Now That The Dust Has Settled.

The President's State of The Union address is now history and he and the democrats in congress should push hard to pass the minimum wage increase that is long over due.  The time for talk is over, what is needed is legislation to make it a reality.  The democratic controlled senate can act first and then challenge the republican controlled house and the tea party bullies.

At the same time the President should push the U.S. House to take up the jobs bill of rebuilding the nations infrastructure that was passed by the Senate over two years ago and has been idle in the House.  The President should use public appeal to do so and have Boehner get off his hands and go to work.  That bill is fully funded and would create more jobs than any thing else that has been talked about including the pipe line from Canada to the gulf coast. 

What we are talking about is a two year period that the U.S. House has let lapse since the Senate sent them the jobs bill and over a one year lapse for both houses of congress concerning the minimum wage that Obama proposed in his 2013 State of The Union message.  That is totally unacceptable, especially when the country is still working its way out of the second great republican depression of 2008.

The President has to push congress on these two issues every day until it forces them to act.  Creating jobs and increasing the minimum wage will put money in the people's pocket and the economy immediately.  It will increase federal revenue and tax collection and would lead to a stronger economy.  The federal deficit at the end of George W. Bush's last fiscal year was $1.42 trillion.  It was $600 plus billion at the end of fiscal year 9/30/13, a decrease of over 50% and the Office of Management and Budget in a recent report says this fiscal year that ends 9/30/14 the federal deficit will be around $500 billion. 

So progress has been made on lowering the deficit during that time period.  A booming economy and job creation will return the country to a balanced budget in a short period of time because there is no rampant federal spending on Obama's watch.  And once again it is "politidose" who is at the fore front on reporting the facts. 

The U.S. House Passes A Clean Debt Limit Extension With No Exceptions.

The debt ceiling extension was passed by a vote of 221-201 with only 28 republicans joining the majority of democrats to pass the bill.  All five U.S. House members from Louisiana voted against passage and one Louisiana democrat voted with the majority.  The five Louisiana reps who voted against the measure wanted the same phony concessions, namely, reduced federal spending, Washington's rampant spending and President Obama's failure to work with congress.  (Note:  there is no such thing as rampant spending taking place on Obama's watch.)

The Tea Party's little boy Steve Scalise continues to lead Louisiana's republican reps with statements that are not factual concerning federal spending and Obama's unwillingness to work with congress.  It is Scalise's own party that has produced the largest increase in federal spending over the last 50 years and his party that has increased the federal deficit over the same period of time.  And it was Scalise's party who vowed from day one to not work with the President.  Scalise does not have the courage to be truthful to the people that he represents.

The 28 republicans who voted with the democratic majority had the courage to cast a common sense vote to move the country forward and not hold the country and its people hostage over a conservative ideology that is willing to lie to try and get its way.  Managing by trying to create a crisis is not an option for serious public servants.

Its hell when you belong to a party that is incapable of debating the issues and instead use a phony ideology to only divide.  All five republicans who voted against the bill served in congress while George W. Bush served as President and every one knows the horrible shape they left the economy in and the devasted job losses that occured on their watch.  They also returned the country to massive deficit spending that the Obama administration has reduced by over 50%.

When one can not come up with the courage to cast a common sense vote on a common sense issue and then turn to phony excuses then you have a politician who is afraid to let the people judge the truth of an issue.  And that really says it all.


This commentary written by John Lucia.

January's Jobs Report And Unemployment

The economy created 113,000 net jobs in January according to the U.S. Labor Department.  Not a great number but once again in positive territory.  There were 115,000 formerly unemployed who found jobs.  The unemployment rate fell to 6.6%, the lowest since October 2008.  I can remember when republicans in congress said it would be good if the unemployment rate would fall below 8%.

Once again it is a democratic administration that has brought the economy and job creation back to positive territory with out any help from the republicans in congress who still would like to see the country and its people fail.  The republican party under President G.W. Bush had the worst job creation record since the great depression and they want it bad to be able to say that President Obama, a democrat, had the worst job creation record but they will never see that day.  There has been no republican administration in the past 50 years that created more job than the democratic administration they followed.  Nada.  Not even President Reagan who's administration created a little over 5 million jobs in his first term in office while President Carter's administration created over 10 million jobs in its first and only term in office.

For those who are interested in the economy, job creation and etc., see my previous commentary's named below. 


Four Part Series dated 1/27/08 (start) titled:  The U.S. Economy:  Which Party Performs Best?

Job Creation For Presidential Terms:  1929-2008  dated 11/5/10



This commentary written by John Lucia.

Louisiana Purchased and Americans For Prosperity's

Lee Zurik and Manuel Torres continuing story in the Times Picayune concerning elected officials and campaign contributions given them from business tells a story we are all familar with.  That is special interest groups have the money that influences special favors from elected officials at the detriment of the average citizen. 

Americans for Prosperity's is a PAC that is mainly funded by the billionaire Koch brothers(out of towners) who are spending millions of dollars in ads in Louisiana to defeat Senator Mary Landrieu in the coming November elections.  The conservative Koch brothers have the financial resources to have it both ways, they can give direct to a politician via campaign contributions or form a PAC and run ads to try and defeat a certain candidate. 

Both are two sides of the same coin called influence buying.  Why do business spend their money that way?  Because it works for them.  Why does it work for them?  Because the average voter has yet to demand and hold our elected officials or business groups or individuals responsible for their actions.  That is why elected officials and the money people are so outwardly brazen in their actions.  They know the average voters knows what is going on and that they can still get reelected and still spend millions of dollars in ads and manipulate the voter.

Just think how many employees could be insured or be paid a decent wage if all that campaign money was re directed instead of being spent on elected officials and ads from wealthy PAC donors.  One can easily make the statement that too many elected officials and too many business people believe in corrupting government and corrupting the vote.  It is a sad story of the inability to compete by the wealthy people and business just because they have the ability to influence.

Nothing will change for the people as long as they tolerate a corruptive system and ads that they allow to influence their vote. 


This commentary written by John Lucia

U.S. Republican Representative Bill Cassidy Of The U.S. House: The Truth Will Set You Free.

Louisiana U.S. House Rep. Bill Cassidy who is challenging U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu in this years race is running TV commercials trying to tie Landrieu to President Obama by pointing out she votes 97% of the time in support of his position.  Cassidy wants to make sure Louisiana voters think Obama is on the ballot.

The fact of the matter is most parties support their own party's positions as pointed out by Times Picayune staff writer Bruce Alpert in his article dated 2/5/14.  According to a Congressional Quarterly Study of 2013 on votes cast by the House and Senate Bill Cassidy voted the GOP position 96% of the time.  Landrieu voted her party's position in the Senate 90% of the time.  Cassidy supported the President's views only 8% of the time.

Republicans Cassidy, John Fleming and Steve Scalise, all from Louisiana in the U.S. House signed a letter along with 80 republicans during the government shutdown to vote against anything that did not defund Obamacare.  Those three and David Vitter voted against the CR that ended the government shutdown.  It is old news but one has to remember it was the republican party that gave the country and its people the second great republican depression and 8 straight years of budget deficits plus the very first ever single year budget deficit that exceded one trillion dollars.  That single year deficit record still stands today.

That is the state of affairs Cassidy's party left President Obama and his administration.  One would think that Bill Cassidy would have the character and courage to vote with the President more than 8% of the time for the good of the people and would never support the House's position 96% of the time especially when the President was trying to create jobs and bring back the economy.  Going so far as to shut the government down is over the edge.

This writer in past commentaries disagreed with Senator Landrieu's position on several issues but her over all record of voting for those issues that move the country and its people forward is a better record for the people of Louisiana than Bill Cassidy's record of negative votes and the record of the do nothing attitude of the U.S. House who Cassidy voted with 96% of the time.

The truth will never set some politicians free but hopefully the voters of Louisiana will understand the truth and will make things more clear when voting time comes.  Senator Landrieu is not perfect but she has demonstrated she is a better candidate to represent Louisiana and the national interest.


This commentary written by John Lucia.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu: A Serious Public Servant

Congratulations to New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on his recent reelection to that office.  The people of Orleans Parish for the second time gave Mitch over 60% of their vote and once again elected him in the first primary.  Mayor Landrieu earned his reelection because he kept his word to the people, executed his policies and made the crime issue his top priority and delivered and is still working on the issues.  His leadership and courage has moved the city and its people forward.

Unlike too many elected officials today the Mayor is a serious public servant who puts the city and its people first.  You won't hear him in personal attacks against others or try to ridicule the President and blame others.  He has handled running city government better than governor Jindal has handled running state government.  City government has served the people well under Mitch because he has the courage to change what may not be working well instead of blaming government.

The economy and job creation is doing well in the city and new companies have relocated here and some are expanding.  The tourist industry continues to grow and New Orlens is a prime destination in the United States.  Some of that is due to the national economy being on the upswing, but it could not all happen with out a chief executive who cares and who has the political skills to move it along.  The city has a population that is diverse and Mitch has been able to work with all for the benefit of all.  There are many elected officials who have yet to learn how to do likewise.

This writer believes Mitch Landrieu has a bright political future when he finishes his last term in office.  I would like to see him run for a national office at some point because that is where serious public servants is so lacking and he could make a difference.  The Mayor also performs his job in a professional way that is such a contrast to those leaders that are always complaining about something and placing blame on some one else. 

The theme of Landrieu's camaign when he was first elected Mayor was:  ONE TEAM, ONE FIGHT, ONE VOICE AND ONE CITY.  The Mayor has been loyal to that theme and has focused on those things that is making it come true.  Mayor Mitch Landrieu is a true "serious public servant."


This commentary written by John Lucia.

See my previous commentary about Mr. Landrieu's election published here in politidose in May of 2010

The Seattle Seahawks: World Champions Of The NFL.

The Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII and the World Championship of the NFL with a dominate performance against the Denver Broncos.  The Seahawks also finished with the best won-loss record for the season, including the playoffs and the Super Bowl for a sterling season.  Their record includes 3 wins against two teams with the best two quarterbacks in the NFL.  Two wins against the Saints and one win against the Broncos. 

The fans in Louisiana were disappointed in the Bronco's loss because of the Manning factor.  What this writer saw watching the game was a Seattle team that was ready to play, played with emotion, confidence, enthusiasm and played the game for 60 minutes.  Denver did not and in fact gave this writer the impression they were not ready to play and appeared confused in many situations during the game.

The lopsided score of 43-8 was one of many Super Bowls that ended up in a walk for the winner.  Those that follow the NFL know that as a fact.  The Super Bowl is not a sports event, it is amedia event in disguise.  The two week wait between the last playoff game and the Super Bowl is a killer.  The first week is devoted to practice and game planning and the second week is devoted to news media interviews with the players.  The second week breaks the continuity of the football mind and some teams are not prepared to handle that. 

Readers of "politidose" know this writers thoughts about the playoff system and the way the Super Bowl is conducted.  When news media hype becomes larger than the game itself, the GAME becomes diminished.  Football fans will remember the Dallas-Green Bay championship game in frigid Green Bay long after Super Bowl XLVIII is history.


This commentary was written by John Lucia.

Republicans Must Be Taking "Politidose" To Heart

This writer for a number of years has pointed out the reason Republicans are always on the negative attack against Democrats, especially during elections and there fore never tell the voting public what policies they themselves would adopt and promote is a result of their inability to debate the real issues facing the country and its people.  Romney's position during the 2012 election was simply to oppose Obamacare and everything the President had achieved and wanted to do in a second term.

Romney offered the standard "trickle down economics" of tax cuts that favored the most well off.  He even failed to answer the "arithmetic  question."  He never articulated any clear policy statements of what he would do to move the country and its people forward.  Republicans in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate said from the beginning of Obama's first term they would not work with him or help pass any of his agenda.  They even wasted congress and the people's time by voting to defund the ACA 40 times and even shut the government down.  They have yet to offer any legislation on the major issues facing the country.

Now we read that the Republicans in the U.S. House started a 3 day retreat and that the major topic will be to offer specific legislation on a number of issues instead of opposing every thing the President talks about.  Its obvious the congressional elections coming up in November is heavy on their mind and with their dismal approval rating they are scrambling to be identified with some thing positive for a change.  They have wasted the last five long years of doing nothing even though it was their party that gave the country and its people the second great Republican depression.

If they are really serious the most positive thing they could do when congress returns is to pass the President's jobs act to rebuild our infrastructure that they have been sitting on for over two years.  The U.S. Senate passed that bill and it is fully paid for.  It is this writers opinion that if the U. S. House had passed that bill like the Senate, the country would be at full employment.

Even Charles Krauthammer, the conservative commentator put his two cents in with a column published in the Times Picayune of 1/31/14 when he challenged the Republicans to challenge the Democrats on substance.  On the women's issue he asks, what is it about women that causes leading Republicans to grow clumsy, if not stupid.  Krauthammer has the elections on his mind also because his past views was a ditto head copy cat. 

President Obama's state of the union addressed about by passing congress when they fail to act was late coming but a welcome sign for the future.  It also pushed the Republican party to change its tune and gave conservative journalists an opportunity to join the real debate instead of being ditto heads. 


This commentary written by John Lucia.

 

  

Jimmy Smith Failed To Tell The Real Story Concerning Tom Benson and The Pelicans

Sports writer Jimmy Smith in a Times Picayune article dated 1/26/14 titled " Benson shoots, scores with NBA investment" failed to tell the real story of Benson's $82 million return on his investment in the Pelicans as proposed by Forbes in less than two years.  The real story is that a billionaire franchise owner continues to receive corporate welfare from the state when it is not needed or necessary and that taxpayers are once again screwed.  The Pelicans have a brand new practice facility that cost $15 million and the state(taxpayers) paid $10 million of the cost while Benson paid only $5 million acording to a Times Picayune story dated 5/17/13 by Jimmy Smith. 

Benson is laughing all the way to the bank with the Pelicans and the Saints corporate welfare gifts.  He could have easily paid for the facility.  I can just hear Mr. Benson telling his wealthy friends in private something that goes like this.  "The state will do anything I want them to do to keep my teams in New Orleans.  What a bunch of jerks.  I have them right where I want them".

One day New Orleans might have a sports writer or reporter who is willing to challenge the corporate welfare given to millionaire and billionaire owners who claim they need financial relief and elected officials who so easily are willing to give away taxpayer money to those not in need.

I have no respect for any owner that does not pay back to the state the money given to them.  This writer does not intend to spend one penny on the Saints or Pelicans.  Smith says Benson paid $338 million for the Pelicans and that Forbes reports the franchise is now worth $420 million and as a result an $82 million increase in equity in less than two years.  Forbes has also estimated the Saints franchise is worth $1 billion.  Benson paid $79 million for it.  That is over a $900 million increase in equity and Benson still has his hands out. 

In 2012 when bountygate was reported, sports writers were not willing to report the real story of bountygate so this writer wrote a commentary here in "politidose" that did tell the real story.  It was published 9/14/12 and titled, "The New Orleans Saints Bounty Gate and The B.P. Oil Spill."  If one wonders how B.P. got in there check the commentary out. 

Maybe Lee Zurik can do a special about corporate welfare for sports franchise owners.


This commentary written by John Lucia.

The NFL Has To Change Its Playoff System To Increase Competition.

In the NFL playoff system a team with a break even or loosing record can qualify to make the playoffs.  It is possible they can even win their division with such a record.  That system has not increased competition in the regular season and in fact actually decreases it.  Only 13 of the 32 teams had a winning record during the regular season this year and that ratio has been holding steady for a number of years.

It makes no sense to have 4 divisions in each conference and then come playoff time the division champs have to play "wild card" teams who do not deserve to be there after a 16 game season.    There is nothing competitive about "wild card" teams being rewarded with a chance to win a world championship or letting teams with loosing records compete in any post games.

I would suggest the NFL go to two divisions in each conference with 8 teams in each division and let the division winners play each other and the winners of the NFC would play the winners of the AFC in the Super Bowl.  No "wild card" teams accepted, period.  That would be a total of two playoff games and the Super Bowl. 

The existing playoff system was designed to put more money in the owners and leagues pockets and not to create competition.  Sixteen games is enough for any team to win a division.  If they can't cut it, they don't belong in the playoff dance.  That alone would be an incentive to be more competitive.  Bad teams, poor coaching and over paid players are another reason competition has been lacking.  Where is the motivation for better performance when teams with loosing records can go to the big dance and players still draw big salaries and perform poorly?

Many years ago when Buddy Dilaberto was covering the Saints I wrote him a letter at a time he was promoting so called parity in the NFL because of the college draft.  He, at the time was promoting so called parity as competition.  I simply pointed out my disagreement with his assessment because there was no record to back up his statements.  And today there is still no record to confirm that the NFL is competitive during the regular season.  Some things never change when the dollar sign is in control.

Two division champions will be playing in the Super Bowl on Feb. 2.  That is the way it should be.  "Wild card" teams?  Who needs them?  Only the greedy owners and the NFL.  Seattle had to play "wild card" Frisco three times this year to get to the Super Bowl.  What a stupid way to run a professional league.  Frisco played a 16 game schedule and had the opportunity to win the division and they failed.  So hit the road Jack, no second chance for you.  Parity, competition, you won't find it in the regular season in the NFL.

Note:  In this writers opinion playing teams twice and the possibility of having to play them three times including the playoffs is silly at best, especially when you have 32 teams in the league.  Thirty two teams is actually too many teams and just dilutes the competition.


This commentary written by John Lucia.