Romney Stumbles in Comments on Poor

Mitt Romney regained the lead in the Republican presidential nomination race with a big win in Florida, but drew criticism on Wednesday in what should have been his victory lap with remarks suggesting he was indifferent to America’s poor.

Romney rolled to an impressive triumph in Florida, capturing 46 percent of the vote to Newt Gingrich’s 32 percent after pounding his nearest rival with negative advertisements.

The victory restored him to front-runner status in the state-by-state battle for the Republican nomination to run against Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 general election.

But the wealthy ex-governor and former private equity executive, who lost the South Carolina primary on Jan. 21 after opponents painted him as a heartless capitalist, gave a reminder of the challenges he will face winning over voters struggling with the economic downturn and high unemployment.

In an interview on CNN, Romney said he was not concerned about the poorest Americans, but that his primary focus was on the middle class.

“I’m not concerned about the very poor, we have a safety net there,” he said, adding, “If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.”

Romney also said he would leave concern for the poor to the Democratic party.

“We will hear from the Democrat party the plight of the poor,” Romney said. “And there’s no question it’s not good being poor and we have a safety net to help those that are very poor. But my campaign is focused on middle Americans.

“You can choose where to focus, you can focus on the rich, that’s not my focus. You can focus on the very poor, that’s not my focus. My focus is on middle income Americans, retirees living on Social Security, people who can’t find work.”

Opponents seized on his remarks. Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse emailed them to journalists, with the introduction, “I’m glad he cleared that up.”

U.S. voters have said the sputtering economy is their main concern for the 2012 elections.

Romney has touted his business experience while harshly criticizing Obama and his Republican opponents for their lack of private sector experience.

Romney, who has a personal fortune estimated at some $270 million, came under fire earlier in the campaign for saying that he liked to fire people, although those comments were taken out of context.

© 2012 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.

Republicans Seek Support For Payroll Tax ‘Compromise’

Republicans: We Always Love Tax Cuts (Just Not For The Poor)

Competing Democratic and Republican proposals to extend (and in the former case, expand) the payroll tax cut for workers enacted at the start of this year each received roll call votes in the Senate this week, and while the Democratic plan gained majority support only to fall short of the 60 votes needed to block a filibuster, the more interesting numbers were on the Republican plan. There, senators facing potentially tough general election fights like Scott Brown in Massachusetts and Dean Heller in Nevada were more likely to back party leadership and support a payroll tax cut extension, even as a majority of Republicans rejected it.

The dynamic where leaders and senators who actually might face Democratic challengers find themselves diverging from rank-and-file conservatives played out over the summer when it took a lot ofwrangling for John Boehner to pass a debt-ceiling increase in the GOP-controlled House.

And though Republican messaging has shifted in the past few days to emphasize that the Party does in fact support an extension of the payroll tax cut — and objects only to the Democratic means of paying for it (hiking taxes on income past $1 million) — most Republican senators in fact rejected their own party’s plan, laying stark the conservative movement’s opposition to tax cuts except when the rich get the biggest share, as they did under George W. Bush in 2001 and again in 2003.

The failure of Republicans to back an extension opens up vulnerable senators to charges of hypocrisy, especially in a political environment of resurgent populism and where Republicans are even more likelythan Democrats and Independents to support extending the payroll tax breaks.

It would appear there will be more legislative brinkmanship, Republicans threatening to allow taxes to rise on workers and the middle class unless they get to gut environmental rules. Under Obama, they’ve learned they can get what they want this way.

Thu,12/01/2011 Nick Hanauer

Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — It is a tenet of American economic beliefs, and an article of faith for Republicans that is seldom contested by Democrats: If taxes are raised on the rich, job creation will stop.

Trouble is, sometimes the things that we know to be true are dead wrong. For the larger part of human history, for example, people were sure that the sun circles the Earth and that we are at the center of the universe. It doesn’t, and we aren’t. The conventional wisdom that the rich and businesses are our nation’s “job creators” is every bit as false.

I’m a very rich person. As an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, I’ve started or helped get off the ground dozens of companies in industries including manufacturing, retail, medical services, the Internet and software. I founded the Internet media company aQuantive Inc., which was acquired by Microsoft Corp. in 2007 for $6.4 billion. I was also the first non-family investor in Amazon.com Inc.

Even so, I’ve never been a “job creator.” I can start a business based on a great idea, and initially hire dozens or hundreds of people. But if no one can afford to buy what I have to sell, my business will soon fail and all those jobs will evaporate.

That’s why I can say with confidence that rich people don’t create jobs, nor do businesses, large or small. What does lead to more employment is the feedback loop between customers and businesses. And only consumers can set in motion a virtuous cycle that allows companies to survive and thrive and business owners to hire. An ordinary middle-class consumer is far more of a job creator than I ever have been or ever will be.

Theory of Evolution

When businesspeople take credit for creating jobs, it is like squirrels taking credit for creating evolution. In fact, it’s the other way around.

It is unquestionably true that without entrepreneurs and investors, you can’t have a dynamic and growing capitalist economy. But it’s equally true that without consumers, you can’t have entrepreneurs and investors. And the more we have happy customers with lots of disposable income, the better our businesses will do.

That’s why our current policies are so upside down. When the American middle class defends a tax system in which the lion’s share of benefits accrues to the richest, all in the name of job creation, all that happens is that the rich get richer.

And that’s what has been happening in the U.S. for the last 30 years.

Since 1980, the share of the nation’s income for fat cats like me in the top 0.1 percent has increased a shocking 400 percent, while the share for the bottom 50 percent of Americans has declined 33 percent. At the same time, effective tax rates on the superwealthy fell to 16.6 percent in 2007, from 42 percent at the peak of U.S. productivity in the early 1960s, and about 30 percent during the expansion of the 1990s. In my case, that means that this year, I paid an 11 percent rate on an eight-figure income.

One reason this policy is so wrong-headed is that there can never be enough superrich Americans to power a great economy. The annual earnings of people like me are hundreds, if not thousands, of times greater than those of the average American, but we don’t buy hundreds or thousands of times more stuff. My family owns three cars, not 3,000. I buy a few pairs of pants and a few shirts a year, just like most American men. Like everyone else, I go out to eat with friends and family only occasionally.

It’s true that we do spend a lot more than the average family. Yet the one truly expensive line item in our budget is our airplane (which, by the way, was manufactured in France by Dassault Aviation SA), and those annual costs are mostly for fuel (from the Middle East). It’s just crazy to believe that any of this is more beneficial to our economy than hiring more teachers or police officers or investing in our infrastructure.

More Shoppers Needed

I can’t buy enough of anything to make up for the fact that millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans can’t buy any new clothes or enjoy any meals out. Or to make up for the decreasing consumption of the tens of millions of middle-class families that are barely squeaking by, buried by spiraling costs and trapped by stagnant or declining wages.

If the average American family still got the same share of income they earned in 1980, they would have an astounding $13,000 more in their pockets a year. It’s worth pausing to consider what our economy would be like today if middle-class consumers had that additional income to spend.

It is mathematically impossible to invest enough in our economy and our country to sustain the middle class (our customers) without taxing the top 1 percent at reasonable levels again. Shifting the burden from the 99 percent to the 1 percent is the surest and best way to get our consumer-based economy rolling again.

Significant tax increases on the about $1.5 trillion in collective income of those of us in the top 1 percent could create hundreds of billions of dollars to invest in our economy, rather than letting it pile up in a few bank accounts like a huge clot in our nation’s economic circulatory system.

Consider, for example, that a puny 3 percent surtax on incomes above $1 million would be enough to maintain and expand the current payroll tax cut beyond December, preventing a $1,000 increase on the average worker’s taxes at the worst possible time for the economy. With a few more pennies on the dollar, we could invest in rebuilding schools and infrastructure. And even if we imposed a millionaires’ surtax and rolled back the Bush- era tax cuts for those at the top, the taxes on the richest Americans would still be historically low, and their incomes would still be astronomically high.

We’ve had it backward for the last 30 years. Rich businesspeople like me don’t create jobs. Middle-class consumers do, and when they thrive, U.S. businesses grow and profit. That’s why taxing the rich to pay for investments that benefit all is a great deal for both the middle class and the rich.

So let’s give a break to the true job creators. Let’s tax the rich like we once did and use that money to spur growth by putting purchasing power back in the hands of the middle class. And let’s remember that capitalists without customers are out of business.

(Nick Hanauer is a founder of Second Avenue Partners, a venture capital company in Seattle specializing in early state startups and emerging technology. He has helped launch more than 20 companies, including aQuantive Inc. and Amazon.com, and is the co-author of two books, “The True Patriot” and “The Gardens of Democracy.” The opinions expressed are his own.)

Copyright 2011 Bloomberg

What commitment you say?

How does Sears treat its employees who are serving in our military?

By law, they are required to hold their jobs open and available, but

nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and lose benefits

as a result of being in active duty.

Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in salaries and maintaining

all benefits, including medical insurance and bonus programs, for all

employees who are serving.  

I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate citizen and should be recognized for its contribution. I suggest we all shop at Sears at

least once.

Be sure to find a manager to tell them why we are there so the

company gets the positive reinforcement & feedback it well deserves.  

Pass it on. 

I decided to check this before I sent it forward. So I sent the following e-mail to the Sears Customer Service Department:

I received this e-mail and I would like to know if it is true. If it is, the

Internet may have just become one very good source of advertisement

for your company. I know I would go out of my way to buy products

from Sears instead of another store for a like item, even if it’s cheaper

at that store. 

This is their answer to my e-mail: 

Dear  Customer:
Thank  you for contacting Sears. The information is factual. We

appreciate your positive feedback.  
Sears regards service to our country as one of greatest sacrifices

our men and women can make. This is the “least” we can do for them.

We are happy to do our part to lessen the burden they bear at this time.  

Bill Thorn
Sears  Customer Care

webcenter@sears.com  
1-800-349-4358  

Please pass this on. Sears needs to be recognized for

this outstanding contribution and weneed to show

them as Americans, we do appreciate what they are

doing for our Military ! ! !   

It’s verified ! By:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/sears.asp

United States of AMERICA
“In God We Trust“
   “United We Stand – Divided We Fall“
           “One Nation Under God“
               “God Bless America ”

(231) 258-9104 

Auto Value Auto Parts Store - Kalkaska Mickigan

501 West Mile Road
Kalkaska, MI 49646  Map

Auto Value’s growth and leadership in the automotive aftermarket is built on providing quality service and quality parts. Whatever superior name brand or PartsMaster part or accessory you may need, we’ve got it. And, you’ll find skilled personnel behind our counters to help you get the job done right. While we’re proud of the value and parts availability that Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper stand for, we’re equally proud of the men and women who serve your parts needs. Over one thousand of our counter personnel are certified ASE Automobile Parts Specialists. Their ASE patches of excellence let you know you’re being served by the best in the business. Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper: the professional skills you count on, whenever you have an auto parts need. Each Auto Value or Bumper to Bumper parts store proudly participates in the North American Warrantyguaranteeing they’re offering the very best, defect free products available.

Auto Value Kalkaska is a business selling Auto Parts, Auto Paint,

We Turn Drums and Rotors, Machine Shop Services, Auto Paint and Body Supplies, We Make Hydraulic Hoses, Small Engine Lawn and Garden, Stock AutoBody Master

Kalkaska Auto Parts

(231) 258-9104 

Auto Value Auto Parts Store - Kalkaska Mickigan

501 West Mile Road
Kalkaska, MI 49646  Map

Auto Value’s growth and leadership in the automotive aftermarket is built on providing quality service and quality parts. Whatever superior name brand or PartsMaster part or accessory you may need, we’ve got it. And, you’ll find skilled personnel behind our counters to help you get the job done right. While we’re proud of the value and parts availability that Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper stand for, we’re equally proud of the men and women who serve your parts needs. Over one thousand of our counter personnel are certified ASE Automobile Parts Specialists. Their ASE patches of excellence let you know you’re being served by the best in the business. Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper: the professional skills you count on, whenever you have an auto parts need. Each Auto Value or Bumper to Bumper parts store proudly participates in the North American Warrantyguaranteeing they’re offering the very best, defect free products available.

Auto Value Kalkaska is a business selling Auto Parts, Auto Paint,

We Turn Drums and Rotors,Machine Shop Services,Paint and Body Supplies,We Make Hydraulic Hoses,Small Engine Lawn and Garden,Stock AutoBody Master
Kalkaska Auto Parts

For a multitude of reasons, people need to send  postal mail to other people, but they want it to appear as if it came from another part of the country or world. Some people  want to send anonymous gifts. Some may want to send anonymous letters from a  secret admirer or long lost friend.

Some people want to send jokes. Many want to send complaints to businesses or government officials or law enforcement .  Law enforcement agencies and private investigators use this service in the course of special confidential investigations.

Our re-mailing service is a fairly simple operation. A person sends Quick Remail Service a letter with the complete mailing address and proper postage affixed. They send it to us, of course, in an envelope addressed to Quick Rmail Service. You simply remove their envelope and mail it. The postmark will show that the letter was mailed from Kalkaska MI.

A charge of $2.00 per envelope is the charge for this service.

We offer a confirmation service our website for an additional $1.00. You customer includes a 4 or 5 digit code number with your mailing andQuick Remail Service will post this code number on the conformation page with the date the customer’s letter(s) was received and the date it was mailed.

Quick Remail Service

Gov Petto Scam Gov Petto Scam READ THIS FIRST