Earlier in October the following e-mail was sent to us, as a member of National Write Your Congressman, a legislative research group that helps small business people, as well as regular consumers with information on what is happening in Washington D.C.  - Robin Tucker

Obama Vs. Romney on Fiscal Issues   Mr Robin B Tucker,

Fiscal Issues: As the presidential debates continue between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney, we are bringing you a brief overview of major policy points each candidate supports concerning Fiscal Issues. President Obama General Philosophy: Economic stimulus now, deficit reduction over the long term. Tax the wealthy to raise additional revenues. Trim military spending, Medicare, federal pensions, and farm subsidies. This litany sums up the Obama administration’s approach to taxes, spending, and the federal deficit as outlined in the President’s fiscal 2013 budget. These policy proposals are part of the administration’s creed of tax fairness and progressivity: mainly, the principle that the wealthy should shoulder a greater burden of taxes than lower-income Americans. When it comes to the budget, the Obama administration is less concerned with reducing the deficit in the short run than with reviving the economy. Taxes: Much of the administration’s rhetoric on taxes involves ensuring that the wealthy pay their “fair share.” In addition to allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire for families’ income of more than $250,000 a year, the President would also institute the so-called Buffett Rule, which would limit the amount of deductions that high-income earners can claim and attempt to set up what amounts to a minimum tax rate for millionaires. The President has proposed to reduce the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent and give manufacturers a special rate of 25 percent. Obama would also institute a minimum tax on the earnings that multinationals make overseas. Deficit Reduction: When the President unveiled his budget in February, Jeff Zients, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, pointed out deficit-reduction measures that he said amounted to more than $5 trillion in savings over 10 years—from the $1.5 trillion in tax increases to the $1 trillion in spending caps from the Budget Control Act to the $850 billion in war savings from the military draw down in Iraq and Afghanistan. The President’s budget does little to reduce spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—the biggest drivers of federal spending in the coming decades. Spending: The President’s deputies, such as White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew, have emphasized that now is not the time for austerity. Obama proposes to increase spending on transportation projects, nondefense research, and teacher training. He also calls for a tax break for manufacturers that bring jobs back to the U.S. and for small businesses that hire new workers. Unlike Romney, he opposes a cap on spending as a share of GDP, arguing that such a cap would restrict the government’s flexibility to increase spending in tough times. Mitt Romney General Philosophy: Although some Republicans have fretted that Romney is a RINO—“Republican in Name Only”— his fiscal proposals tell a different story. In fact, they closely follow conservative thinking, down to his selection of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan as his running mate and his support for Ryan’s controversial plan that calls for deep cuts in domestic spending, broad changes in Medicare and Medicaid, and lower tax rates, all while protecting defense spending. Romney believes that lower marginal tax rates for individuals and lower capital-gains rates will stimulate the economy, boost economic growth, and lift the country out of its economic doldrums. He says he is the person to lead this turnaround, citing his business background. Taxes:As President, Romney would tackle taxes two ways: reduce rates and overhaul the tax code. In addition to making the Bush-era tax cuts permanent, he has proposed slashing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent; reducing individual income-tax rates by 20 percent across the board; and eliminating the estate tax, the alternative minimum tax, and tax provisions from the 2010 health care law. He would end taxes on long-term capital gains, dividends, and interest for families who earn under $200,000. To pay for such large reductions, Romney has said he would make the tax code less complex by eliminating some yet-to-be-determined breaks. He also proposes to switch to a territorial tax system. Deficit Reduction: To reduce the deficit, Romney would make deep spending cuts and cap federal spending at 20 percent of GDP by the end of 2016—with the goal of eventually bringing it down to between 18 percent and 20 percent—well below its level in recent decades. He has made the country’s mounting debt a key point in his case against Obama. “A prairie fire of debt is sweeping across Iowa and our nation,” he said at a campaign stop in Des Moines, “and every day we fail to act, we feed that fire with our own lack of resolve.” Spending: Many of Romney’s spending proposals echo the budget proposals of his running mate, who is chairman of the House Budget Committee. Like Paul Ryan (R-WI), Romney would cap federal spending; repeal the 2010 health care law; cut the size and salaries of the federal workforce; and turn Medicaid into a block-grant program that would give control to the states, shifting it from an open-ended entitlement and limiting its funding. Romney has said he would follow the House GOP budget and cut non defense discretionary spending by 5 percent immediately.

To share your thoughts with Mitt Romney on Entitlements? (Click Here) To share your thoughts with President Obama on Entitlements? (Click Here)

Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission Fair Housing Conference

Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission Fair Housing Conference

Current Fair Housing Issues

Thursday, November 8, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Kirkwood Training & Outreach Services (KTOS)

3375 Armar Drive, Marion

Registration: $25 (includes continental breakfast and lunch)
*Register by 5pm October 31 to receive lunch.
Late registrations and same day registrants will be accepted - Lunch will not be included for late registrants

This Conference is designed to give housing professionals, attorneys, social service staff, and community members, a strong understanding of Fair Housing laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Credit. Come learn about your rights and your responsibilities!

REGISTER: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4550536778/eivtefrnd#

This event has been approved for 1.75 hours of Continuing Legal Education activity credit.
Please notify us at Registration if you are requesting CLE credit.
Members of the Cedar Rapids Area Association of Realtors should contact the CRAAR for more information.  Scholarships are availabe for CRAAR members.

PROGRAM
8:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:45 Welcome

• Karl Cassell, Executive Director, Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission
• Ron Corbett, Mayor, City of Cedar Rapids
• Snooks Bouska, Mayor, City of Marion

9:00 Keynote

• Betty Bottiger, Region VII Director, Housing and Urban Development

10:00 An Overview of Fair Housing Law.

• A discussion of recent court and administrative decisions. Areas of emphasis will include prohibited practices, protected classes and issues relating to persons with disabilities and families.
• Professor Allison Bethel, Clinical Professor, Director, Fair Housing Clinic, The John Marshall Law School

11:00 The Fair Housing Act, Persons with Disabilities, Animals and Pets.

1. This session will examine and compare federal, state and local laws that govern the rights of persons with disabilities to live with or be accompanied in public by animals who provide service, support, assistance or companionship. The workshop will focus on how to apply the federal Fair Housing Act, Iowa Civil Rights Act, Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Ordinance, Iowa's Rights of Persons with Disabilities law, and Dangerous Wild Animals law. Parrots and pooches and pigs, oh my!
2. Professor Len Sandler, Clinical Professor of Law, University of Iowa College of Law

12:00 Lunch

• Accessibility to and within Housing: Applicable Laws and Regulations for Dwellings and Common Areas.
• This session will cover The Americans with Disabilities Act and Amendments and The Fair Housing Act and Amendments, including purpose and overview, specific regulations to housing, common and public area regulations, and animals for companionship and service. We will also talk about the influence and confluence of related laws for persons with disabilities.
• Jim de Jong, Executive Director and Principal Investigator, Great Plains ADA Center

1:00 Credit Reports: The Good, the Bad, the Bottom Line.

• We will discuss information contained in a credit report, credit scoring, interpreting credit history – what’s important, what’s not, reading between the lines, and improving credit – creating opportunities.
• Scott Shook, Director of Consumer Credit Counseling Services, Horizons

LUNCH OPTIONS

• Turkey Sandwich on French Baguette
• Walnut Chicken Salad on Croissant
• Vegetarian Sandwich on Sourdough Bread

Lunch includes sandwich, fresh fruit, chips, and a cookie

If you have questions about this event, please contact the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission at 319-286-5036.  I, Robin Tucker, am one of the eleven local residents that currently serves on the City's Civil Rights Commission.  My father, I.L. "Tommy" Tucker had the pleasure of being one of the original commissioners, when Cedar Rapids began to promote equal opportunity and civil rights in our community.  He served the Commission as a volunteer Commissioner for 32 years.

The Election is a little over a week ahead, but what about the Lame Duck Session of Congress?

The Election is 11/6/2012

Lame Duck Session

After the election, Congress will begin their Lame Duck Session. During this session they have indicated the three major pieces of legislation are the following issues. Make your voice heard by E-mailing this ballot to your Representative and Senators today.

(Click Here to Voice Your Opinion)

Bush Era Tax Cuts

The Bush Tax Cuts, are a series of temporary income tax relief measures enacted in 2001 and 2003. The tax cuts lowered federal income tax rates for everyone, decreased the marriage penalty, lowered capital gains taxes, lowered the tax rate on dividend income, increased the child tax credit from $500 to $1,000 per child, eliminated the phaseout on personal exemptions for higher-income taxpayers and eliminated the phaseout on itemized deductions, in addition to other taxes.

Should the Bush-era tax cuts be extended?

• Yes, but only on those who earn less than $250,000.00 a year?
• Yes, but only on those who earn less than $1 Million a year?

Sequester

Sequester is a package of automatic spending cuts. The cuts, which are projected to total $1.2 trillion, are scheduled to begin in 2013 and end in 2021, evenly divided over the nine-year period. The cuts are also evenly split between defense spending and discretionary domestic spending, which exempts most entitlements. The total cuts for 2013 will be $109 billion, according to the new White House report.

• Should Congress cancel the $109 billion in automatic discretionary spending cuts?
• Should Congress exempt defense spending from the cuts?

Farm Bill

The Farm Bill is a multi-year, multi-billion dollar measure to govern farm, nutrition and rural-conservation programs. Lawmakers are divided along regional, rather than party, lines. The kinds of protections to promise farmers and the balance that should be struck between funding for farm subsidy and nutrition (food stamp) programs are at the forefront of floor debates.

• Do you think the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) should be cut?
• Should SNAP applicants be required to take a drug test before receiving benefits?
• Should farmers receive payments for land they don’t plant?
• Should Congress raise import tariffs on foreign farm product producers?

Time is short, please voice your thoughts now?

Click Here to voice your opinion

11/6/2012

Voting in the State of Iowa

• 2012 General Election Information

• Voter Registration

• Absentee Voting

• Voting on Election Day

• Military Voters

• Overseas Civilian Voters

• College Student Voters


We encourage everyone of legal voting age and legal residence to vote in the upcoming election.  It our civic duty to participate in our neighborhoods, our communities, districts, states and in sending our representatives to the School Board, City Council, County Supervisors, State Houses and to Congress.

Where to vote in Linn County, Iowa - Find your Polling Place, Election Districts & Elected Officials

As a member of CR25 in Cedar Rapids, our new polling place is:

Calvin Sinclair Presbyterian Church

715 38th Street SE, Cedar Rapids

The major newspapers in Iowa have endorsed Governor Mitt Romney for President in Iowa.



October 2012 has arrived; 3/4 of 2012 now in the books ...

Each Monday, I normally enjoy a Noon luncheon with fellow Rotarians.  A look at this month in the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids ...

• October 1, 2012 - Lois Buntz, Club President - The Rotary International Convention
• October 8, 2012 - Iowa Legislature Debate - House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (Republican) and Senate Appropriations Chair Robert Dvorsky (Democrat)
• October 15, 2012 - Congressman Bruce Braley, Democratic incumbent for Iowa's new First Congressional District
• October 22, 2012 - United States Senator Charles Grassley
• October 29, 2012 - Ben Lange, Republican candidate for Iowa's new First Congressional District.

Today, at Rotary, two articles were mentioned as the 2012 Judicial Retention Election Vote comes on Election Day, November 6, 2012.

• THE REGULARS: Outrage over court's gay marriage decision rings hollow - Christopher Rants for the Sioux City Journal
• On the bus, but out of context - Todd Dorman for The Gazette

National Action Alert

Ryan Medicare Plan

Mr Robin B Tucker,

With an estimated 10,000 baby boomers retiring each day, and declining numbers of workers paying into the program to support Medicare beneficiaries, Medicare has become the target of lawmakers who say reform is necessary if it is to survive.

Vice Presidential candidate and House Budget Chairman, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), has proposed a plan that he says would put Medicare on a sustainable path. But most Democrats don’t agree. Vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) says the Ryan Medicare plan would primarily benefit only a select few.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)
“Unless Congress fixes what’s broken in Medicare, without breaking what’s working, the program will end up causing exactly what it was created to avoid – millions of American seniors without adequate health security and a younger working generation saddled with enormous debts to pay for spending levels that cannot be sustained.

“It is morally unconscionable for elected leaders to cling to an unsustainable status quo with respect to America’s health and retirement security programs. Current seniors and future generations deserve better than empty promises and a diminished country. Current retirees deserve the benefits around which they organized their lives. Future generations deserve health and retirement security they can count on. By making gradual structural improvements, Congress can preserve America’s social contract with retired workers.”

Rep. Ryan says his proposed Medicare plan would achieve these goals:

• Strengthen health and retirement security by taking power away from government bureaucrats and empowering patients with control over their care.
• Repeal the new health care law’s unaccountable board of bureaucrats empowered to cut Medicare in ways that would jeopardize seniors’ access to care.
• Save Medicare for current and future generations, with no disruptions for those in and near retirement.
• For younger workers, when they become eligible, Medicare would provide a premium-support payment and a list of guaranteed coverage options – including a traditional fee-for-service option – from which recipients can choose a plan that best suits their needs.
• Program growth would be determined by a competitive-bidding process – with choice and competition forcing providers to reduce costs and improve quality for seniors.
• Premium support, competitive bidding, and more assistance for those with lower incomes or greater health care needs would ensure guaranteed affordability for all seniors.

Rep. Ryan adds, “Letting government break its promises to current seniors and to future generations is unacceptable. The reforms outlined in the budget passed by the House protect and preserve Medicare for those in and near retirement, while saving and strengthening this critical program so that future generations can count on it to be there when they retire.”

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
“Despite recent polls indicating overwhelming support to keep Medicare intact, House Republicans continue to support the Ryan Medicare Plan that would end the Medicare guarantee and transform it into a privatized voucher system. The Congressional Budget Office calculated an approximate $6,400 increase in annual out-of-pocket health care costs for seniors by 2022 if the Ryan Medicare plan were to be enacted.

"For 47 years Medicare has provided access to quality health care for seniors and people with disabilities. The Affordable Care Act strengthened Medicare, extended its solvency, increased benefits and reduced prescription drug costs for our seniors. Over 2.8 million New Yorkers of all ages depend on the healthcare services provided by Medicare. So far this year, more than 71,000 New Yorkers with Medicare saved over $45 million on prescription drugs and nationally over one million people have already saved over $680 million.

“The proposed Ryan Medicare Plan focuses on a system that benefits a few while the rest of America gets dealt an unfair hand. Rather than ending Medicare, we should be working together to preserve and strengthen it for future generations. This program is one of the proudest achievements of the Democratic Party, and we will continue to defend the program and the principles for which it was created in 1964.”

Do you think Congress should pass the Ryan Medicare Plan? (Click Here)

Take action and voice your opinion now!