ODDS AND ENDS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

Here is an interesting article about what is really going on in Oakland County's Gary Peters' district.  It's really not all as rosy as he would like you to believe.  In his op-ed today in the Oakland Press he claims that we gained some 25,000 new jobs.  I say, no way, unemployment is as high as ever. Maybe he was counting the temporary census workers or a number of new government employees.  His lack of honesty and transparency leaves me wondering.

Here is a great blog just about that - nothing is happening. Construction has halted and jobs are lost.
http://aconservativeteacher.blogspot.com/2010/09/democrats-two-americas-private-sector.html

Here is another take on the recent namecalling by Gary Peteres, namely calling Rocky Raczkowski a "teabagger"  http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/09/027279.php

There was another article today in the Oakland Press that really upset me.  GOP activists are turning against one of the best candidates, (besides Rocky) Justin Amash, an Icaucus endorsed candidate who posted each and every one of his votes on Facebook for complete transparency.  Yes, he is a true conservative and votes accordingly, how can anyone be too conservative after what we have been observing the last 18 months.  This is what a fellow blogger wrote about this:  http://reclaimmichigan.blogspot.com/2010/09/justin-amash-obstructionist-or.html

Finally, notice the new Donate button on the top right corner. Try clicking it and send a few bucks to Rocky.

GARY PETERS DISRESPECTS WOMEN AND SLAMS THE TEA PARTY

Today at an Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority candidate forum,  Gary Peters referred to Rocky as a "tea-bagger" and said the Tea-party members are close-minded and create a polarizing rhetoric.

Another attendee reported this: Gary Peters called Rocky a 'teabagger' at the Bloomfield Twp library this morning to a room of almost all women. This is a sexually obscene phrase--look at wikipedia if you're not familiar. According to my source, the look on Peters' campaign manger's face was priceless.
 
I take personal offense to this kind of behavior and statement.  Not only is Peters disrespectful to women but also to thousands in his district and millions around the state and country.  Peters attacks are becoming shameful and he lies about Rocky every chance he gets.
 
By calling Rocky a teabagger and insulting the Tea Party members, he is clearly showing that he is and always will be Pelosi's lapdog.  We do not and will not tolerate someone like him to represent us in Washington.

ROCKY LEADS IN FIRST GENERAL ELECTION POLL

Independent Polling Shows Incumbent Peters Trailing


Birmingham, MI - The Kelly Rossman Group, an Lansing based firm, issued tracking poll results in the 9th Congressional District today showing challenger Rocky Raczkowski up on Incumbent Congressman Gary Peters.

The automated poll conducted September 13th showed Raczkowski with 45 percent, Peters with 40.7 percent and 10.3 percent undecided. The other four percent were divided among the Independent, Libertarian and Green Party candidates.

"This poll reflects the fact that Gary Peters says one thing and does another. From Obamacare to the stimulus to tax cuts, Gary says one thing to middle class families in Oakland County and then goes to Washington DC and votes the other way," Raczkowski said. “Voters want a candidate with a rock solid commitment to cut taxes and stop spending so our economy can start creating jobs again."

Peters voted for the $787 billion failed federal stimulus package, last year's healthcare bill known publicly as “Obama-care”, the Cap and Trade bill which would have raised taxes and harmed the Detroit area's auto industry and has recently flip-flopped on his long standing opposition to extending the 2001 and 2003 'across the board' tax cuts which are due to expire at the end of the year.

Rocky Raczkowski is the Republican nominee for Michigan's 9th Congressional District. Raczkowski is a Major in the U.S. Army Reserves who was awarded the bronze star for meritorious service during combat operations, a successful businessman, and former Majority Floor Leader of the Michigan House of Representatives.

 

http://www.rockyworksforus.com/

GARY PETERS CAN RUN, BUT HE CAN'T HIDE

Gary Peters, Congressman and incumbent for Michigan's 9th district won the '08 election on Obama's coattail.  He ran as a moderate democrat.  We gave him a chance.  As a former lottery commissioner and stockbroker we expected him to have some understanding of the economy and relate to his constituents.  But we were wrong.  As soon as he got into office he totally aligned himself with Nancy Pelosi and his party, voting 95% with them, notably the healthcare bill, cap and trade, Stimulus, etc. 

He is now running from his party, switching hats and declaring himself a deficit hawk. But he does not have a leg to stand on.  Regarding the healthcare bill, this is what we will have to face:

The health-care overhaul enacted last spring won't significantly change national health spending over the next decade compared with projections before the law was passed according to the federal Medicare and Medicaid Services Center. The report casts fresh doubt on Democrats' argument that the health-care law would curb the sharp increase in costs over the long term. In fact in 2014, U.S. health spending is expected to rise 9.2%, up from the 6.6% projected before the law took effect.

This was the second setback this week for one of the party's biggest legislative achievements. The Wall St. Journal reported Wednesday that insurance companies have proposed additional rate increases ranging from 1% to 9% nationwide they they attribute specifically to new health-care coverage mandates.

Michigan Rep. Dave Camp, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, said the rate increases underscore why lawmakers should repeal the legislation and replace it with changes that make care more affordable.

Source: Wall St. Journal, 9/9/10
 
Henry Payne from the Detroit News has this to say about Peters:
 
Peters in trouble? Who knew?

The influential Cook Political Report has moved Democrat incumbent Gary Paters' race against Rocky Raczkowski from the safe "Likely Democrat" column to the less-safe "Lean Democrat" category.
Gee, ya think Cooksie?

Anyone with a pulse in Michigan has known first-termer Peters - a big-spending Democrat in purple Oakland County - has been in trouble for months now. Peters himself has telegraphed his panic as he has tried an extreme makeover of his political persona from Pelosi Democrat to Deficit Hawk.

It better take fast - internal GOP polls show Rocky up seven.

From The Detroit News: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/watercooler/index.php#ixzz0z5Zhq2W3

 

The National Federation of Independent Business gave Gary Peters an F grade. Here is why:

According to the National Federation of Independent Business, the small business lobby, Peters is batting a woeful 33 percent on bills that matter to small biz in Washington.

American Clean Energy and Security Act (cap and trade):

Small Business Position: No

Peter's Vote: Yes

Obamacare, aka, The Affordable Health Care for America Act (don'tcha just love the Orwellian titles?)

Small Business Position: No

Peter's Vote: Yes

On Credit Card Bill of Rights:

Small Business Position: Yes

Peter's Vote: Yes

Peters says he has a record of "working to make it easier for small business in Oakland county." His score as a Michigan senator in 2002? He got a NFIB score of 11 percent. That's an "F."

Ads are cheap talk. But in the classroom, Peters flunks Small Business 101.

He is now taking cheap shots at Rocky Raczkowski, his opponent. Rocky will go to Washington not as a politician, but as a representative of his district's constituents.  He will not be bought off by big money special interest groups, unions and lobbyists, unlike his opponent who stuffed his warchest with their big contributions amounting to over 2 million.  Consequently, Rocky's warchest is not that big.  If you can, donate to his campaign by going to his website at http://www.rockyworksforus.com/.  Any amount will help to defeat Gary Peters.

GARY PETERS ON THE ISSUES

Congressman Gary Peters, incumbent in the Michigan 9th district is repeatedly telling his constituents that he is an independent and moderate politician.  After almost 2 years of voting with his party, he is now trying to backpedal by telling us that he will help the small businessman to create jobs.
Besides voting on the 2000 page healthcare bill and the cap and trade bill, here are some more samples of how he really feels and how he voted.  His change of heart is coming a little too late.

 Voted YES on $192B additional anti-recession stimulus spending. (Jul 2009)
$7 billion Increase in Fund balance appropriation (without fiscal year limitation).


With respect to the Unemployment Trust Fund and to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund: Removes the FY2010 limitation as well as the specific dollar amount for such advances, replacing them with such appropriations as may be necessary.

Increases from $315 billion to $400 billion the maximum loan principal for FY2009 commitments to guarantee single family loans insured under the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF).

Increases from $300 billion to $400 billion the limit on new Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA or Ginnie Mae) commitments to issue guarantees under the Mortgage-Backed Securities Loan Guarantee Program.

Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Rep. LEWIS (D, GA-5): This bipartisan bill will provide the necessary funds to keep important transportation projects operating in States around the country. The Highway Trust Fund will run out of funding by September. We must act, and we must act now.

Opponent's argument to vote No:Rep. CAMP (R, MI-4): [This interim spending is] needed because the Democrats' economic policy has resulted in record job loss, record deficits, and none of the job creation they promised. Democrats predicted unemployment would top out at 8% if the stimulus passed; instead, it's 9.5% and rising. In Michigan, it's above 15%. The Nation's public debt and unemployment, combined, has risen by a shocking 40% [because of] literally trillions of dollars in additional spending under the Democrats' stimulus, energy, and health plans.

We had a choice when it came to the stimulus last February. We could have chosen a better policy of stimulating private-sector growth creating twice the jobs at half the price. That was the Republican plan. Instead, Democrats insisted on their government focus plan, which has produced no jobs and a mountain of debt.


Voted YES on modifying bankruptcy rules to avoid mortgage foreclosures. (Mar 2009)

Voted YES on additional $825 billion for economic recovery package. (Jan 2009)
Congressional Summary:Supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2009.


Proponent's argument to vote Yes:Rep. DAVID OBEY (D, WI-7): This country is facing what most economists consider to be the most serious and the most dangerous economic situation in our lifetimes. This package today is an $825 billion package that does a variety of things to try to reinflate the economy:creating or saving at least 4 million jobs rebuilding our basic infrastructure
providing for job retraining for those workers who need to learn new skills
moving toward energy independence
improving our healthcare system so all Americans can have access to quality treatment
providing tax cuts to lessen the impact of this crisis on America's working families.

Opponent's argument to vote No:

Rep. JERRY LEWIS (R, CA-51): Most of us would agree that the recent $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is an illustration of how good intentions don't always deliver desired results. When Congress spends too much too quickly, it doesn't think through the details and oversight becomes more difficult. The lesson learned from TARP was this: we cannot manage what we do not measure. We cannot afford to make the same mistake again.

Sen. THAD COCHRAN (R, MS): We are giving the executive branch immense latitude in the disbursement of the spending this bill contains. We are doing so without any documentation of how this spending will stimulate the economy. Normally, this kind of information would be contained in an administration budget. For items that have a short-term stimulative effect, most of us will feel comfortable debating their merits as an emergency measure. But there is a great deal of spending that is not immediately stimulative.

Voted YES on monitoring TARP funds to ensure more mortgage relief. (Jan 2009)

 I only wanted to emphasize on the big money votes for now. 

Gary Peters did wrong by his constituents and we need to educate our neighbors and friends in this district that he is not representing them.  He's received millions from special interest groups, unions and lobbyists.  These are the people he is representing. 

Rocky Raczkowski has the interest of his constituents at heart. He listens to them, he feels like they do and he will be the representative we need in Washington.  Check out his website at http://www.rockyworksforus.com/ and then donate to his campaign  by clicking on the Donate button.

CONGRESSMAN PETERS, THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU CAMPAIGNED ON

Here are the changes we did not vote on, but they were voted on by the liberal Congress.  Congressman Peters voted 95% with Nancy Pelosi and his colleagues. The few times he didn't vote, that was a fix to get him off the hook and to make him look "good" and continue claiming that he is an independent.  Nancy has him right where she wants him to be.........

After you are done reading about the details of what has been voted on, your blood will start boiling. 

Here is the tax scoop in detail:

In just six months, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves on January 1, 2011:


First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families.

These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%

- The 25% bracket rises to 28%

- The 28% bracket rises to 31%

- The 33% bracket rises to 36%

- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family. The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

Second Wave: Obamacare
There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:

The “Medicine Cabinet Tax” Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

The “Special Needs Kids Tax” This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States , and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington , D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.

The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike. This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired. The major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be “depreciated.”

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.” This ability will no longer be there.

Now your insurance is INCOME on your W2's......

One of the surprises we'll find come next year, is what follows - - a little "surprise" that 99% of us had no idea was included in the "new and improved" healthcare legislation . . . the dupes, er, dopes, who backed this administration will be astonished!

Starting in 2011, (next year folks), your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or governmental body of some sort. If you're retired? So what; your gross will go up by the amount of insurance you get.

You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen. Take your tax form you just finished and see what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year. For many, it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse.

This is how the government is going to buy insurance for the 15% that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases.

Not believing this??? Here is a research of the summaries.....

On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET PROVISIONS-(sec. 9001, as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002 "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employees gross income."

Joan Pryde is the senior tax editor for the Kiplinger letters. Go to Kiplingers and read about 13 tax changes that could affect you. Number 3 is what is above.

Why am I sending you this? The same reason I hope you forward this to every single person in your address book.



People have the right to know the truth because an election is coming in November.

PORKULUS BILL II - WHAT IT REALLY MEANS

It forces states to take bailout dollars, bypassing Governors who refuse the money, and forbidding them from making necessary budget cuts. And Gary Peters voted for it.


Gives teachers unions roughly $50 - $100 million through trickle-down. And Gary Peters voted for it.

Will increase the deficit by $12.6 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And Gary Peters voted for it.

Will result in a permanent tax increase of $9.7 billion for U.S. multinational companies - increasing the cost of doing business and risking jobs during the recession. (Interestingly, the revenue from these same tax increases have already been spent...twice, in two other pieces of legislation!) And Gary Peters voted for it.

The fact is the federal government cannot afford to bailout states who refuse to cut back spending. In case Nancy Pelosi forgot, the American people still fund the federal government. If states can't afford it, neither can the federal government. Bailing out states and extending failed stimulus programs only perpetuates states' reliance on the federal government. And Gary Peters voted for it.

What really upsets me is that Gary Peters just dumped another 26 Billion on mine and your grandkids debt that they'll never be able to pay off.