http://www.rootforamerica.com/blog/index.php http://www.rootforamerica.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100727-124859 As one of America's leading Libertarian thinkers, perhaps I’m always expected to give the "Libertarian answer" to every issue. But sometimes one has to speak not as a Libertarian, Republican or Democrat, but rather as an American- preferably a common sense American. The issue of allowing a mosque to be built in the shadow of the 9/11 terrorist tragedy is one of those times.


The answer is simple for a common sense American- I support religious freedom, as all Americans should. But this is not a case of religious freedom. Yes, Muslims can build their mosque virtually anywhere in America- despite 9/11...despite the Times Square bomber...despite plots by Islamic extremists to blow up the New York subway system...despite everything happening in Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. That's what makes our country great. We do in fact support religious freedom. You can build a mosque virtually anywhere in America.

However, there are also the rights and sensibilities of others to consider in a free society.


Does "religious freedom" mean hate groups should build statues to Hitler in front of Jewish temples in America? Should Americans raise money to build Jewish temples and Christian churches at Mecca? Should Japan build a statue to the bravery of their pilots at Pearl Harbor? Should the U.S. build a statue to the bravery of our pilots at the site of Hiroshima? Aren’t those examples all about “freedom of expression,” "religious freedom" and property rights? Perhaps, but is it too much to ask for a little consideration and respect toward others?


This proposed building of a mosque on hallowed ground is an ATROSITY towards America. To build a celebration of Islam within steps of 9/11 does nothing to increase religious freedom...it inspires hatred, divides our cultures, and increases the odds of violence and hate crimes. Common sense suggests this mosque, being built in this specific location, is NOT being built as a sign of friendship between Muslims and Americans...but rather as a sign of the lack of respect...a belief in our weakness...and an attempt to embarrass and belittle us. The financial district of Manhattan is not a residential area with a large number of Muslim residents for the mosque to serve. Therefore common sense suggests that the only possible reason to build it there (rather than in Brooklyn or Queens where there are large Muslim populations) is to show Muslim contempt for Americans by building a monument to Islam in the shadow of the site of their greatest triumph over America.

It is an offense to build a mosque in that location- an offense to all Americans (including Muslim Americans), all Christians and Jews, all relatives of 3000 dead heroes at the World Trade Center.

Yes, private individuals and organizations have the right to build houses of worship with their own funds. But one has to wonder where the money is coming from to build a 15-story building on some of the most expensive real estate in the country. We Americans believe in the separation of Church and State. If it turns out that this project is sponsored by a foreign government -- either directly or through a state-sponsored organization that engages in terrorism -- than the idea of this being an issue of religious freedom is a sham and an argument can be made that our Constitution would actually prohibit this mosque from being built.

However, if this is privately funded by parties with no ties to a foreign government, I have to believe that we have enough people in this country who are offended by the prospect of a mosque at Ground Zero, that the money can be raised to buy this land at a fair price from the owners. I know I’d be the first to contribute to a foundation to keep this sacred land from ever being desecrated by a symbol of the very groups that attacked America on 9/11.

We can also put public pressure on the property owners to sell to this new patriotic foundation funded by Americans. We can organize massive protests, filling the streets surrounding this property with patriotic Americans concerned that the hallowed ground of 9/11 never be used as a political tool to taunt or embarrass the United States, or as a place to preach intolerance towards Americans. I, for one, am ready to fly 3000 miles to New York to join the protest.

These are the only rational answers for common sense patriotic Americans who still believe in a free society. In situations like this, none of us can afford to be Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats, or politicians of any stripe. We are all proud Americans.



Wayne Allyn Root was the 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate. He now serves on the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) and as Chairman of the Libertarian National Congressional Committee (LNCC). He writes for the Las Vegas Review Journal and is a regular guest on FOX News. His new book is entitled, “The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts.” For more of Wayne's views, commentaries, or to watch his many national media appearances, please visit www.ROOTforAmerica.com.
]]> http://www.rootforamerica.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100721-092647 I was Barack Obama’s college classmate at Columbia University, Class of ’83. We were both Pre Law and Political Science majors (although strangely, I never met him, saw him, or even heard of him). That gives me a unique understanding of his mindset. You see virtually every classmate I ever got to know at Columbia was either obviously or openly a radical socialist or marxist.

My classmates- virtually to a man and woman- hated America and considered capitalism to be evil. They loved unions, and hated business owners. They hated conservatives and capitalists most of all- because anyone who defended the system was an enemy to this group of radicals. Even more disturbing was their open hatred towards white people and what they called “this racist nation”- even though most of my classmates were white. Psychiatrists would have a field day with my Ivy League classmates- all spoiled brat, lucky-sperm-club members guilty at being born to white, privileged wealthy parents, and having every advantage and every door opened their whole lives.

Isn’t it interesting that I was the only blue-collar S.O.B. (son of a butcher) at Columbia, yet I was the one who loved America, valued capitalism, and knew that I’d one day become a successful businessman in this great country. Understand now? The young conservative started with nothing, yet knew in America anything was possible. And the leftist radicals were born with everything, yet hated America, and felt guilt and rage for their privilege.

Most importantly, they all had the same goal: to bring down the capitalist system and redistribute the wealth. They all read from the same playbook- written by Karl Marx. So when I heard one of my classmates was running for President of the United States, I knew instantly that America was in deep trouble. I knew that well-meaning, patriotic Americans would give the benefit of the doubt to a radical like Obama. I knew they’d be fooled by Obama’s smile, handshake, kissing babies, and claims to be a “moderate uniter, not divider.” They’d be impressed by his Ivy League pedigree from Columbia, Harvard Law School and U. of Chicago. I knew they’d never guess at his real agenda- to overwhelm the system, bring down capitalism, enrich the poor by destroying the rich, and destroy everything that made America great. If you hadn’t known these people up close and personal, you’d never guess that an Ivy League lawyer wearing a fancy suit could possibly believe in such radical anti-American Marxist madness.

But there’s something else you need to know about my classmates at Columbia- the dysfunctional rage and hatred they harbor towards anyone that disagrees with them. People like Obama hide it well, but it’s always there, simmering just below the surface. That’s why they so despised Ronald Reagan- he represented all the things they wanted destroyed: patriotism, conservatism and capitalism. My ultra-liberal classmates despised Reagan so much, they openly rooted for his death.

I was a witness to that abnormal hatred on the day Reagan was shot by a mentally ill assassin. A student burst through the doors to our Political Science class to breathlessly announce that “Reagan is dead. He’s been assassinated.” The reaction of my class? CELEBRATION. They jumped from their seats to cheer, high five, fist pump, hug each other, and even scream “Yes! Reagan is dead.” I was the only conservative in the class and Reagan was my hero. I couldn’t believe what I’d just witnessed. My classmates- who I wanted to believe were good people- were cheering for the death of my hero. His only crime was being a fiscally conservative, limited government, anti-tax advocate. To socialist Ivy Leaguers these views merit the death penalty.

These classmates of mine seemed normal in every way- except for their obsession with killing capitalism, wanting big government to take over business, and redistributing (ie stealing) wealth in the name of “fairness.” Other than that you’d swear they were normal. They looked good, they were well spoken, they were brilliant intellectuals, and they possessed incredible resumes. To any normal person who met them they represented the American Dream. There was only one hidden defect- their goal is to destroy America.

Now here’s the problem. These are the people now running the country. My classmates with their unnatural hatred of fiscal conservatives, anyone who runs a business, or anyone who wants to keep more of their own money, have now gone on to great things. As I read of their exploits in Columbia’s alumni magazine, it is clear that my classmates now enjoy success in the most influential fields in this country- law, media and politics. One of them now runs the country and the economy.

There my friends is the crux of the economic disaster now facing America- virtually every problem in this country can be traced to the ignorance, arrogance, prejudice and dysfunction of lawyers, the biased liberal media, and politicians who understand nothing about entrepreneurship, capitalism, small business, or job creation. Worse than merely not understanding, they have an unnatural hatred of all the very things that make America great.

Now that you understand the REAL Obama agenda, is it any wonder our country is in crisis, our economy is in ruins, and our future survival as the world’s greatest superpower is threatened?


Wayne Allyn Root was the 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate. He now serves on the Libertarian National Committee (LNC) and as Chairman of the Libertarian National Congressional Committee (LNCC). He writes for the Las Vegas Review Journal and is a regular guest on FOX News. His new book is entitled, “The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts.” For more of Wayne's views, commentaries, or to watch his many national media appearances, please visit www.ROOTforAmerica.com.]]> http://www.rootforamerica.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100718-065628
"It's time to call Obama what he is: The Great Jobs Killer. With his massive spending and tax hikes-- rewarding big government, and big unions, while punishing taxpayers and business owners- Obama has killed jobs, he has killed motivation to create new jobs, he has killed the motivation to invest in new businesses, or expand old ones. With all this killing, Obama should be given the top spot on the FBI's Most Wanted List."
Wayne Allyn Root
TIME Magazine July 19th Edition]]> http://www.rootforamerica.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100705-221845 Welcome to “the Teleprompter Depression.” Each Time Obama Steps in Front of a Teleprompter, Another Business Dies.



As a common-sense small businessman, I have a front row seat to a slow motion economic Armageddon that will be written about, discussed and debated for decades to come. Big shot economists don’t listen to guys like me. They scoff as I keep predicting in commentary after commentary that small business is suffering a catastrophe of epic proportions- leading this nation towards levels of unemployment and economic crisis that will rival or surpass the Great Depression. Just last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics quietly reported that the labor force dropped by roughly one million people during just the last two months. If those numbers were added into the unemployment numbers, it would shock and terrify the American people.



I do not believe the tragedy that is unfolding before our eyes is a mistake, coincidence, or due to incompetence. I believe my old college classmate Obama (Class of ’83 Columbia University) is a Marxist purposefully trying to destroy capitalism, by overwhelming the system, thereby creating a distraction giving him cover to redistribute America’s wealth to his voters (those who create no jobs, pay few taxes, depend on government handouts for survival, or work for government or unions). As a bonus, he gets to bankrupt the groups that contribute virtually all the money to his political opposition. This is truly a “Marxist Triple Play.”



Consider a few highlights of Obama’s reign of destruction:



#1) The biggest income tax increase in the history of America will take effect on Jan 1st, 2011. The new tax increase falls almost 100% on small business owners and high-income taxpayers (whose contributions happen to fund Obama’s political opposition). As a result, many more jobs will be lost and more businesses closed.



#2) A dramatic 60% capital gains tax increase (from 15% to 23.8% effective rate, including new universal healthcare taxes) will accompany the big income tax increase above. More jobs will be lost, more businesses closed.



#3) Taxes on dividends will increase from 15% to 39.6%, and then another 3.8% by 2013 for Obama’s new healthcare taxes. Stocks will be crushed and older Americans will be devastated (because they live off dividends, investments, and bank interest). More lives ruined, more jobs lost.



#4) New taxes on income, investments, and even tanning bed users soon take effect to pay for Obamacare. Worse,18,000 new I.R.S. agents will be hired to enforce these taxes (at a cost of billions annually in new government employee salaries, pensions and benefits). More jobs lost.



#5) The pending Cap and Trade legislation threatens dramatic new taxes on anyone who owns a business, owns a home, owns an auto, or buys products manufactured or delivered through the use of energy. Once again, the more you own, the more you'll be taxed. More jobs will be lost, more manufacturing jobs sent overseas, more homes foreclosed.



#6) The pending financial reform bill threatens onerous new rules, regulations and taxes on banks and Wall Street. More jobs will be lost (and more banking and financial jobs sent overseas).



#7) The pending new jobs bill threatens gigantic new taxes on every Sub Chapter S corporation in America. More jobs will be lost and more small businesses ruined.



#8) The threat of a gigantic new national sales tax (VAT) on everything manufactured, bought and sold in America looms large. Fewer jobs, reduced consumer spending, more businesses closed forever.



#9) Obama is pushing for the reduction or elimination of tax deductions (such as mortgage or charitable contributions) for high income earners (mostly small business owners). More jobs lost, reduced charitable contributions, and the real estate industry damaged beyond repair.



#10) The threat of bans or restrictions on offshore oil drilling being put permanently into place. More jobs lost (and more jobs sent overseas where drilling is welcomed). As a bonus for Obama, he gets to ruin the Texas economy.



#11) All signs indicate that Obama will soon propose to take the income cap off FICA (Social Security) taxes. If this were to happen, a successful small business owner (if there are any left) could see his or her FICA taxes alone go from an already bloated and burdensome $15,000 per year to an unimaginable $150,000 (or more). In U.S. history, no taxpayer has ever seen a TEN TIMES tax increase in one year. This devastating nightmare will wipe out small business and cause people that Obama calls “rich” to lose their homes and businesses.



#12) A new I.R.S. law (with the passage of Obamacare) requires business owners to file thousands of new I.R.S. forms each year documenting virtually every expenditure made by their business. As a result of this blizzard of new paperwork, small business faces ruin.



#13) Let’s not forget the gigantic tax hikes on the state and local level for income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes and new taxes disguised as “user fees.” Local taxes are already at levels that taxpayers and small businesses can no longer afford to pay.



#14) Finally, Obama refuses to consider lowering the 2nd highest corporate tax rate (40%) in the industrialized world. As a result, more businesses will choose to leave the U.S. (and more jobs will be sent overseas).



And you wonder why there are no jobs? You wonder why there is no recovery? This is the “Teleprompter Depression.” Every time Obama steps in front of a teleprompter another business dies.



Each of these taxes and proposed taxes is a job killer. Taken together, the Obama regime’s policies are the equivalent of General Sherman’s march to the sea- leaving a tragic path of destruction in its wake. Obama has launched an unprecedented, overwhelming, death-by-tax assault on the groups that fund fiscally conservative causes and candidates: taxpayers and business owners.



There are only two reasonable explanations. Obama is executing a bumbling Marxist scheme to destroy capitalism, expand government to Soviet-like levels, and turn Americans into dependent serfs begging for government to save them, clothe them and feed them. “Bumbling” because the plan never works- eventually Obama will run out of taxpayers to rob, thereby bankrupting his own programs and bringing down his government. Or the other choice is that he is truly the most incompetent bumbling President in modern history. I’ll leave it to you to decide.



Either way -- God help America. ]]> http://www.rootforamerica.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100701-094518 Wayne
Wayne Allyn Root


Mr. Root,

I've just finished reading your book "The Conscience of a Libertarian" Overall good read...The only issue I have is that I think you have unfairly attacked the Ford Motor Company by grouping them with Chrysler and GM...I recall that they took no money... having said that I agree with you and enjoyed the book. My background is vastly different in yours - I chose a life of pubic service - i was in the military for 23+ years. I am now in the private sector and still what you would call one of the bad guys. I work for a small female-owned business who has a defense contract for which I was specifically hired. True we have other lines of operation beyond government contracts. It doesn't change the fact that what you write about is spot on and true. Any person who understands business knows you are right. I would just say that at the end of the day "don't hate the player, hate the game." I think, outside of the constitution requirement to defend the country and secure its national interests for individuals, that federal programs exceed their constitutional mandates. I would scale back government 25% within my first four year term and another 25% during the subsequent term.

Below is my confession after reading your book, doing a self analysis and squaring what you say with my own beliefs.

My political confession….

In today’s media motivated political universe it is the exception more than the rule when someone, much less, anyone can admit they are wrong. Today is one of those instances. Here is my confession, I have been a Republican my entire adult life and have been living a lie, at least for the last 30 years. Before anyone gets excited and thinks I have gone over to the dark side and openly support the Democratic Party and the Obama Administration grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and relax while I explain the epiphany that brought me to the realization of my self- imposed deceit.

First, it would be helpful to identify who and what I am. I am a white 48 year old, solid middle class, college educated American citizen who is a retired 23+year military veteran born and raised in southern (democrat) state. I have traveled the world over, lived in Europe, the Middle East, and Afghanistan. My childhood was best characterized by living in a predominately white college campus town isolated from the rest of the world. What was unique about it was that in this secure enclave I was practically raised by a black woman who gave me a unique perspective on life…First and foremost, she taught me to accept people for who they are…To be honest, I never really saw the big deal in a person’s skin color, race, or ethnicity. It just isn’t important to me. One may call this naive, and would be true, as I found out as an adult, race, skin color, ethnicity is a big deal and our government keeps it at the forefront of our lives every day. However, this confession is not about my beliefs on race and attitudes toward it…It is about the betrayal of a political party who I thought shared the same values and beliefs that I do.

I believe I am first and foremost a conservative and constitutionalist. By those strictest definitions I am a firm believer in less government. Our framers wrote an enduring document that is as relevant today as it was over 200 years ago. The beauty of the document lies in its flexibility to adapt to the times (through the amendment process) but its basic tenets are truisms that cannot be refuted. Our constitution was written to ensure that a government established by the people and for the people, remained true to the people. At its core, it guarantees a limited form of government that ensures protection of one’s inalienable rights. This is also not a class on the Constitution so I will not continue further beyond the simple fact that our government is no longer an agent for the people.

Politically, my life’s expanse has covered President Kennedy through President Obama (Five Democratic Presidents and Five Republican Presidents). Given the exception of President Reagan you would be hard pressed to identify the differences between the political philosophies of each administration. Let’s be honest, President Reagan (a Republican) believed in American Exceptionalism much the same way as President Kennedy (A Democrat) did. The Johnson (Democrat) and Bush II (Republican) administrations are remarkably the same and are best summarized as presiding over massive social programs and expansion of the military industrial complex. President Nixon (Republican) and President Clinton (Democrat) were marked by scandals. Presidents Reagan and Obama (Democrat) presided over Banking institution bailouts which ultimately were marked by accusations of scandal. Presidents Nixon and Obama comparisons still have yet to written but it is safe to say that Obama will be compared to Nixon (and later Carter) for presiding over a country who inherited an over bloated economy supported by an even bigger government who failed to keep spending in check. I could bore you with facts and figures but I would rather not. If you refute my assertion I challenge you to prove me wrong. Who cares anyway…it is my confession.

Now for my confession. I wrongly believed that the Republican Party coveted ideas in strong opposition to the Democratic Party. At least that is what they say – but actions speak louder than words. As the so called party of “conservative ideals” I believed, wrongly as it would prove itself, that they were the defenders of individual liberties, that they would scale back government, turn much of their usurped power back over to the states and local governments where they belong. Boy was I wrong….I held out hope that when the Republican finally took over Congress in 1994 and then briefly controlled both houses and all three branches that we would see a return to minimalist government. Again, I was wrong. Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America” turned out to be a farce and given what the Republicans actually did should have been re-titled “Contract on America” because in reality, it was a hit piece. What is amazing is that the only period in American History over the last 40 years where our leaders scaled back government by any significant measure was during the Bush senior era – and that was only relegated to the Defense Department. Never mind that the budget didn’t decrease. Now comes Bush II on the heels of 9/11 and creates the DHS that all but negates the DoD drawdown of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Couple the Bush II expansion with the current administrations massive expansion health care and the subsequent growth in the IRS and HHS I challenge anyone to explain to me the difference between the two parties. Democrats railed against violation of individual liberties with the passage of the Patriot act and warned against the intrusive tactics of both its policies and DHS but when they got in power did they do anything to scale it back. No they didn’t . Quite the contrary, they one upped the Republicans with Obamacare. Only this time the roles were reversed and the Republicans railed against the Democratic plan of usurping individual liberty and privacy.

I could go on and on about the similarities between the two parties. Their only differences lie in their campaign promises and who they portray themselves to be in order to get elected. I for one no longer believe them. It is sad in that there may actually be a republican candidate who supports and believes what I do but won’t get my vote. They can thank the candidates that over the last 20 years played this bait and switch game with me . As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, thrice, four times to twenty and shame on me. Never again. The only way any of the two Major Parties will ever get my vote again is once they complete the following 12 step program (the normal model for a recovery program, right???)

Step 1: Repeal Obamacare, remove laws that require business provide healthcare. It is an individual right. Companies don't provide auto insurance but people have to drive back and forth to work. Reinforce, under the interstate commerce clause the ability for insurers to sell across state lines. Cap litigation settlements unless gross negligence can be proven. Adopt laws that say if you don't win, you pay.

Step 2: Defeat Cap and Trade

Step3: No more Stimulus except to small businesses - a five year moratium on payroll or any other taxes.

Step 4. Simplify tax code – Eliminate personal income tax, establish a flat tax, or institute a national sales tax. Either or but no combination. Coupled with that is Personal Property Rights

Step5. Repeal the 17th Amendment and return senatorial elections back to the states

Step 6: Drill Baby Drill

Step 7: Abolish the Department of Education – It is a joke and waste of taxpayer money

Step 8: Convert Welfare to Workfare: Reinforce the difference between those who can’t work vs those who won’t work. Raise SS to age 72.

Step 9: Secure Border/no amnesty but work visas. Draconian measures against companies who hire illegals.

Step 10: Reduce Government by 25% within the next four years and another 25% over the four following that. Abolish Government Unions. Taxpayers are their Union.

Step 11: Turn College Student Loans back over to the private Industry

Step 12 : Term Limits for Congressman and Senators. No more professional politicians.

Now, many in the GOP will try to convince me that I am foolish, that not supporting them is ensuring a Democratic Victory. My response is, No, your failure to support me ensures a Democratic Victory. That knife cuts both ways. But my side is sharper in that I have the power of the vote and neither party does. You see, it doesn’t matter to me anymore, whether or not a candidate can win or lose. What matters most to me is will that candidate stand up and be counted, support my ideas, and promote the individual over the government. Whether he wins or loses in moot. Voting for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. I guess what I am trying to confess is that at the end of the day, after 30 years of denial, I am a Libertarian.



Thank you

Maurice “Brent” Cox

York County, Virginia


]]> http://www.rootforamerica.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100627-125452 Why Obama Should Top the F.B.I.’s Most Wanted List

The Pamela Anderson Factor


As former President Ronald Reagan might have said, “Obama, there you go again.” The current occupant of the White House claims to know how to create jobs. He claims jobs have been created. But so far the score is Great Obama Depression 2.2 million lost jobs, Obama 0 – a blowout. Obama is as hopeless, helpless, clueless and bankrupt of good ideas as the manager of the Chicago Cubs in late September. This “community organizer” knows as much about private sector jobs as Pamela Anderson knows about nuclear physics.

It’s time to call Obama what he is -- “The Great Jobs Killer.” With his massive spending and tax hikes- rewarding big government and big unions, while punishing taxpayers and business owners- Obama has killed jobs, he has killed motivation to create new jobs, he has killed the motivation to invest in new businesses, or expand old ones. With all this killing, Obama should be given the top spot on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.

Meanwhile, he has kept the union workers of GM and Chrysler employed (with taxpayer money). He has made sure that most government employee union members got their annual raises for sleeping on the job (with taxpayer money). He made sure that his voters got handouts mislabeled as “tax cuts” even though they never paid taxes (with taxpayer money). And he made sure that major campaign contributors collected billions off government stimulus (with taxpayer money). As far as the taxpayers- the people that actually take risks with our own money, to create small businesses, and jobs, and pay most of the taxes- we require protection under the Endangered Species Act.

You won’t find proof of the damage Obama is doing on Wall Street, but rather on Main Street. My friends are all part of the economic engine of America: SMALL Business. Small business creates 75% of new jobs (and a majority of all jobs). I called one friend who was a wealthy restaurant owner. He says business is off by 60%. He’s drowning in debt. He won’t last much longer. His wealth is gone. I called another friend in the business of home improvement. He says business is off 90% from 2 years ago. NINETY PERCENT. My contractor just filed personal bankruptcy. She won’t be building anymore homes. The hair salon where I’ve had my hair cut for years closed earlier this year. Bankrupt. But here’s the clincher -- ESPN ZONE just closed all their restaurants across the country. ESPN ZONE! If they can’t make it selling cheap food and overpriced beer with 100 big screens blaring every sporting event on the planet, to a sports-crazed society, we are all in deep, deep trouble.

I’ve polled all my friends who own small businesses -- many of them in the Internet and high tech fields. They all agree that in this new Obama world of high business taxes, income taxes, payroll taxes, capital gains taxes, and workers compensation taxes, the key to success is to AVOID employees. The only way to survive as a business owner today is by keeping the payroll very low and by hiring only independent contractors, or part-time employees provided by temp agencies. The days of jobs in the private sector with big salaries, full benefits, and pensions are over. We’ve all seen where those kinds of jobs get you as a business owner—in bankruptcy court, or surviving on government welfare like GM and Chrysler. Or in the case of government itself -- completely insolvent, but surviving by ripping off taxpayers and fraudulently running printing presses at the Fed all day and night to print money by the trillions. Unfortunately, small businesses don’t have the power to impose taxes or print money. So unlike government, we’ll just have to cut employees and run lean and mean.

It has now become clear that, outside of the burgeoning field of Census Takers, there will be no major increase in new jobs for years to come. Outside government, Obama has created a wasteland of economic ruin and depression that looks much like the landscape of Mel Gibson’s first movie “Mad Max.” Without a printing press in Obama’s world, you’re just plain out of luck.

The days of believing the Obama propoganda about a jobs recovery are over. The trillion dollar corporate handouts (neatly named “stimulus”) may have kept big business in the money for the last 18 months, and artificially propped up the stock market, but small business is the real “canary in the coal mine.” My small business-owning friends aren’t creating one job. Not one. They are shedding jobs. They are learning to do more with fewer employees. They are creating high tech businesses that don't need employees. And many business owners are making plans to leave the country. In a high tech world where businesses can be run from anywhere in the world, Obama has a problem. His one trick pony- raise taxes, raise taxes, raise taxes- is chasing away the business owners he desperately needs to pay his bills.

So who is going to pay Obama’s taxes? Not his voters. They want government to pay them. Who is going to create Obama’s jobs? Not his voters- they've never created a job in their lives.

So what is Obama going to do? Maybe he can get Pamela Anderson on the line.




]]> http://www.rootforamerica.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100619-182059

Lessons for Obama.


I am an economic refugee from California. I escaped to Nevada with my family, my business and my life a decade ago. It was either run for my life, or die trying. I escaped because of the impossible business climate- the highest income and business taxes in the country, the highest workers comp taxes, out of control government employee unions, the most lawyers in the country. It was (and is) a recipe for economic disaster. California had destroyed my ability to do business.


For the last decade, I’ve been traveling the nation as a best-selling author, business speaker and political leader comparing California to Nevada. At each stop I extol the virtues of Nevada- smaller government, fewer government employees, less power for unions and lawyers, and far lower taxes- no state income taxes, no business income taxes, no capital gains taxes, no death taxes, the 16th lowest property taxes in America, and lower payroll and workers comp taxes. Quite simply, Nevada gives a small business owner a chance to live, to survive, to prosper. It’s called economic freedom. All small business owners want is for government to get out of the way and stop stealing our money. We can’t build a good business without the seed capital you are stealing. If the business actually works, we can’t expand without that money you are stealing. We can’t create jobs without that money you are stealing. It’s this simple- in Nevada we can build, survive, and prosper. In California we can’t.

A few days ago my gut instincts were validated in a big way. Chief Executive magazine surveyed business leaders across America and they rated Nevada as the 5th best state in America to do business…and California dead last (that’s #50 out of 50 states for those of you who need teleprompters to think). The top 5 states are all no tax or low tax states with smaller government, fewer government employees, less severe rules and regulations, and fewer lawyers. The bottom 5 states- Massachusetts, New Jersey, Michigan, New York and California- are all deep purple states with high taxes, too many government employees (that loot and bankrupt the taxpayers), too many rules and regulations that strangle business, too powerful unions, and too many lawyers. Michigan leads the nation in moving vans moving out. New Jersey has lost over 500,000 taxpayers off the tax roles in recent years. New York and California have each lost over 1,000,000 citizens in the past decade in one of the greatest migrations in American history.

Nevada on the other hand has gained over 1,000,000 new citizens in just the last decade alone- many of them from our high tax neighbor California. May I point out that Nevada leads the nation in unemployment- and we STILL are one of the top 5 places in America to do business! Nevada's success is proof positive that economic freedom is a strong selling point. Perhaps instead of building a wall on California/Mexico border to keep illegal immigrants out, California might need to build a wall on the Nevada border to keep their citizens in.

Yet California keeps on making the vicious cycle worse. Their high taxes and negative attitude towards business owners and taxpayers chases their most productive citizens away...therefore tax revenues fall...in response California raises taxes even higher...thereby chasing away even more productive citizens. Pretty soon no one will be left, but overpaid government employees, retired government employees who expect bloated pensions and free healthcare for life, and entitlement addicts who depend on government to survive. That would make California...Greece.

It is no coincidence that a recent study of dysfunctional state legislatures found California to have the most leftist-dominated legislature in the nation, literally held hostage by public employee unions. Sound familiar? Try Greece. Yet on a national basis, Obama and his socialist friends in Congress are trying desperately to replicate California, New York and Michigan- the states rated at the bottom of the country by those CEO's in Chief Executive magazine. These are the states where business owners, retirees, and taxpayers are fleeing by the hundreds of thousands annually. In just the past few weeks Obama and his anti-economic freedom Congress have tried to pass several bills that each could dramatically increase taxes, wipe out small business, destroy millions of jobs, and cause a mass exodus of business owners and high income earners out of this country (just as millions of taxpayers have escaped from New York, Michigan and California).

Perhaps I am the proverbial “canary in the coal mine.” When I left New York because of high taxes twenty years ago, my friends thought I was crazy and tried to talk me out of it. When I left Los Angeles a decade ago because of high taxes, my friends thought I was crazy and tried to talk me out of it. Today very few of my friends are left in either place. I wonder how many of my friends will be left in America in a decade? And if many of America's business owners and high income earners leave, who will be left to pay the taxes?

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As Ronald Reagan would say, "There you go again Obama." Obama is trying to turn a tragedy and national emergency in the Gulf into an opportunity to pass yet another massive tax that will bury our economy. Does it ever end? Every single crisis is an opportunity to raise taxes, damage business, and redistribute the wealth.

The health care crisis desperately needed someone, anyone in DC to demand tort reform. But Obama (a lawyer) never even considered tort reform. He instead saw it as a chance to "soak the rich" with a universal healthcare bill that passes massive new taxes onto stock investors, business owners, home buyers (anyone with capital gains or dividends)...and to increase Medicare taxes on everyone. Everyone except union members (Obama's most loyal voters).

Obama turned the subprime mortgage and banking crisis into an opportunity for new taxes and fees for banks and Wall Street firms (with a financial reform bill).

Obama turned the unemployment crisis into an opportunity to secretly try to jam through huge new taxes on small business owners (Sub Chapter S corporations) with a new jobs bill.

Obama turned the national debt crisis (which he helped to cause) into an opportunity for dramatic tax increases by creating a national debt commission that will soon announce recommendations for...drumroll please...massive tax increases to reduce the debt (including a VAT tax).

Obama turned the Social Security crisis into an opportunity for more taxes by creating a national commission that will soon announce recommendations for...drumroll please...massive new FICA tax increases, including the removal of the cap (on income over $106,000).

Now Obama is using the Gulf oil crisis to try to ram through "cap and trade" legislation that will greatly increase taxes and prices for all forms of energy (gas prices for your car, electric prices for your home, natural gas and home heating oil, etc) but especially hit the middle and upper classes and business owners hardest.

Has America picked up on a pattern yet? None of this has anything to do with the crisis. It's all about a Marxist plan to overwhelm the system and redistribute the wealth. The crisis' are just Obama's "opportunities." They are his WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRACTION to provide cover for massive new taxes that take away money and power from the people...especially business owners...and hand it to big government, big unions, and Obama's masses of voters (the poor, entitlement addicts, government employees, anyone that desperately needs government to survive).
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Turning all of America into California.


I am an economic refugee from California. I escaped to Nevada with my family, my business and my life a decade ago. It was either run for my life, or die trying. I escaped because of the impossible business climate- the highest income and business taxes in the country, the highest workers comp taxes, out of control government employee unions, the most lawyers in the country. It was (and is) a recipe for economic disaster. California had destroyed my ability to do business.



For the last decade, I’ve been traveling the nation as a best-selling author, business speaker and political leader comparing California to Nevada. At each stop I extol the virtues of Nevada- smaller government, fewer government employees, less power for unions and lawyers, far lower taxes. Quite simply, Nevada gives a small business owner a chance to live, to survive, to prosper. It’s called economic freedom. All small business owners want is for government to get out of the way and stop stealing our money. We can’t build a good business without the seed capital you are stealing. If the business actually works, we can’t expand without that money you are stealing. We can’t create jobs without that money you are stealing. It’s this simple- in Nevada we can build, survive, and prosper. In California we can’t.



Yesterday my gut instincts were validated in a big way. Chief Executive magazine surveyed business leaders across America and they rated Nevada as the 5th best state in America to do business…and California dead last (that’s #50 out of 50 states for those of you who need teleprompters to think). The bottom 5 states (Massachusetts, New Jersey, Michigan, New York and California) are all deep purple states with high taxes, too many government employees (that loot and bankrupt the taxpayers), too many rules and regulations that strangle business, too powerful unions, and too many lawyers.



Yet on a national basis, Obama and his socialist friends in Congress are trying desperately to replicate California, New York and Michigan- where business owners, retirees, and taxpayers are fleeing by the hundreds of thousands. In just the past few weeks Obama and his anti-economic freedom Congress have tried to pass 2 bills that each could wipe out small business, destroy millions of jobs, and cause a mass exodus of business owners and high income earners out of this country (just as millions of taxpayers have escaped from New York, Michigan and California). Taken together they are a message from Obama: WE ARE OUT TO SIEZE YOUR PROPERTY, STEAL YOUR MONEY, AND DESTROY YOUR LIFE IF YOU OWN A SMALL BUSINESS.



The first one was part of the 2000+ page Obamacare bill that passed, so it is now law. Starting in 2012 every business owner in America must send out a 1099 to the I.R.S. for every bill they pay that adds up to $600 or more in the course of a year. This new law will create a blizzard of compliance issues and paperwork, and an I.R.S. Nanny State never before even imagined. The cost of compliance will be billions of dollars- in the middle of a depression. Very few small business owners have the time, money or manpower (teams of accountants, controllers, bookkeepers) to comply with this new law. It is intended to bleed small business dry and suffocate us under a blizzard of paperwork and I.R.S. tax compliance. If it isn’t overturned by a new Congress before January 1, 2012, say goodbye to millions of jobs.



The 2nd disaster should be called “The Destroy Small Business Instantly Act.” It is part of the “jobs bill” that is coming up for a vote this week. Warning: Congress is trying to create jobs again- even though every other time they’ve tried, they’ve failed miserably. When will they learn- government can’t create jobs, it can only waste money and kill jobs. Congress is proposing to hit every small business in America with a deadly new 15% tax on profits. That’s on top of all the stifling taxes already on the books. This new 15% tax will be assessed on every Sub Chapter S company- which defines every small business and entrepreneur in this country. S Corps are primarily sole proprietorships and businesses of less than 5 employees that create most of the jobs and pay most of the taxes in America. They cannot survive with another 15% of their money stolen on a whim of Obama. They need this 15% of profits, in the middle of a depression, to create new jobs, or keep current ones employed.



This bill would instantly put most of the small businesses in America out of business. Since small business creates 75% of all new jobs, think of the implications. This is Obama’s way to take the cap off 15% FICA taxes without anyone noticing. This is fraud. It is theft that would make the mafia blush. It is a disgrace. This dishonors the hardest working people in America- small business owners. Obama should be impeached for trying to destroy mom and pop stores all over America.



The battle lines are drawn- it’s us against them. It’s small business against Obama. It’s small business versus big unions and big government. It’s capitalism and what’s left of the American Dream against socialists, marxists and communists. It’s Obama’s attempt to turn all of America into one big California. It’s time to stop this out of control administration. This bill must be stripped out of the jobs bill before small business is wiped off the face of the earth. Obama must be stopped. Please call your Congressman and Senator today.




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What Just Happened in Nevada? U.S. Senator Sharon Who?



Nevada is the Canary in the Coal Mine.



I TOLD YOU SO! The question on national political experts minds Wednesday morning is, “Sharon who?” Sharon Angle was the winner of the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Nevada. Few on the national scene saw this coming. But I did. As a Nevada Reagan Libertarian, Tea Party activist, and national political commentator, I’ve said for months that in a “Tea Party year” anything is possible- including the election of a political outsider like Sharon Angle.



When the public is angry and wants blood- all bets are off. Ask Utah Senator Bennett and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. Ask the voters of Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey, who all participated in big wins for maverick underdog candidates in the past year. Ask Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, the first sitting governor ever defeated in a primary in Nevada history (also last night). Ask Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln who barely escaped with her life on Tuesday, only to face sure defeat in the general election in November. Ask the Lt. Governor of South Carolina, who got 17% of the vote against an unknown female candidate (Nikki Haley) endorsed by Sarah Palin. The new mantra is V.E.T.O.- Vote Everyone of Them Out!



In Sharon Angle’s case, the Tea Party movement gets 100% of the credit. Angle was languishing in 3rd place in her U.S. Senate race until she received the endorsement of the Tea Party Express and The Club for Growth. After that, she moved up the polls like a rocket. She blew by the GOP establishment candidate Sue Lowden. Coming from 20+ points down, Angle won going away. This was not a year to be the establishment candidate- even if you are an ex-beauty queen , TV newscaster, and casino owner.



Sharon Angle is a true fiscal conservative, limited government, anti-tax Tea Party candidate. The Wall Street Journal just days ago described her views as “outside the mainstream.” Well I have news for the Wall Street Journal- radical is the new mainstream. The Journal described her radical positions in the past as “abolishing the federal tax code, privatizing Social Security for younger Americans, and eliminating the Education Department.” I have a funny feeling the mainstream media just doesn’t get it- yes, those views used to be out of the mainstream. But not this year, not when you’re running against the U.S. Senate Majority Leader who carries the water for the most socialist President in American political history. In this year, in this race, those views are just fine.



National studies show those views to be more in the mainstream than big government candidates. Most Americans distrust government; want it made smaller; see big government as the biggest threat to their freedom; want government spending cut dramatically; and feel over-taxed. That’s precisely why the Tea Party movement has flourished against-all-odds. The Silent Majority feels unrepresented and ripped off by “business-as-usual” and mainstream politicians. An awful lot of taxpayers and voters are thinking out of the box. They’re thinking that perhaps it’s time to think “out of the mainstream.”



Nevada is the canary in the coalmine. I predict all over this country the media will be stunned by this “new world order.” Conservative and Libertarian are back in vogue; “traditional” and “establishment” are dirty words; and radical is the new mainstream. The Reids (Harry and his son Rory) are in the wrong place, at the wrong time. All you have to do is “read the tea leaves” to know that. In this new world order, Sharon Angle may be just what the doctor ordered.






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