More on Where Frank McEnulty Stands on the Issues

Character – Is competence more important than honesty in a President?

No, they are equally important and must come together.   A leader must be both competent and honest in order to properly lead and I do not believe anyone can be an effective leader without both characteristics.  

China - Should the U.S. impose economic sanctions on China as an incentive to improve its human rights policies?

No.  The only way to improve the human rights of others is through constructive engagement and that includes trade.  As we continue to do business with China and other nations with poor human rights records, the people of those nations will see a continued increase in their standard of living which will allow them to demand an improvement in their rights.  Taken another way, how would we react if Europe decided to impose economic sanctions against the United States because we still have the death penalty, something they strongly believe is a violation of human rights? 

Economy - Is outsourcing jobs to other countries good for America?

It depends on the jobs and what we do, as a country, to help the displaced workers find jobs better suited to our economy.  If we are going to allow the outsourcing of jobs, as a free economy must, then we must also provide for the retraining of those workers so they are not left behind economically. 

Education – Has the No Child Left Behind Act been effective at improving public education?

I don’t believe so.  A one size fits all approach to education will never work in a country as diverse as ours.  All it has accomplished is the establishment of another bureaucracy and a system that now does its best to teach to the test so that they look good.  Whether or not the children truly learn anything is irrelevant, as long as they do well on the “test”. 

Immigration – Are illegal immigrants a net gain to the U.S. economy?

Not in the numbers we have been forced to try and assimilate into our economy over the last several years.  Yes, most of them are productive people who hold down jobs and some even pay taxes, but they take far more out of the economy through burdens on our schools, hospitals and other governmental agencies and programs on an annual basis than they contribute. 

Immigration - Should illegal aliens receive any of the rights or benefits that lawful permanent residents enjoy?  

Yes and no.  They should receive some of the rights, but very few of the benefits.  For example, they should receive the same rights as everyone else in a criminal action, but they should not receive the benefits of welfare or other social programs. 

Iraq – Was it a mistake to attack Iraq in 2003?

Yes, the Iraq war was started based on faulty intelligence and should never have occurred.  Although Sadam deserved to die for the things he had allowed to occur and ordered to occur in his country, Iraq was not a direct threat to our country and should not have been invaded. 

Israel – Should Israel continue to receive the current level of military and economic aid from the U.S.?

Military aid, yes; economic aid, no.  Israel has an extremely strong and vibrant economy and should be able to stand on their own economically without economic aid from us.  The economic aid being provided to Israel can be put too much better uses in other parts of the world where it is more desperately needed. 

Medical Marijuana – Should the federal government stop arresting people for using medical marijuana in states where medical marijuana use is legal?

Yes, it absolutely ridiculous that the Federal Government is involved in meddling in the lives of people with fatal and often very painful diseases who are only following the advice of their doctors and the rules of the states in which they live.  That is why there is supposed to be a separation of powers between the state and Federal governments and a prime example of why the Federal government needs to be reined in.  

National Service – Should openly gay people be allowed to serve in the U.S. military?

Yes, people are people and should be allowed equal, but not preferential, treatment under all laws and in all circumstances.  However, there should never be a category of gay rights.  Everyone should just have the same rights

A Critical Time in My Campaign

At this time I am coming to you at a critical point in my campaign and now is the time that I truly need your help to keep my campaign alive and growing.
 
I need everyone to perform three very easy and quick tasks.
 
First, the New American Independent Party has decided to hold their nominating process in early February.  In order to vote in that process you must be registered with them by February 1st.  Please go to the following web address and register so that you can vote for me in the upcoming nomination.
 
http://www.newamericanindependent.com/Join.html
 
 
Second, in conjunction with my being on the ballot in the Arizona primary, I am working towards receiving the endorsement of two newspapers in the Tucson area.  As part of that process I need you to click on the link below and vote for me in their poll.  My portion is located about half way down the page.
 
http://projectwhitehouse08.blogspot.com
 
 
Third, please pass this email along to everyone you know requesting that they also participate in helping me continue to move the campaign forward.
 
 
That’s it, short, sweet and simple; but I need your help.
 
 
“Anything is Possible in America”
 
Don’t forget to ask for your campaign cards so we can continue to spread the word.
 
 
 
Media Update:
 
I will also be discussing the question of illegal immigration with Joe Bechtold on his show on January 20th at 1 PM PST at www.freeworldradionetwork.net
 
Thank-you for your continued support and please remember to tell everyone you know about my efforts.   The election is still a long ways away and with your help I am continuing to make progress.
 
Thanks
Frank McEnulty

frank@frankforpresident.org

www.frankforpresident.org
 

Where Frank McEnulty Stands on the Issues

“Anything is Possible in America” 

What follows are my answers to some questions submitted to me from ProCon.org for their 2008 Presidential Campaign Website.   If only the major candidates would be so clear in their answers.

China – Is China a threat to the U.S.?

At this time I do not believe that China is a military threat to the United States.  Although China has a very large army they do not have the capability of taking any large scale military fight directly to us and there have been no indications of any intention to do that on their part.  China should be more recognized as a potential economic threat in that they have a huge, hard working population and graduate more engineers and other “development type” of professionals each year than we do by a very wide margin.   

Darfur – Should the US send any American forces, with or without the UN, to the Darfur region of Sudan to stop the genocide?

As much as I would like to say yes, I find that I must say no.  Without the consent and backing of the UN or the government of the Sudan it would not make sense for us to go to Darfur.  My reason for this is as follows.  A small force would be able to accomplish little in a country as vast as the Sudan and the Darfur region.  A large force without an invitation or the backing of the UN would be seen as an invasion and soon degenerate into another Iraq type of situation.  We should be something about atrocities like Darfur and the Congo because we are the country with the best ability at this time to do so, but we must work first to get backing and agreement from the UN or at least a consortium of countries.  This is why it is so important that the next President spend a lot of time on repairing our standing with the rest of the world community. 

Draft – Should the U.S. institute a military draft?

No, it is not necessary at this time.  The only time I believe a draft would be necessary would be in the case of a large scale, world war type of conflict. 

Economy – Should the US include mandatory regulations for labor rights in free trade agreements?

If we are giving up things to allow these agreements to take place then we have the right to ask that they be included.  In order to make free trade agreements fair, however, we must try and ensure that everyone is playing by the same rules, which means including labor rights provisions where necessary.   In the real world, though, getting these provisions included is often much easier than actually having the foreign governments enforce those same provisions. 

Election Reform – Should there be restrictions on campaign contributions?

There are lots of restrictions on campaign contributions already.  The gaping hole in the system is when it comes to contributions to political parties and political action committees.  A person can only contribute $2,300 to my Presidential (or anyone’s presidential campaign); however, they can contribute unlimited amounts to the political party, a PAC or some other special interest group whose true purpose is to support a candidate.   Surely no one believes that someone who makes a huge contribution to the party of a candidate doesn’t hope to influence that candidate or some legislation.  Contributions to political parties and PAC’s should be limited to the same amount as those to the Presidential candidates.  I also believe that there should be an annual overall individual and corporate limit on total contributions to political entities regardless of how many “different” ones a person or company wishes to contribute to. 

Environment – Should the federal government mandate an increase in fuel efficiency standards for automobiles?

Yes, but it should be a phased and constant improvement guideline.  I believe an increase of 1 to 2 miles per gallon per year is not only achievable, but is also very fair to the industry.  In the long run that also makes a very big difference.  If everyone knows what the requirement is going to be and it is firm, it will be met.  The problems with the standards just signed into law are twofold.  First, it calls for a large increase by a date several years in the future so immediate benefits will be minimal.  Second, when the deadline starts getting closer the auto manufacturers will start to whine that it can’t be met and, if past history is any indication, get an extension on implementing the improved fuel efficiency standards. 

Family Values – Should an affair outside of marriage disqualify a candidate for public office?

Since a political candidate basically runs on the premise that we should trust that person to follow through on what they promise to do if elected, I believe that an affair should usually disqualify a candidate for most public offices.  If they cannot be trusted in their personal life, what makes you believe they can be trusted with promises made to people they don’t even know. 

Health Care – Should Americans be allowed to purchase their prescription drugs from other countries?

An American should be allowed to purchase their prescription drugs from other countries.  If someone wishes to take the chance that the drugs they are purchasing may not be as pure or even the same as the drugs they would purchase in this country it is their right as an adult to take that risk.  

Immigration – Should the U.S. build a physical barrier, such as a fence, along the U.S.-Mexico border?

Although the effectiveness of the fence is open to debate, the fact that Congress and the President agreed that it should be built and signed laws to that effect, means it should be constructed.  Promises to the electorate should always be kept, especially those that are made to get oneself elected or reelected.  However, the only true way to stop the current onslaught of illegal aliens into this country is to take away the incentive for them to come here.  To do that, we need to rigorously enforce the laws we have in place to make the hiring of illegal aliens too costly and dangerous for employers.  If there are no jobs available for illegal aliens then there will be little incentive for them to continue coming here in the huge numbers we have seen in recent years. 

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict – Should the U.S. allow Hamas to join future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations?

The only group that should be allowed into any Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on behalf of the Palestinians  should be the recognized governing body of the Palestinian areas.   

Taxes - Should the 2000 Bush tax cuts be made permanent?

Yes, I believe the current levels of taxation are fair and equitable.  However, I believe the tax code is far too complicated and twisted towards numerous special interests and should, therefore, be moved more towards a flat tax system of taxation. 

War on Terror – Should the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba be closed?

Yes and I will go further to say that it should never have been opened.  Criminals and prisoners of war should, almost exclusively, be kept in the country from which they belong or where they were captured.

Thanks

Frank McEnulty

www.frankforpresident.org

Political Correctness

In the name of political correctness and trying to bend over backwards to never insult anyone we often run the risk of insulting everyone.  In our multicultural society we have been taught that we should enjoy everyone’s cultural differences, but at the same time we are cautioned to be extra careful. We shouldn’t “insult” anyone else by being insensitive and uncaring by saying “Merry Christmas” to someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas or any other holiday for that matter.What is our world coming to?  The purpose of having a multicultural society is to enjoy the differences each one brings to the table.  If I wish you a Merry Christmas and you don’t celebrate Christmas, great.  That doesn’t mean I’m trying to shove anything down your throat, it just means that I like you and am trying to give you a greeting that means something to me.  If it means nothing to you, then just take it in the way it is intended, say thanks and move on.  Or, even better, wish me a holiday greeting that fits your background and heritage.  We will both be better for it and will come to understand one another even more.Political correctness often causes more misunderstanding and frustration than it can ever hope to clear up because it actually tends to reduce dialogue between people of different backgrounds.  This further prevents people from even bringing up topics that need to be discussed. With that in mind let me wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I look forward to continuing to grow and expand my campaign for President throughout 2008.   “Anything is Possible in America”

Frank McEnulty frank@frankforpresident.org www.frankforpresident.org

Health Care, Insurance and the Middle Class

The current health care debate seems to center around those that do not have health insurance.  Some of those people don’t have it because they are poor, some don’t have it because they are young and choose to spend their money or benefits elsewhere and some don’t have it because they, for one reason or another, are considered uninsurable.  In all of the chatter about health care the Middle Class always seems to get left out of the equation and continues to see their standards of living eroded.  In this email I’d like to talk about one of the major problems looming on the horizon for these Middle Class Americans that do have health care and what I would propose we do about it to ensure that it remains affordable and that coverage doesn’t disappear because they’ve had a run of bad luck health wise.  This past weekend I was involved in holding a benefit, pancake breakfast to help raise money for a woman who needed surgery for her brain cancer.  It was a great event and lots of people came together to show their love and support for the woman and her family.  It was the type of event that renews your faith in your fellow human beings and makes you glad to belong to the groups you belong to.  That’s the great part of this email; the bad part is that the event should have been totally unnecessary. The reason for this fundraiser was because this family’s insurance has an annual expense limit and, because of previous cancer treatments, they had reached their benefit limit for the year.  A couple of weeks ago we learned that a friend’s wife was going to have to go in for her third brain cancer surgery as soon as possible.  They are hoping to be able to get it all this time and solve the problem.  Everything was set and everyone was ready and then the real problem hit.  It appears that the family had used up its health insurance benefits for the year and the insurance company would not pay for any of the operation and related costs unless they waited until January to have the procedure done.  With brain cancer it is rarely a good option to wait. These are not people who have shirked their responsibilities.  The husband has his own plumbing business and they have purchased their own insurance for the family.  However, no one ever expects that they will actually run out of insurance coverage, but this is what happened and as I’ve researched the subject it appears that this happens more and more these days. As an example, On Thursday, November 29th, the Wall Street Journal had a page 1 article entitled, “As Medical Costs Soar, The Insured Face a Huge Tab”.  This article told the story of how a person, who has worked all his life and who carries good medical insurance suddenly found himself facing a huge medical bill and potential financial ruin when his lifetime benefits of $1,500,000 were maxed out due to some severe medical conditions (and what I consider fraudulent hospital billing schemes, but I will deal with that in a later email).  In fact, the article goes on to state that the majority of people facing financial problems because of medical bills actually do have health insurance.  This appears to be a problem that should be fairly simple to solve, but since it doesn’t involve great sound bites and the ability to be a champion of the poor or illegal, our politicians have no interest in dealing with it. Shouldn’t our political leaders be paying attention to make sure that the 260,000,000 of us who have health insurance and are trying our best to take care of ourselves and our families in a responsible way are given the safety net that appears to be needed in the face of rapidly rising health insurance costs and the potential of catastrophic illness or accident?  I say that this is a very important part of the discussion and it is getting lost in the sound bites surrounding the uninsured. Most of you know that I am not a big proponent of giving the Federal Government more control and involvement in our daily lives, but this may be a case of where Federal Government involvement is necessary. I believe there should be a Federal safety net for people with insurance who, through no fault of their own, use up their health insurance and are left without coverage when they need it most because of a catastrophic illness or injury.  People who try to do the right thing (buy or have a job with insurance coverage) should always have the backing of the government for circumstances far beyond their control. I believe there should be a Federal health insurance pool for people who cannot buy health insurance from traditional sources similar to the Flood Insurance Program currently in place and the Disaster Insurance Program that I have proposed in an earlier email concerning the government’s response to disasters. The true purpose of a Federal health insurance program should be to prevent people from suffering financial ruin when a major medical event happens in their lives, not to pay for every little thing and every time they want to see the doctor.  When a governmental program starts to pay for every little thing, it gets abused, our money is wasted and costs spiral even more out of control. Let’s do what is right by all Americans and develop a safety net so that everyone has the ability to be covered against the major medical events and can buy major medical insurance while maintaining some individual responsibility for the day-to-day health care items whether it is through their one’s own private insurance policy, an employer insurance policy or by paying for it out one’s own pocket. The health care system in the United States is a huge part of our economy and will only grow larger as our population continues to age.  I will have further emails on this subject as we continue towards the election to discuss other parts of the equation that also appear to be in need of adjustment.   “Anything is Possible in America”

Frank McEnulty frank@frankforpresident.org www.frankforpresident.org

My Presidential Campaign and ProCon.org

A website by the name of ProCon.org asked me recently to participate in ProCon’s building of a 2008 election website.  This website will detail the candidates and their pro or con views on about 50 questions as well as related information such as candidate biographies, speech/debate transcripts, poll results, funds raised (and from whom), and more.   To give you a little background, ProCon.org is a Santa Monica-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to educating the public on complex issues that they present in a nonpartisan, pro-con format.  Their websites have been referenced in numerous media outlets such as the Congressional Research Service, New York Times, and the BBC.  Their websites had 2.16 million sessions in 2006, and in 2007 they are on pace to exceed 3.4 million.  As they only have 4 independent candidates currently included 0n their website for the 2008 Presidential election,  I am very pleased and honored to be a part of their process. What follows are the first 10 questions they asked and my answers.  1.     Education - Is the increasing cost of college and university tuition pricing America’s middle class out of higher education? To a certain extent I agree that this statement is true, for while I believe that many public colleges are still within a reasonable grasp of the middle class, the cost of a private college education or even the experience of going away to college at a public institution is quickly becoming far beyond the means of most middle class Americans.  As the father of two teenage daughters I am acutely/painfully aware of what it will cost me for their college educations depending on where they decide to go to school.   2.     Election Reform – Should voter verified paper audit trails (VVPAT) be mandatory in elections? It is always best when drastically changing systems to maintain an audit trail to ensure that the new system works as intended and to build the confidence of the user (public) in those systems.  For those reasons, I believe it is important to maintain voter verified paper audit trails for the next several election cycles.   3.     Energy – Should the federal government permit oil extraction in national parks? Not at this time.  Such a policy will not greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil and it will deplete reserves we may need much more in the future.  The government should instead concentrate all of its energy resources on getting new nuclear power sources on line and initiating a “Manhattan Project” for energy to eliminate our dependence on foreign sources of oil. 4.     Gay Marriage – Should there be a Constitutional amendment or federal law defining marriage as only between a man and a woman? No, this is a state issue.  I also believe that all people should be treated equally in all matters.   5.     Health Care – Should all Americans have a right to government or employer subsidized basic health care? No, because I don’t believe that anyone has a “Right” to health care.  I do believe, however, that the system has to be thoroughly reviewed to determine what changes can and should be made so that all Americans have the ability to obtain basic, affordable health care in this country.   6.     Iraq War – Has the war in Iraq made America safer? No, I believe that the war in Iraq may, in the long run have the opposite effect in that it has made us even more of a target.  In addition, I also believe that because of the war in Iraq not as many people are willing to go out of their way to help us as there were prior to the Iraqi war.  After 9/11 and through our invasion of Afghanistan, we had tremendous world support.  That support was dealt a severe blow by our going into Iraq and it will take a long time for us to build it back up again.   7.     Iraq War – Should the U.S. set a timetable for troop withdrawal in Iraq? No, although we went into the war based on some very fraudulent and misleading intelligence data and analysis, to set a timetable now would be a tremendous setback for all the things that have been accomplished and continue to be accomplished every day.  It is up to the Iraqi people to ask us to leave.  When that happens, or our commanders on the ground tell us that we should get out because further positive gains are not possible, then we should leave as soon as practical.   8.     Medical Marijuana – Should marijuana be a medical option? Yes, medical marijuana as a medical option should be made available to anyone to whom it will help.  It is somewhat ridiculous that people with life-threatening or life-ending diseases are often forced into criminal activities in order to ease the pain of their daily suffering.   9.     Religion – Should federal funds be given to faith-based (religious) organizations and initiatives? I believe that faith-based groups should have the same rights to apply for federal funds as any other organization as long as those funds are to be used for purely sectarian purposes.   Sometimes faith based groups are in the best position to help out in a given set of circumstances and they should not be immediately discounted just because they are affiliated with a certain religion.   10.    U.S. Constitution – Should the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights be altered or updated in any way? I believe that given our current illegal immigration problems that the time has arrived to review the process of allowing anyone born here to instantly become a citizen regardless of the citizenship of their parents. “Anything is Possible in America”

Frank McEnulty frank@frankforpresident.org www.frankforpresident.org

Changing the World $500 at a Time

Let me start out with three simple statements and then I’ll tie them all together. 1.    For a long time I have been fascinated by and a big proponent of microlending in the developing world.  2.    I am very concerned with our standing in the attitudes of most of the world, especially the developing world. 3.    People who have nothing to lose are easy targets for radical groups that want to see the United States and whoever else is convenient to hate, damaged. Since the mid 1970’s, when microlending got its start in India it has helped numerous people around the world get a financial footing under themselves so that they can start to develop a better life for themselves and their families.  As the name suggests, microlending basically consists of giving small loans at decent interest rates to people who could never borrow from conventional lenders.  The purpose of these loans is to give these people the opportunity to start or expand their own small businesses that generate income.  These businesses are often as simple as a one-cow dairy, sewing business or small milling operation.  The loans are typically very small – $50 to $1,000.  The people who get these loans are usually in the underground economy or living in remote rural areas with the vast majority of the borrowers being women.  Often over 95% of total borrowers are women in certain regions of the world. These loans help to start a positive economic cycle not only for the borrowers, but for those around them.  Even at these small loan amounts, historic repayment rates have been very high and most people believe these programs to be an outstanding success. This leads me into my second point in how do we go about repairing our standing with a great deal of the world, especially the developing world where the majority of our most dangerous enemies are currently coming from.  Why is it that we have given so much foreign aid to a military dictatorship, as we have in Pakistan, with no real positive and often negative results?  Have you ever wondered why we are propping up a military dictatorship with our money?  Wouldn’t our money be better spent trying to help the people in northern Pakistan improve their lives so they might not be so inclined to want to kill us and themselves? Instead we seem to be funding the lifestyles and weapons purchases of people who, as dictators, stand against everything we believe in here in the United States?  We’ve often done the same in Africa and Asia with similar results. My proposal, therefore, is that we start to take a much larger proportion of our foreign aid dollars and start to invest them where they will do us the most good: a comprehensive microlending program in developing nations.  Let’s look at some numbers.   $1,000,000,000 (billion dollars) is a lot of money, but it is about the cost of one B-2 bomber.  Let’s say we were able to take that $1,000,000,000 and go into a country as a microlender.  We’ll assume that the costs of the program are 25% which will leave us with $750,000,000 to distribute as microloans.  If each loan were an average size of $500 that would give us the opportunity to help 1.5 million people build themselves a better future.  If we, as a country, help 1.5 million people improve their lives, don’t you think that our standing in those people’s minds (and those of their friends, relatives and countrymen) will increase as well. Will they be less inclined to join groups that want to kill us?  I think so.  Plus, these are loans, not grants, so as the loans begin to be repaid we can make further loans to additional people.  It is a program with unlimited potential and minimal risk with tremendous side benefits to us as a country. As your President, I believe it would be far more useful to the long-term health of our country and the world if we were to use a portion of our foreign aid to help the poor of the world to lift themselves out of poverty by giving them economic options through microlending programs.  What do you think helps people more? Giving their leaders billions of dollars to buy weapons; food and medicines that may or may not get to those that need it most; and the opportunity to fill their own bank accounts with however much they can steal out of the programs?  Or helping the people of those countries with microloans to better their financial standing in their world? I strongly believe that our foreign aid would be much more productive using the millions of dollars spent on one fighter jet to directly help the people of that country. If elected, I will immediately start to transition a large portion of our foreign aid from weapons and other programs that do not help the common person into a worldwide microlending program.  I believe that it will not only improve how the rest of the world looks upon us, it will improve the lives of countless people, making them less likely to want to sacrifice their lives to harm us.  When you’ve got something to live for, you want to keep on living.    “Anything is Possible in America”

Frank McEnulty frank@frankforpresident.org www.frankforpresident.org

Spending Our Way to Financial Ruin

Our current political leaders and their political parties are heading us towards financial ruin and if we don’t do something about it soon our children and their children will have much lower standards of living.  The Republicans and Democrats will never fix the problem as long as they can point at the other party as the cause of the problems and never accept blame themselves.   What we need is a true, independent President to force the two parties to get together and work on the problem.  I say it can be done through coercion or shame or both, but it will take an independent to do it who doesn’t care about getting party members elected, who doesn’t care about the next election, show doesn’t care about who caused the problem, but who only cares about what is right for the future of all Americans and fixing things now. I, Frank McEnulty, promise to be that President for you. Please see the below article for why we all need to be very afraid for our financial futures and why something needs to be done in the next election for President to change the situation. From:    McClatchy Newspapers 2007 WASHINGTON – As presidential candidates largely ignore the issue, looming fiscal challenges threaten to swamp the U.S. economy and erode America’s superpower status, several of the nation’s foremost experts on the federal budget warned Wednesday. “We have been diagnosed with fiscal cancer,” said David Walker, the nation’s comptroller general, or chief auditor, testifying before the Senate Budget Committee. The committee called the hearing to spotlight legislation that would create a bipartisan panel charged with recommending how to tackle promised spending on federal retirement programs that threaten to bankrupt the U.S. government. “In the very least, it ought to be the framework that a new Congress and new president put in place,” said Leon Panetta, co-chairman of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and Clinton-era budget director. Starting in 2017, Social Security will pay out more than it takes in from tax revenues. Over the next 75 years, that could add $4.7 trillion in present-day value to the federal debt. However, that pales when compared with projected government health-care spending on retiring baby boomers, the more than 75 million Americans born from 1946 to 1964. Boomer retirement is projected to cost the Medicare system and state-managed Medicaid $33.9 trillion in present value over the next 75 years. Unless changes are made to benefits and/or revenues, within the next three decades government spending on Social Security and Medicare could account for $1 of every $5 spent in the U.S. economy. No major presidential candidate has put forward a detailed plan to fix Social Security and Medicare’s long-term finances. Many of them acknowledge that there’s a pending problem, but they confine their remedies to vague goals they’ll seek or modest halfway measures. Meanwhile, experts say, mounting pressures to spend ever more on health care, fewer active workers to pay taxes to sustain retirees’ benefits and growing interest payments on the national debt all could combine to create an unparalleled economic crisis. If spending on government retirement programs remains on its current course and revenues grow at their historical averages, interest on the debt could grow to nearly 30 percent of the budget by 2040, up sharply from around 9 percent now, the Government Accountability Office estimates. “Nobody can say when all of this might end up in a crisis,” warned Bob Bixby, the head of the budget watchdog group Concord Coalition. Instead of a dramatic flash point, he said, the growing fiscal challenges could mean “a long, slow erosion in the standard of living.” That erosion threatens national security, budget experts warned, because the United States – the world’s sole superpower – would slip in stature and see a fast-growing China, a prosperous but aging Europe and a resurgent, nationalistic Russia challenge its economic might. Daily headlines show that it’s already begun. Despite such weighty fiscal challenges, politicians driven by short-term election goals focus on short-term problems. President Bush touts the now-shrinking annual federal budget deficit, the amount that annual spending exceeds tax receipts. The deficit fell from a high of $413 billion in fiscal 2004 to about $163 billion in fiscal 2007. But that masks what’s happened to the gross federal debt, the sum of outstanding debt issued by the federal government. Since fiscal 2001, the federal debt has soared from $5.8 trillion to $8.9 trillion. Ignoring debt offers a false sense of security, Walker warned. He said that unfunded liabilities – costs such as Social Security benefits that the government has promised boomers but hasn’t begun paying yet – grew by $3 trillion in fiscal 2007 to $53 trillion. “Health-care costs are the key fiscal problem for the budget,” said Bill Novelli, the chief executive officer of AARP, the powerful lobby for seniors. He urged lawmakers to look beyond simplistic solutions such as reducing benefits or tweaking revenues. What’s needed, he said, is an effective method to contain health-care costs, which are rising much faster than inflation or wages. The proposal for the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action comes from Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Judd Gregg, R-N.H., the chairman and the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. “I think we’re reaching a defining moment,” Conrad warned the assembled budget experts, who all agreed that tough decisions must be made sooner rather than later. In January, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told senators that the right time to start addressing fiscal challenges “is about 10 years ago.” McClatchy Newspapers 2007   We are still over a year away from the 2008 Presidential Election and a lot can and will happen in that year.  I greatly appreciate your support and trust that you will continue to let people know about my campaign so we can make a difference in the upcoming election.   “Anything is Possible in America”

Frank McEnulty frank@frankforpresident.org www.frankforpresident.org

The High Cost of Illegal Aliens

The other day, LA County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich announced that a new report shows illegal aliens and their families in Los Angeles County collected over $35 million in welfare and food stamp allocations in July. In the report, illegals are said to have collected nearly $20 million in welfare assistance for July 2007 and an additional $15 million in monthly food stamp allocations for an estimated annual cost of $440 million. “Illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers,” said Antonovich.  “In addition to $220 million for public safety and $400 million for healthcare, the $440 million in welfare allocations bring the total cost to County taxpayers that exceeds $1 billion a year — this does not include the skyrocketing cost of education.”   So a simple guess of the cost to American taxpayers for the illegal alien onslaught in Los Angeles County alone is easily in excess of $2,000,000,000 a year if you assume there are as few as 100,000 illegal aliens in the school system (there are probably many times more than that). Multiply that by what the other counties, cities and states around our country are spending and you come up with a huge amount probably in excess of the budget deficits of most of those entities. Of course, the argument is that if we don’t have the illegals, who will do the work.  Lately we’ve been hearing about all the problems farmers are going to have getting their crops picked if they don’t get the illegal’s to do it, because no one else will.  What they fail to mention is that no one else will do it for the artificially low wages they are able to pay to get the work done because the President has allowed so many illegal aliens to get into the country. As an example, we are hearing constantly now that food prices will soar if farmers have to pay more for people to harvest their crops.  The facts are that this is a bold faced lie. From a UC Davis study found at  http://migration.ucdavis.edu/rmn/more.php?id=529_0_5_0  I was able to find the following information. How much would farm worker wages increase if some of these immigrant workers were not available? In 1966, one year after the end of the bracero program, the fledgling United Farm Workers union won a 40 percent wage increase for table grape harvesters. Average hourly farm-worker earnings were about $7.56 for US field and livestock workers in 2000, according to a USDA survey of farm employers, and another 40 percent increase would raise them to $10.58. If a 40 percent farm-worker wage increase were fully passed on to consumers, and if there were no farm productivity improvements in response to higher farm wages, the 5-6 cent farm labor cost of a pound of apples or a head of lettuce would rise to 7-8 cents, and the retail price would rise from $1 to $1.02-$1.03. A large increase in farm wages translates into a small retail cost increase because: (1) farm labor is a third of farmers’ costs; and (2) farmers receive only a fraction of the retail price of food. For a typical 2.5-person consumer unit, a 40 percent increase in farm worker wages that led to a three percent increase in retail fresh fruit and vegetable costs would increase the spending of a typical consumer unit by $9 a year, raising expenditures from $301 to $310. My question to all Americans is, therefore, fairly simple.  Wouldn’t you rather have people abiding by our laws and working legally even if it cost you an additional $9.00 a year (or $20.00 a year for your fruits and vegetables if all farm workers got a 100% raise in wages).  At a 100% increase in wages, don’t you think it would be a lot easier to find workers for the fields? Wouldn’t the small increase in our food bills be more than offset by the billions of dollars we would save in our taxes every year that we are currently spending to support the illegal alien community?  I say, “YES.” The facts are simple.  The President and his administration have conspired with the large business and agricultural interests in our country to artificially depress and hold-down wages.  They have done this at a tremendous cost to all law-abiding, tax-paying American citizens and it needs to stop now!  The President is responsible for seeing that the laws of our nation are enforced and upheld.  I promise to be that President and will never sell out the vast majority of Americans to the interests of big business and agricultural interests for illegal, cheap labor. “Anything is Possible in America”

Frank McEnulty frank@frankforpresident.org www.frankforpresident.org

Fiscal Irresponsibility

There are fewer topics concerning our current political landscape that get me more upset than the fiscal irresponsibility of our Congress and President.  As President I promise to veto any and all bills that include the barrels of pork as discussed below.  If we don’t get our country back on a footing of fiscal responsibility soon, we are going to leave a bankrupt, second level economy to our children and grandchildren.  The President is our leader and he needs to act like one and do what is right for the country now and in the future.   Under the “fiscal restraint” of the Republicans our deficit has ballooned and spending has increased (even ignoring the war in Iraq) at a greater pace than at almost any time in the history of our country.  There was the hope and, as we were promised by the Democrats during the last Congressional elections, that they would show some fiscal restraint and get the country back on a path of fiscal responsibility.  Well, based on the current negotiations over a water projects bill (the Water Resources Development Act) for the Army Corps of Engineer, that “promise” has already been forgotten and we are back to business as usual.   Originally, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers requested a budget of $4.9 billion for works they identified as necessary.  However, once Congress got their hands on the bill it ballooned to around $14 billion in the Senate and around $15 billion in the House.  Of course a rational person would think, “Well that’s pretty bad, but hopefully when they reconciled the two bills calmer heads would prevail and cut some of those costs.”  Nope, not with this bunch of drunken sailors.  By the time it came out of committee the total cost of the bill had risen to $23.2 billion.  How does a bill go from a request from the people who are planning to actually spend the money on the projects of $4.9 billion to a total of $23.2 billion?  An increase of almost 400%.  Is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers so incompetent that they can’t see all the projects that need to be done to keep our country safe?  I don’t believe so and neither should you.   Rather, over $18 billion of your money was added to the bill so the members of Congress could add almost 900 items of Pork Barrel spending and special-interest boondoggles to pay off their supporters at home.   Examples of these extra and often unnecessary projects (per the Heritage Foundation) include:   Funding for a study on the impact on navigation of the proposed Knik Arm Bridge (renamed “Don Young’s Way” in SAFTEA-LU) at Cook Inlet in Alaska (Section 4005); Riverfront development to enhance recreation in Perth Amboy, New Jersey (Section 4048);  Authorization of $5,300,000 for the construction of Lake Lanier Olympic Center in Georgia (Section 5061); and Authorization of $65,000,000 for a Lido Key Beach, Florida, replenishment project (Section 3036). $21,000,000 for Imperial Beach, California, beach replenishment; $101,000, 000 for beach replenishment at Ocean City, Sea Isle City, and contiguous New Jersey seashore resorts; $59,000,000 for central New Jersey seashore beach replenishment; $122,000,000 for beach replenishment in northern New Jersey; and $10,600,000 for beach replenishment on Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. Behind the diversion of taxpayer money from essential flood safety programs to geographically and seasonally limited recreation activities like the Corps’ beach replenishment program is a trade association-the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA)-that represents seaside resorts. Also involved are lobbying firms that specialize in obtaining resort-oriented earmarks, among which is Marlowe & Co., a firm that also represents the ASBPA and serves as a contact on the Association’s press release. Assuming that Marlowe was describing his company’s success accurately, one has to wonder exactly how his firm was allowed to participate so intimately in the congressional budgeting, authorizing, and appropriations processes. Indeed, as these and other earmarks suggest, and as the lobbyists’ own promotional materials imply, Congress and the congressional committees responsible for water resources and the Army Corps of Engineers have effectively privatized some portion of the congressional budget process to the K Street lobbying firms and appear to have allowed them wide latitude in selecting what projects are included in the legislation. Now you can’t blame just the Democrats for this because it appears that all the little piggies lined up at the trough for this one.  The Democrats are in charge of the most important committees, but they let the Republicans pile on as well so that if President Bush actually shows some fiscal restraint and vetoes the bill (amazing how he’ll now veto things since they come from Democrats) they will have enough votes lines up to override the veto.   If this were an isolated incident it might not matter much, but unfortunately, this seems to be the way Congress operates on a regular basis with the approval of the President and it will lead to a severe financial downturn for all Americans before too much longer.   That is why I continue on with my campaign to be President of the United States.  We need someone running this country who will take fiscal responsibility seriously and, as far as I can tell, none of the front runners for the job from either party have demonstrated much fiscal restraint in their careers.    Most of the problems that arise with a country can be dealt with fairly easily if that country is operating on a firm foundation of fiscal restraint.  Think of your own lives.  If you have a reserve to fall back on, you can weather problems much easier than if you are living hand-to-mouth and have absolutely no back-up or reserves.   We cannot, as a nation, continue to be this fiscally irresponsible.  Like the past several years of real estate madness, it’s all fun and games while the good times last, but when they come to an end, they come to an end very hard.  If our government continues to spend like a drunken sailor on shore leave we, the people who end up paying the bills, are all going to wake up with a major hangover one day soon.      Remember, it is your money and it should be spent responsibly.  It is up to the President to do whatever he can to ensure that happens and I will do exactly that.   “Anything is Possible in America”  Even finding a fiscally responsible President, you just may have to look outside the normal places.

Frank McEnulty frank@frankforpresident.org www.frankforpresident.org