Monday, April 27, 2009

The Party Of 'No'? Uh, No.

From House Minority Leader John Boehner comes another real alternative solution to the Democrat economic madness:

Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) issued the following statement on the Savings Recovery Act, legislation he and House Republicans are introducing today to help Americans rebuild their retirement, college, and personal savings:

"The American people are hurting, as their job security weakens and their confidence in our economy is shaken.  In fact, loss of retirement, college, and personal savings ranks as the American people's top concern during this recession, according to a recent NPR poll.  Yet Washington Democrats continue to advocate proposals that weaken our economy and make building a nest egg even more difficult.  Some are even proposing that the federal government wipe out 401(k)s entirely and replace them with accounts run by bureaucrats in Washington.  Workers, seniors, students, and their families deserve far better than this.

"Republicans have been saying all year long that we will not be the party of opposition, but the party of better solutions.  Today, we're demonstrating our commitment to better solutions once again by introducing legislation to help restore Americans' retirement, college, and personal savings.  Washington must abandon its destructive economic agenda, which is racking up more debt to be paid by our children and grandchildren, eroding Americans savings, and destroying good-paying jobs.  It's time for the Administration and congressional Democrats to work with Republicans on bold, better solutions to the problems facing the American people."

NOTE: The Savings Recovery Act, crafted by Boehner and Members of the House GOP's Savings Solutions Group, will:

• Make it easier for Americans to save more for their retirement by increasing the contribution and catch-up limits for individuals and families.

• Restore college savings by extending the existing SAVERs Credit to contributions made to 529 college savings accounts, effectively reducing by up to half the cost of a family's contribution to the plan. 

• Increase retirement income by doubling the Social Security earnings limit from $14,160 to $28,320 and allowing more Americans to increase their income without being hit by the Social Security earnings penalty.

• Provide tax relief for investors and seniors by immediately suspending the capital gains tax on newly acquired assets for the next two years, raise and index to inflation the amount of capital losses allowed against ordinary income to $10,000, and suspend taxes on dividend income through 2011.

• Stabilize worker pensions and helping employers invest in the future by temporarily providing an increased glide path for recognizing losses and two additional years to resolve pension funding shortfalls.

• Preserve employee-controlled 401(k)s by blocking efforts to wipe out 401(k)s entirely and replace them with government-run accounts.

More information on the House GOP's solutions to restore Americans savings is available here.

The Democrats are doing their best to paint the GOP as simply stamping their foot and saying 'no', but that's an outright lie.  For every one of these massive spending bills that Obama has forced through, there was a Republican alternative.  But, in most -- if not all -- of these cases, the most ethical Congress in history -- that promised transparency and accountability -- didn't even allow the Republican bill to be brought up for debate.

That is neither ethical nor transparent, but it is up to the voters to hold them accountable.

There's my two cents.

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