TORRANCE TRIBUNE January 22, 2015 Page 5 One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Republican Party Needs to Accept Facts, Stop Whining By Cristian Vasquez With the circus that is our presidential election process just around the corner, we as an electorate are soon to get bombarded with propaganda from the Republicans and Democrats. Given the message delivered by the GOP since 2008 (make sure President Obama was a one-term president), we can easily anticipate the jabs that they will be taking at the current president. While we don’t yet have a list of official candidates vying to represent the Republican Party in its bid for the White House, the most important talking point against the president remains the same: the state of the economy. In the past my words have been critical of the President. From foreign policy to domestic issues like immigration, there have been plenty of actions by our Commander in Chief that have triggered an unpleasant reaction within me. However, credit must be given where it’s due and the truth is that the economy has recovered and continues to grow under President Obama. This is something hard to accept for any conservative talk radio disciple; however, the Bureau of Labor Statistics [http://www.bls.gov] can refute those claims. Their numbers show that since 2009, when unemployment peaked at 10 percent, last December that rate dropped to 5.6 percent. Now, if memory serves me right, former Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney said his economic plans would reduce unemployment to a less than 6 percent rate. So by a die-hard Republican’s measure back in 2012, when unemployment was reported to hover at 8 percent by the BLS, President Obama has outdone himself with economic growth. Sadly, that’s not the case. To this day Republicans keep attacking the president about the lagging economy and high unemployment despite the numbers. For anyone who wants to argue that these numbers are biased, the same department reporting these stats was used during President Bush’s time in office to argue that the economy was recovering. Also reported by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis [http://www.bea.gov] was that the country’s Gross Domestic Product [the value of the production of goods and services] increased by 4.6 percent during the second quarter of 2014 and by 5 percent in the third quarter of the same year. I’m not an economist but even in my limited capabilities it makes sense that these are good numbers. Still, some of the GOP leadership refuses to give any credit to President Obama for anything good that happens. Don’t believe me? Sen. Mitch McConnell is the poster child for the reluctance of the conservative right to admit that within his flaws, President Obama has helped the economy grow. McConnell had the audacity to say that “The uptick appears to coincide with the biggest political change of the Obama administration’s long tenure in Washington: the expectation of a new Republican Congress.” Really Senator? It’s sad to think that the Senator’s head is so far removed from exposure to the sun that he believes the current economic recovery is based on a “newly-elected” Congress. Disagree with the President all you want; hate him if that’s your prerogative; but when you deny facts because of the previous two then you come across as foolish as Sen. McConnell. • By Gerry Chong The brilliant poet, Maya Angelou wrote: “The caged bird sings with a fearful trill / Of things unknown but longed for still / And his tune is heard on the distant hill / For the caged bird sings of freedom.” How close are we to losing our freedom? Before Thanksgiving, as a preoccupied America sat for its annual feast, Barack Obama released a list of 3,514 new regulations affecting citizens “Obama released a list of 3,514 new regulations affecting citizens throughout the land. But he was not finished yet.” throughout the land. But he was not finished yet. On Christmas Eve, again when no one was paying attention, he issued another 1,200 new regulations. So a Happy New Year to all the caged birds. “A free bird leaps on the back of the wind / And floats downstream til the current ends / And dips his wing in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky / But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage / Can seldom see through his bars of rage /His wings are clipped and his feet are tied, so he opens his throat to sing” After having said on 22 separate occasions that a president did not have the authority to create new laws, on November 20, Obama hypocritically issued another presidential edict, protecting one-third of the 11 million illegal immigrants from being deported. As the top attorneys from 25 states filed a suit to invalidate his edict, the Administration arrogantly exclaimed, “This policy is unchallengeable by any plaintiff, reviewable by no court, and subject to no public input.” We shall see what the Congress and courts have to say about that. “But the caged bird stands on the grave of dreams / His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream / His wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing” Having imposed Obamacare with no Republican votes, January 1, 2015 brought the following tax increases: Medicare tax increased from 1.45% to 2.35%; Top income tax bracket increased from 35% to 39.6%; Top income payroll tax increased from 37.4% to 52.2%; Capital gains tax increased from 15% to 28%; Dividend tax increased from 15% to 39.6%; Estate tax increased from 0% to 55%. And that just scratches the surface, since the U. S. tax code is now 73,000 pages long, and no one, I repeat, no one, knows what it says anymore. With this code, in 2013 the Federal Government collected $2.7 trillion in income tax revenue -- the most in history -- but it wasn’t enough. Our debt grew to $18.2 trillion. The caged birds sing not only of their freedom lost, but the enslavement of future generations of birds. How will our sons and daughters repay a debt, almost half of which we created in just 6 years? With a shrug, economists concede this debt will immorally not be paid. Either we will so inflate our currency that we will repay our creditors with worthless money or simply smash the cage, default, and set the caged birds free. Can you hear the screeching now? • Serving Sick and Homeless Children Children In Hospice Centers Children Awaiting Treatments for Life Threatening Diseases www.mmbha.webs.com SENIOR DAYS FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2015 $.99 cent games $.99 cent shoe rental $2.99 lunch specials MONDAY – FRIDAY 9:00 AM THROUGH 5:00 PM For more information please call Charlotte at charlotte@pvbowl.com; or 310.326.5120
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