On March 15, there was a local Republican Jewish Coalition gathering with Congressman Erik Paulsen in an intimate setting at a home in Plymouth. One of our members, Lisa Tilsner, attended and took a few notes worth sharing here:
“Last night I went to a gathering that was held for Representative Eric Paulsen who represents my district in the US congress. He gave a speech and then people were able to ask him questions. It was quite enlightening and I thought others might be interested in hearing what he had to say.
“After the speech I had a chance to talk to Eric and I told him what I do for a living and I asked him if he thinks national healthcare will pass and if small group employer sponsored health insurance would go away. He told me national health care will for sure pass in the House and that it could very likely pass in the Senate. I guess that means I’ll need to start looking for another career soon!
“Here is the rest of what he talked about.
“There is a 10-15% chance that the US will default on its debt (I think he might have said in the next year but I’m not sure).
“In the past 60 days since Obama took office, they have spent 1.5 trillion dollars. This amount is equal to ALL of the US debt from 1789 to about 1979 (dates might not be exact but it was about a 200 year period).
“Congress did not actually see the stimulus bill that they voted on. Obama said they would have 48 hours and that it would be online for the public to see it but at midnight one night before the vote congress got an e-mail saying they would be voting on the bill the next day at 2:00 pm. And, he didn’t actually get a copy of the stimulus bill to read until about 3 days AFTER they had to vote on it. This was the most expensive spending bill in US history and congress didn’t even get a chance to read it before they had to vote on it.
“There is a slush fund of money that has been collected from taxpayers to pay for storage of nuclear waste at the Yucca Mountain site and since there hasn’t been approval to use that site the money will likely be used for something else instead of being returned to the taxpayers.
“Banks that have been bailed out by the government have been paying back some of the money but AIG, which received 170 billion dollars has not paid back a penny and Tim Geitner feels that it’s likely we may never see a penny of it from AIG. As you’ve probably heard on the news recently, AIG is using 165 million dollars to pay out bonuses mostly to executives.
“Some money from the stimulus bill will be doled out to ACORN.
“$900 million dollars will be appropriated for the Gaza Strip in Israel but since Hamas (the terrorist organization) has complete control over that area, it’s likely that Hamas will get that money and do whatever it wants with it. The money is supposed to be used to rebuild hospitals and homes, etc.
“The card check rule which eliminates secret ballots for unions will most likely pass, which is likely to increase the number of unions since employees will no longer be able to vote secretly and will feel intimidated to vote against the union. Evidence shows that when there are more unions jobs get lost. He said the house will pass it and that the Senate could pass it as well but that there are some democrats in the Senate who are starting to realize that in this bad economy with so many jobs already lost that it might be a bad idea.
“Cap and trade (emissions program): There is going to be a big tax increase for this program which will be an average of $1,300 per family. And even with an $800 tax break for families who make under $250.00 that will still be a net increase of taxes of $500 per family.
“TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) is a program of the US to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions in order to strengthen its financial sector. The government has already given the financial sector huge amounts of money and it is felt by many in congress that there will be several more of these bailouts, which means even more US debt.
“Regarding the tax increase for those with incomes over $250,000.00, around 50% of small businesses file as individuals so small business will get hit hard under this tax plan. He said small businesses are responsible for creating a large percentage (I think he said around 70%) of the jobs. This means more jobs could be lost.”
Thanks, Lisa, for sharing with those of us who were unable to attend!
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