The control of both the United States House of Representatives and the Senate may be up for grabs by Republicans, in the mid-term elections, in November.
Reporters were shocked when Robert Gibbs, the White House secretary, said in a public statement recently, that Democrats had enough seats “in play” to lose the House in the upcoming midterm elections. He meant that there are a number of seats held by Democrats that look like they might be won by Republicans this November.
There are several reasons why this could happen. Polls have been noting that voter support for President Barack Obama has been slipping, due to the soft economy and lack of job growth.
People are really concerned about the economy. Large spending programs and long term debt of approximately 20 trillion dollars, by 2020, have made taxpayers less confident in our present administration. According to a recent CBS news poll, only 40 percent approved how President Obama is handling the current down economy. Major concerns appeared to be the Gulf oil spill and its cleanup, the two wars, TARP loans, the stimulus package, and the government takeover of the health care program and some manufacturing industries. Thomas M. Holbrook, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, wrote a recent article about the impact of economics on voting behavior. He stated that “negative economic news turns voters away from the incumbent party and positive economic news generally leads people to support the incumbent party.” This actually happened in the election of 2008. While race and other issues played a small part in determining voting, it was the economy that overwhelmingly led to the win for President Obama.
The poor economy and the lack of jobs reflect the absence of both good planning and leadership by the current administration. Most of the programs were not properly planned and researched ahead of time, and pressure was exerted to pass bills before all the issues were fully discussed. Transparency was not given to the public or to the opposing political party for input.
Mistakes were made because too little time was allowed for debate. During a debate, potential weaknesses of bills can be addressed, so items can get amended before they become law. Both Democratic and Republican politicians now admit that many provisions in recent major legislation will have to be revised, added to, or eliminated after becoming laws. What a waste of taxpayer monies, and deep frustrations for many citizens. A CBS poll showed more than three quarters of the taxpayers felt the economy was not improved by the stimulus package, nor were jobs available for the 15 million persons who are unemployed. Surprisingly, only about one third of Americans polled actually approved of the Healthcare Reform bill. The majority did not.
Jamming through bills with improper due diligence from our political representatives is wrong and bad policy. To date, only 13 percent of the people feel the administration’s economic policies have helped them. Most are unhappy with the outcomes.
Lifestyles will be affected with the runaway spending. Countless new regulations are being added by long term government employees, who lack actual field experience. The agency directors have real world experience, but come and go with each administration. More taxes, less jobs, and the poor economy are troubling people. The administration is being seen as “tax and spenders.” Fiscal responsibility is needed right now, not excessive spending for unnecessary projects that do not help the economy. The American people are tired of heavy deficits, leading to more taxation for their children and future generations. What is needed is a bipartisan effort to take action to reduce debt and burdensome regulations.
The public responds to economic problems in elections. If the economy is good, other issues become important in determining how individuals vote. But when the economy goes south, so does support for an incumbent party and its elected officials.
We should not have to wait for the next election to begin to rein in the costs of runaway government. Both parties should commit to reducing government spending now.
Let’s get all the ideas we can. A website should be established for public input on ideas that can promote jobs and improve the economy. People are tired of the sour economy and no jobs. If improvements are not made, let’s change the direction we are going, beginning in November.
— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist and past president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached by e-mail bernard@featherman.com.
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