Mitt Romney's Economic Priorities

While Barack Obama’s American Jobs Plan is the most detailed document by a presidential candidate to date, Mitt Romney laid out significantly more detail than Jon Huntsman or Herman Cain in an e-book: Believe in America: Mitt Romney's Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth announced during a speech given at the McCandless International Trucks Company in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Here are his "day one" priorities.

Day One
Introduce Legislation to:

1. Reduce the corporate income tax rate to 25 percent.
2. Implement the Colombia, Panama, and South Korea Free Trade Agreements.
3. Direct the Department of the Interior to undertake a comprehensive survey of American energy reserves in partnership with exploration companies and initiates leasing in all areas currently approved for exploration.
4. Consolidate the sprawl of federal retraining programs and return funding and responsibility for these programs to the states.
5. Immediately cuts non-security discretionary spending by 5 percent, reducing the annual federal budget by $20 billion.

Sign Executive Orders to:

1. Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services and all relevant federal officials to return the maximum possible authority to the states to innovate and design health care solutions that work best for them.
2. Direct all agencies to immediately initiate the elimination of Obama-era regulations that unduly burden the economy or job creation, and then cap annual increases in regulatory costs at zero dollars.
3. Direct the Department of the Interior to implement a process for rapid issuance of drilling permits to developers with established safety records seeking to use pre-approved techniques in pre-approved areas.
4. Direct the Department of the Treasury to list China as a currency manipulator in its biannual report and direct the Department of Commerce to assess countervailing duties on Chinese imports if China does not quickly move to float its currency.
5. Reverse the executive orders issued by President Obama that tilt the playing field in favor of organized labor, including the one encouraging the use of union labor on major government construction projects.

President Obama's American Jobs Act: How the Money is Spent

On Thursday, President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to introduce his “American Jobs Act.”

Rather than giving a speech stressing core principles, the plan is concrete and actionable and Obama urged its passage.



The $447 billion program breaks down like this:

Fact Sheet and Overview (scroll to bottom for larger print of table)

President Obama asked Congress to come up with additional spending cuts over the next ten years to cover the cost of the program and promised a more ambitious deficit plan to cover the cost of the jobs bill and stabilize debt in the long run on September 19.

Ron Paul: Freedom, Liberty, the Constitution, Limited Government and a Balanced Budget

Ron Paul made it onto the August 28 edition of Fox News Sunday.

Some highlights: 

On FEMA:
Save a billion dollars from overseas warmongering, bring half that home, put it against the deficit and tide people over.

Unconventional Libertarian Views:
Isn’t it strange that we can apply that term (unconventional) to freedom and liberty and the Constitution, limited government, a balanced budget?

More Interested in Influence or Political Power?
I’m in it to win it and I’m more interested in influence and power. As president I would reduce the power of government. I would not go to war without Congressional approval.

Libya
We should be dealing for national security in defense of our country and not pretending that we can pick the dictators around the world. Military people want to defend this country but they don’t want perpetual war when it’s undeclared and they don’t see the end and you don’t know who the enemy is. Guard units should be here taking care of us when we have floods.

How Austrian School of Economics Would Boost Economy and Deal with National Debt
Let bankruptcy and liquidation occur. Give country a sound currency. Free up the markets. Property rights. Enforce contracts.

Ben Bernanke
All he needs to do is quit monetizing debt. Interest rates would go up and Congress would be forced to cut. Gold backing of currency restrains big government.

Jon Huntsman's American Jobs Plan

On Wednesday, Jon Huntsman came out with his American jobs plan "Time to Compete."

Some highlights submitted for your approval:

Tax Reform:

Introduce a revenue-neutral tax plan that eliminates all deductions and credits in favor of three drastically lower personal tax rates of 8%, 14% and 23%.

Eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is not indexed for inflation.

Eliminate taxes on capital gains and dividends.

Reduce corporate rate from 35% to 25%.

Regulatory Reform

Repeal existing regulations, including Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) and Dodd-Frank (Wall Street Reform).

Dramatically rein in the EPA. Oppose new ozone rule that would effectively halt new construction. On Friday, White House asked EPA administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the draft of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards plan. 

Ensure that NLRB and other agencies abandon their “job-destroying” policies.

Reform the FDA by streamlining the testing and approval process.

Enact comprehensive patent reform to weed out rent seeking and foster invention. "This American Life" episode "When Patents Attack" illustrates some flaws of current patent system.

Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Energy Independence

Expedite the process for reviewing and approving safe, environmentally sound energy projects, including the development of North American oil and gas reserves; oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska; shale gas and oil in the U.S.; and Canadian oil sands.

Eliminate the subsidies and regulations that support foreign oil and inhibit domestic alternatives such as compressed natural gas (CNG), electricity, biofuels, and coal-to-liquids, which are not price-controlled by OPEC.

Free Trade

Make trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama a priority. Pursue new trade opportunities with Japan, India, and Taiwan.

Is Jon Huntsman too Reasonable to be a Republican?

Jake Tapper of "ABC News This Week" started off his interview with Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman by quoting Tim Pawlenty: “‘What I brought forward I thought was a rational, established, credible, strong record of results, based on experience governing, a two-term governor of a blue state, but I think the audience, so to speak, was looking for something different.’ Isn't Governor Pawlenty describing the same problem you're having on the campaign trail right now?”

Jon Huntsman was making his debut on a Sunday news show during a week when the full-time host, the president, and Congress were on vacation.

After a week when most major news outlets had played Rick Perry’s sound bites about the treasonous Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, the questionable theory of evolution, and the uncertain causes of climate change, Huntsman was able to elbow his way into the ambient light of the media spotlight, not with a bold ill-considered remark but with a tweet.

“To be clear, I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.”




Interview Transcript | Link to Full Interview

Huntsman's Views On:

Perry’s Scientific Views:
“I think there's a serious problem. The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party -- the anti-science party, we have a huge problem. We lose a whole lot of people that would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012.

Perry’s Bernanke Treason Statement:
“And every time we have these sideshows take place, finger-pointing and name-calling, it takes us that much further off the ball, which is fixing our core in this country, is getting our economy fixed and creating jobs.”

Michele Bachmann’s Promise of Gas Under $2.00 a Gallon:
“You know, I just -- I just don't know what -- what world that comment would come from, you know? We live in the real world. It's grounded in reality. And gas prices just aren't going to rebound like that.”

Republican Candidates' Refusal of Debt Ceiling Deal:
“You can imagine -- even given the uncertainty of the marketplace the last several days and even the last couple of weeks -- if we had defaulted, the first time in the history of the greatest country that ever was, being 25 percent of the world's GDP and having the largest financial services sector in this world by a long shot, if we had defaulted, Jake, this marketplace would be in absolute turmoil. And people who are already losing enough as it is on their 401(k)s and retirement programs and home valuations, it would have been catastrophic.”

The Media:
Tapper asked why he had raised his hand, along with all the other Republican candidates in response to Bret Baier’s Iowa debate question about refusing to raise even $1 of taxes for $10 of spending cuts.

“Well, I'm just sorry that the debate resorted to a raising of hand as opposed to some discussion about where this country needs to go in terms of overall tax policy.”

The Theocracy of Michele Bachmann

After GOP presidential candidate and Minnesota representative Michele Bachmann won the Iowa Straw Pole, edging out Texas representative Ron Paul and causing former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to leave the race, voters in other early primary states may be taking a closer look at her background. 

Ryan Lizza’s article, “Leap of Faith: The Making of a Republican Front Runner,” in “The New Yorker” proves a valuable tool.

As Lizza explained during a Fresh Air interview, “She comes out of a religious evangelical conservative movement that is very much concerned with developing a biblical world view and applying it to all corners of one's life.” 

Apparently, her campaign manager, Ed Rollins, has asked her to remove that Christianity from all aspects of her biography.

Using Lizza’s article as a skeleton key, here’s how Bachmann describes her qualifications on the 08/14/11 edition of “Meet the Press.”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I'm 55 years old. I've been married 33 years. I have five children. I've raised 23 foster children.

I also am a federal tax litigation attorney.

I have a law degree and then a post-doctorate degree from William & Mary.
Law degree was from Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University where she worked with Professor John Eidsmoe on his book Christianity and the Constitution. She studied at William & Mary while her husband Marcus got a degree in counseling from Pat Roberts’ C.B.N. University (now Regent University).

I've worked for years in the United States Federal Tax Court. So I know up close and personal how devastating high taxes are on businesses and families and farmers.
She worked for the IRS for a total of four years. She took maternity leave twice during that time and left to become a stay at home mom.

But also my husband and I started a successful company. We're job creators. We get it how you have to turn a profit and, and keep a margin in line.
Bachmann and Associates is a Christian Counseling service.

So I've lived life, but also--I've also been in the state senate, where I've been very successful turning around education reform in Minnesota. I led that effort in Minnesota. I brought Republicans and Democrats and independents together. I did that.
She led the effort to overturn a Minnesota education law known as Profile of Learning, which set state education standards because she thought they were socialist.

But in Congress, I've been at the tip of the spear and a champion for what people have been calling for and that's fiscal responsibility and accountability. For the last two months, I was the leading voice in Washington against raising the debt ceiling. Now that doesn't mean default. I introduced a bill to make sure that we would not default, but also to get our spending priorities in line.
The Promise Act recommended paying the principal and interest on the debt and active service military. Although Bachmann stated several times that it was wrong for Obama to scare senior citizens about social security, the act didn’t mention them.

Obama’s Economic Growth Agenda: Payroll Tax Cut, Unemployment Insurance Extension, and an Infrastructure Bank

President Barack Obama laid out three ideas for growing the economy during his August 8 address on the Standard & Poor’s credit downgrade and its impact on the markets.





“We should extend the payroll tax cut as soon as possible, so that workers have more money in their paychecks next year and businesses have more customers next year.

“We should continue to make sure that if you’re one of the millions of Americans who’s out there looking for a job, you can get the unemployment insurance that your tax dollars contributed to. That will also put money in people’s pockets and more customers in stores.”

The last time Obama got Congress to agree on these ideas, it was tied to an extension of the Bush era tax cuts on top-bracket earners.

“We should also help companies that want to repair our roads and bridges and airports, so that thousands of construction workers who’ve been without a job for the last few years can get a paycheck again. That will also help to spur economic growth.”

Obama doesn’t specifically mention an “infrastructure bank” here by name but describes the concept. Such a bank would extend targeted loans and limited loan guarantees to projects that would repay them through future revenue streams. Examples, as explained in this “New York Times” op-ed, would include toll roads and power plants.