass as soon as possible this year. The expansion is 100% fully funded for the first 3 years by federal funds (via Obamacare) then in phases down to only being 90% funded by 2020. That leaves New Hampshire residents/taxpayers with a hefty $18,250,000 or more added to the annual budget. What have the Democrats come up with to pay for this huge difference? Not a thing. The plan is to ‘terminate’ the program when this funding is no longer 100%. Name one Democrat who has ever terminated a government handout program? As a matter of fact, no Republicans probably have either.

The state legislature is doing nothing but pushing a future tax increase onto the people of New Hampshire but not being honest and telling them that. How can they possibly believe passing Medicaid Expansion without a solid plan to pay for it is a good idea? On top of it Speaker of the House Terri Norellli (D-Portsmouth) has decided not to hold any public hearings on this bill. It’s reminiscent of the way National Democrats like Senator Shaheen and Representative Shea-Porter voted for Obamacare with not one Republican vote and despite the majority of their constituents wanting them to vote ‘NAY’.

House Republican Leader Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett) shot back at Norelli in a release:

House Democrats have again chosen to ram this significant policy change through with little or no debate. This is one of, if not the largest expansion of a government entitlement program the New Hampshire legislature has ever faced. Attaching such an expansive piece of legislation to an unrelated bill is not the right way to approach any issue, much less something of this scale. On Wednesday, the House will be asked to vote on an amendment we haven’t even seen or been able to review. There will be no public hearing or opportunity for public input. It’s unfair to our Representatives and to our constituents. This is not how we should do things in New Hampshire.

Every Granite Stater should be aware of this massive increase to future budgets. Not one legislator should vote for the Medicaid Expansion until they tell taxpayers exactly how they will be expected to pay for it – will it be a sales tax; income tax; increased property taxes; increased fees? Constituents deserve to know the full implications of huge government programs their representatives want to put into place.

Originally Posted Here: http://www.examiner.com/article/democrats-medicaid-expansion-plan-stick-taxpayers-with-18-million-bill

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Budget, Democrats, Economy, Health Care, New Hampshire Politics