Congressman John Campbell's Blog - Green Eyeshade Blog

Friday, May 15, 2009

Posted by: John Campbell at 11:33 AM

House Cafeteria: Prices in the government-run cafeterias in the basement of the House Office Buildings have gone up recently, at the alarming rate of 31% between 2007 and the end of 2008. According to House Chief Administrative Officer Dan Beard, who oversees the House cafeterias; since 2007, when Democrats took control of the House, they have instituted requirements for organically grown food and required all workers to be union members in order to serve or cook in the cafeterias, and these steps have in turn caused the price increase. But, House staffers do not like paying for all this, so your tax dollars are being considered to subsidize this too!

Cuts: The President announced, with great fanfare, his proposals to cut $17 billion of spending from 121 programs in the upcoming fiscal year. This is after he increased spending by over $1 trillion dollars in just two bills in his first couple months in office. So, he is proposing to cut an amount that is less than 2% of what he just increased, and his proposal is half of what President Bush had proposed to cut from the same programs last year, but Congress summarily rejected.

War Spending: This week, we will vote on President Obama's $92 billion proposal for new and additional spending not included in the stimulus bill, or the omnibus bill, or the budget, or any of the already passed additional spending bills. $81.6 billion of this amount is more funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the balance is a grab-bag of unrelated spending items such as swine flu response, and $665 million for the West bank and Gaza. This madness must stop and as such I intend to oppose this bill.

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Big Sky Cowboy writes:	Friday, May, 15, 2009 11:38 AM
Hey Washington
brown bag it you a*sholes.
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Cuban Pete writes:	Friday, May, 15, 2009 11:54 AM
The worst of Bush...
...is still present in the best of Pres. B. Hussein O. - more deficit spending, bigger increases of government powers, and continuing spending on the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. All the while we find out democrat leaders were well aware of CIA "torture", and now their iconic god president wants to hide abuse photos from their perverted visions. Must be torturous being a lefty these days.
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Big Sky Cowboy writes:	Friday, May, 15, 2009 11:56 AM
Get a Second Job
To pay for your unionized lunches, how bout a paper route, or set up a lemonade stand, non union please.
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eddie too writes:	Friday, May, 15, 2009 11:57 AM
John Campbell,
I will believe you and other Congress people are interested in the fate of America and your constituents when you start supporting policies that can return America to greatness. What kind of policies? For example, letting parents decide how tax dollars for educating their children should be spent; and, stopping the monopoly that government run schools have on taxpayers monies. Only the most obtuse or those who have other reasons (like handing out favors to constituents) do not accept that restricting government funding to government schools is an establishment of religion by the federal government. Another example, retaining the income tax. You and your fellow congress people know that the federal income tax discourages productivity. You and they know that the federal income tax allows congress people to dole out favors to their supporters. You all know that the income tax has deliberately been made incomprehensible to all but the most skilled students of taxation and that this deliberate complexity is designed to keep citizens fearful of their government. Finally, a third example in the next post.
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eddie too writes:	Friday, May, 15, 2009 12:07 PM
John Campbell (2)
Thirdly, this whole health care issue. Four or five simple changes in current law is the best current solution to whatever health care issues are being debated in America. What are these simple changes? First, require all health insurers to charge all customers the same costs for the same coverage. Second, require health insurers to take all customers (they cannot deny coverage to anyone for any reason, although temporary denial for pre-existing conditions should be allowed). Third, cap legal awards for malpractice. Fourth, provide tax credits based on taxable income up to the median income (these credits could reduce as income increases) at which point the credits become deductions from taxable income. Fifth, prohibit the sale and marketing of group insurance plans. Insurance policies should be limited to individuals, couples or families. These five changes alone would make health care more competitive (with the affect of controlling costs). They would also make health insurance more available. They would also be much less damaging to the national economy and the future. If these changes proved ineffective, after a five year test period, in accomplishing the three benefits I detailed above, then the issue should be revisited. This whole idea that our health care system needs radical change is wrong. It is stupid. It will damage our current system dramatically.
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JPK writes:	Friday, May, 15, 2009 12:24 PM
Clinton's Final Budget
For fiscal year 2001 was $1.6 trillion. Congress of course passed it, and I remember thinking that there's no way this could go on. Under Bush and the GOP Congress the budget passed the $2 trillion mark by FY2007. Obama's first budget surpasses $3.6 trillion, of which 1.6 trillion was borrowed. That is, for FY 2009-10 we borrowed the amount required for the FY2001 budget. President Obama of course is far from over; the US goverment will have an equity stake in both Chrysler and GM (don't think the Treasury will not cover thier losses), as well as AIG and Citibank, perhaps even BOA too. He also wishes to impose a huge underfunded liability for guarenteed health care. At its peak in 2006, our GDP was about $14 trillion. Today, it is down to about $11.5 trillion. The goverment's consumption of it now stands at almost 33%.
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Exeye writes:	Friday, May, 15, 2009 12:41 PM
Reality TV
Congress is a new fall show. Premise: how completely stupid can one group of people be? Just watch!
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Seadog writes:	Friday, May, 15, 2009 12:55 PM
Big Sky Cowboy
"To pay for your unionized lunches, how bout a paper route, or set up a lemonade stand, non union please." I don't know about a paper route, but the left do not appear to approve of lemonade stands. I read in an Alaskan newspaper that little Piper Palin and an eight year old partner set up a lemonade stand and broadened their inventory by selling slices of banana cakes. They even gave free small boxes of raisins to attract customers. Anti-Palin folks raised cain about the girls doing that -- they wanted the lemonade stand closed, according to the article. Go Piper!
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About John Campbell

John Campbell is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, and has taken a leadership role in addressing the country's top economic issues. Campbell serves as a member of the Joint Economic Committee, and House Committee on the Budget. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from UCLA and a Master's Degree in Taxation from USC.