The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits tumbled 23,000 last week to 298,000, nearly a six-year low that shows companies are laying off fewer workers.
“What Democrats know keenly — and Republicans seem never to learn — is that positive beats negative every time. Thus, we see MSNBC’s clever montage of Republican negativity: A series of unfriendly faces decrying the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with apocalyptic language. Which would any everyday American prefer? The healer or the doomsayer? The elves or the orcs?” – Kathleen Parker. Indeed. It was how Bush won in 2004 when by all rights he should have lost. The more positive vision always wins.
Steve Newton over at Delaware Libertarian has an interesting point.
Over at Delaware Liberal, Cassandra has another post up about crime in Wilmington. Cassandra and I have our differences, but she continues to do excellent fact-based blogging about the nature of the problem, the potential solutions, and the general ineptitude/malaise of the current governmental apparatus to solve the problem.
As Cassandra knows and has blogged repeatedly, this ain’t rocket science. There are a lot of evidence-proven strategies (like full-scale community policing with a constitutionally careful stop and frisk approach) that could make a dent, a serious dent, in crime and violence in Wilmington. The problem is–in this one-party state–the Democrats don’t care enough about reducing what amounts to urban terrorism in Wilmington to do anything about it. Instead, last year, they supported a State budget that included millions to bail out casinos and tens of millions in corporate welfare rather than invest in either inner-city education or crime fighting.
Good points, Steve. If the Democrats make a huge investment in fighting crime in Wilmington, I am sure you will support it, even if it means raising taxes on the rich to pay for it. Indeed, just adding a progressive tax rate structure above the top level of $60,000 will bring in enough money to both fight crime in Wilmington, balance the budget, and give our state employees, firefighters and police officers the first raises they have had in six years. I am sure you will wholeheartedly support that rather than joining with downstate conservatives in opposing the tax and spend Democrats. I am sure you will silence all the conservative critics on the right, and convince them that this is a noble goal. I look forward in joining with you as we, a liberal and a libertarian, convince the Democrats to do the right thing.
Sarcasm aside, I expect Steve would tells us to end corporate welfare giveaways. I am with him with that. But Republicans and corporatist Democrats like Markell see corporate welfare giveaways as the only way we keep businesses in this state. Bullshit. They come here because our Courts and Corporation Law. But generally speaking, when an investment in taxpayer dollars is needed, and the government does not have the funds, libertarians and conservatives tell us to cut government spending elsewhere to make up the difference. Aside from the corporate welfare giveaways, what other state programs would Steve have us cut? Medicaid? You see, that is where we liberals and libertarians run into a problem.