Rep. Kevin McCarthy: fighting the Democratic spending plan and opposing health care reform

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) brings us up to date on an eventful week in Washington, in his own words:

"This week, Congress continued to work through annual government funding and spending bills - we voted on the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act and the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
"I started off the week using Skype technology to video chat with the Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce. I continue to look for new ways to listen to local residents and let them know what is going on in Congress. I sent out an email newsletter containing a sneak preview to a column I penned on health care. To receive these email alerts, you can sign up on my website: www.kevinmccarthy.house.gov.

"On Tuesday, my colleagues and I held a press conference to discuss the newly-introduced $1.5 trillion government takeover of health care, which could force 114 million Americans out of their current private health coverage, and pave the way for Washington bureaucrats and politicians to have a larger say in our health care decisions rather than patients and their doctors. How complicated is this bill? This chart illustrates the bureaucracy created: http://docs.house.gov/gopleader/House-Democrats-Health-Plan.pdf. This trillion dollar program would be funded by tax increases on Americans and small businesses, and by borrowing the rest. This means billions of dollars of future debt that our children and grandchildren will have to pay off. To see the video of the press conference, visit my website or Facebook page: facebook.com/CongressmanKevinMcCarthy.

"On Wednesday I weighed in on our state budget mess through a column that ran on the Flash Report. As we deal with double digit unemployment, I made three observations that state legislators could consider to reform and improve our state’s long-term fiscal health: 1) we need to reduce the burden of taxes and regulations that California places on businesses, which is causing more businesses to leave our state. 2) we need to preserve California’s unique industries: renewable energy development, tourism, entertainment, high-tech development and agriculture to just name a few. We have to think of ways to keep these industries growing and thriving in order to provide needed jobs. 3) we need smarter spending, which means making tough decisions to cut wasteful, duplicative, or unnecessary programs, and only grow government by the rate of inflation. Sacramento has the chance to come together and put Californians first by focusing on enhancing our business climate and reducing spending.



Later that evening, I had dinner with my “sophomore class,” (the members of Congress I started with during the 110th Congress). The group is composed of Republicans and Democrats from across America, and it was refreshing for us to get together. I started these dinners two years ago with my friend Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-Colorado) to move past the partisan bad habits inherent in Washington that develop from not talking and constantly fighting. One thing we talked about was the need to focus on helping our local banks that are struggling. Our local banks serve our communities, make loans to small businesses, and help many of us buy our first homes.

"Also, in case you missed it -- former Congressman Bill Thomas was selected to serve as Vice Chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. He was one of four appointments made by House Republican Leader John Boehner (OH) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) to the Commission. The Commission has been tasked by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis and the collapse of major financial institutions. I can’t think of anyone better than Bill Thomas to serve our country in this role, and seek out the facts that led to our financial crisis.
"The end of the week was a bit disappointing. At this time of record deficits totaling over one trillion dollars, I think that it is absolutely necessary for the House to vigorously debate any good ideas targeting wasteful or unnecessary spending. Despite two amendments I offered to save taxpayers $26 million in unnecessary spending, in addition to dozens of other bipartisan amendments proposed, the House Democrat leadership would not even allow us to consider the amendments, claiming there was not enough time, even though we finished floor debate at 4pm on Thursday and 3pm on Friday. They did find the time, however, to vote for a new $200 million wild horses and burros program. But next week is a new week, and I will continue to work to bring fiscal discipline to Washington.
"Thanks for reading, have a good weekend.

Bako Bits: slinking back to Cal after a week in Georgia and staying abreast via Twitter

Bits and pieces from around town and some random thoughts heading into the weekend ....

* ALL ABOUT TWITTER ... Am constantly amazed at how technology can change our lives by influencing our habits. My wife can't work out or run without her iPod, my girls select their music and build their play lists never setting foot in a "music store," and I now keep up with news from home via Twitter and a handful of blogs. Spent the last week or so south of Savannah on the sweltering Georgia coast where - by the way - the economy is no better than home. Realtors are struggling, consumers have sharply curtailed their spending and everyone is wondering where the bottom is. Keeping up with Bako is now as simple as "following" a few key folks on Twitter, including a feed called "NewsBakersfield" which does an admirable job aggregating news from The Californian, all the local TV stations and just about everywhere else. Another prolific and interesting person to follow on Twitter is KGET's Kiyoshi Tomono, who does a good job interspersing local news with national events. I can do without Kiyoshi's personal barbs or exchanges with colleagues, but he's worth checking out. Another up and coming "tweeter" is Rachel Legan over at KGFM radio. She's on top of the news and laces it with a dose of wit to keep things interesting.

* DREAM SCHOOL ESSAYS ... Shameless plug for an interesting new website (run by my wife) devoted to helping kids with their college essays. It's called Dream School Essays (check it out here) and the business is aimed at high achieving high schoolers looking for help with those important college essays. Some schools require two to three separate essays as part of the admission requirements, all of different subjects. Given the dismally low percentage of Kern County kids who qualify to attend the UC system, this is a real niche market, but an important one to serve.



* RECOMMENDED SUMMER READING ... Highly recommend the new Malcolm Gladwell book "Outliers," a fascinating examination of why some people succeed and others don't. It explores cultural influences, of course parents, but more interesting things like birthdates that can heavily influence the lives of our children. This is the same guy who wrote "Blink" and "The Tipping Point," two other quality reads.

* PICKING AND GRINNING ... Also recommend a fun website to occasionally visit if you are in the least interested in guitars, called "Playalittleguitar." The author has a quick wit and the site was recently cited by Blogger as one of its most promising and interesting websites. (check it out here)

Musings about Jacko, Sarah Palin, housing prices and the state of the California economy

On vacation down here in sweltering South Georgia, south of fabulous Savannah on the coast, and enjoying the near daily rain and electric thunderstorms. Awoke to NBC's Today Show morning fodder: was Michael Jackson murdered? Levi says Sarah Palin wants a reality show! And you wonder why folks have lost faith in the mainstream media. But thanks to old pal Soll Sussman, a longtime Texan and journalist I befriended a lifetime ago, for passing along a fascinating read in The Economist comparing the states of Texas and California, one lean and mean and the other a tad lefty and generous to a fault. (read complete story here) It's worth your read as we try to find our way out of this fiscal mess, and I was struck by one passage that warns everyone not to count us out. Here goes:

"Second, it has never paid to bet against a state with as many inventive people as California. Even if Hollywood is in the dumps, it still boasts an unequalled array of sunrise industries and the most agile venture-capital industry on the planet; there is no prospect of the likes of Google decamping from Mountain View for Austin, though many start-ups have. The state also has an awesome ability to reinvent itself—as it did when its defence industry collapsed at the end of the cold war. Perhaps the rejection of tax increases will “starve the beast” and promote structural reform. A referendum on a new primaries system could end its polarised politics. Mr Schwarzenegger’s lazy governorship could come to be seen not as the great missed opportunity, but as the spur for reform.

BakersfieldObserved is on vacation: enjoy this video

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

Rep. McCarthy: fighting Democratic spending and the Obama health care reform package

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, brings us up to date with what is going on in Washington, in his own words:

"It was a busy week in Congress as we continued work on appropriations bills. We voted on three: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. I continue to be concerned with the alarming spending rates initiated by the Democrat controlled Congress given the lack of time and transparency necessary to target waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars. During these tough economic times, we need to be careful how we spend taxpayer dollars and focus our efforts on long term job creation that Californians need.

"Tuesday night, Treasury Secretary Geithner joined a bipartisan group of Members for an informal, off-the-record discussion about the current economy and financial regulatory reform. He provided some insight behind the Administration’s financial regulatory reform plan and we had a spirited discussion.

"I started off the week in the Financial Services Committee reviewing the Section 8 (public-housing) Voucher Reform Act of 2009. I was able to offer an amendment which would have provided Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with the ability to quantify the effectiveness of public housing authorities (PHAs) in deconcentrating poverty. Unfortunately, this attempt at much needed accountability was voted down. Next week the committee will continue reviewing this legislation, and I intend to offer another amendment that would have the Government Accountability Office do a study to provide data on Section 8 vouchers in the Lancaster area. In the future, I hope to work with Housing Subcommittee Chair Maxine Waters (CA-35) to continue to look at ways we can improve accountability in Section 8 programs for our local communities.

"While the Administration is confident of passing health care reform legislation in the near future, House Democrats are not in agreement with one another, or the President on the best path forward. According to a study by the independent Lewin Group, their analysis of the House Democrats’ health “reform” plan will dramatically increase the cost of private health care coverage, and could force 114 million Americans out of their current private health coverage. We need to keep what works for individuals and not increase government involvement and control in the process. That will only limit access and bring down high standards of quality care American families need. I will continue to work for solutions that allow patients to choose what is best, improve on successful prevention methods and bring down costs that come from waste and abuse.

"Chairman Barney Frank and I have a difference of opinion. He has introduced legislation that would take dividends paid by TARP and spend them on new and existing government programs. I believe that any TARP funds repaid should go to pay down our immense public debt, which under the proposed Democrat budget is projected to double in five years and triple in ten years. You probably remember from past blog posts, I introduced legislation to have repaid TARP funds pay down the debt – alleviating the burden that will be put on our children and grandchildren. My colleagues and I have also sent letters to Secretary Geithner and the President asking him to use repaid TARP funds to pay down this debt. The government borrowed money to pay for the TARP program when it began, so we need to repay them first, rather than establishing a revolving line of credit for Washington bureaucrats and politicians. I believe that we should be helping Main Street – through fast-acting tax relief for middle-class Americans and job-creating small businesses.
"Thursday, I joined several of my California colleagues in cosponsoring legislation (H.R. 3105) that allows for the continued operation of the Central Valley Project, regardless of a recent biological opinion that could further restrict water deliveries to our farms, families and businesses. We need to keep the pumps in the Delta on, and this legislation is a common-sense solution that will keep the water flowing to our homes and local businesses to help reverse the jobs losses in our communities and grow the food to feed our nation.

"I concluded my week in a meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a general update on the economy and discussion of the Administration’s regulatory reform proposal. As always, Chairman Bernanke provided a frank assessment of the challenges our economy is facing, and I am looking forward to his semi-annual testimony to the committee on monetary policy in a couple of weeks.

"Friday, I started the morning early with Congressmen Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Heath Shuler (D-NC), to meet and work out with the founder of a workout program I have been using to stay in shape, P90X. The founder, Tony Horton, was on Capitol Hill this week and he led a 1-hour workout session with Members that I joined. Horton may not be too far off in his theory that if Members are fit and healthy, Congress may operate more efficiently.
"Thanks for reading, have a good weekend, next week we continue working on more appropriations bills.

Cal State art students unleash their creativity on Californian newspaper racks

Not sure who had the idea, but I love what The Californian has done to spruce up some of its newspaper racks around town. The project was a partnership between the paper's marketing department and CSUB art students, who took on about a dozen newspaper racks to express themselves. To see the entire gallery, go to The Californian's Facebook site here. The Californian will have a story on it this Saturday, and here's a short excerpt:

"We just wanted to create a buzz for the newspaper and get a little recognition for the art students at Cal State," said Rob Meszaros, marketing manager at The Californian. "Obviously there are some talented students around town so it was a perfect marriage of the two organizations to do it." Joyce Kohl, professor of fine art at CSUB, jumped at the opportunity to have her students display their artistic talents."

Let us know what you think.

Today's economy: a low-grade fever that refuses to go away, and why the end is nowhere in sight

If it's true we all misjudged the depths of this recession - and we all did - it's also true that the days of expecting miracles are over. Talk to business people around our community and you'll hear it over and again: "I'd like to be optimistic, but my financials and my instincts tell me we're in for the long haul." With each day that passes there are further indications that this recession is deeper than anyone imagined, and will last longer than anyone dared to fear. Consider these sobering facts:

* UNEMPLOYMENT ... The jobless rate is approaching 15 percent in Kern County, and that doesn't count the number of "underemployed," meaning those on part time status or earning meager wages on a cash basis. Count those in and almost one in five people cannot make ends meet.
* A BANKRUPT STATE... California is nearing bankruptcy and issuing IOUs that are fetching only 80 cents on the dollar in the open market. Does anyone have any hope that our dysfunctional Legislature can agree on anything?
* FEDERAL BAILOUT ... There's a growing sense that the Obama stimulus package is not working, leading companies and individuals to hunker down and spend less.
* MORTGAGE MESS ... It's been well documented here but the housing crisis may be getting worse, not better, and ham handed attempts at regulation are causing appraisals to come in consistently low, scuttling many otherwise legitimate deals.



* BANKS IN TROUBLE ... U.S. bank regulators closed seven more institutions last week, a clear indication that the loans on the books of many banks continue to deteriorate, forcing the Feds' hand. No doubt there will be more.
* RAIL TRAFFIC CRIPPLED ... One key indicator is the amount of material carried by rail, be it construction material or food headed for processing. One study last week showed overall rail traffic down more than 20 percent year over year.
* PROPERTY TAX APPEALS ... Counties across the country are being beseiged by appeals to lower property taxes, further hamstringing the ability of local governments to spend on roads and repairs.
* GAS PRICE SPIKE ... The price of gasoline is showing signs of another move up, and if that happens the consumer will be even more strapped.
* LOCAL BUSINESS PULLBACK ... Local businesses say they simply aren't hiring, and probably won't even if things get considerably better. Why? Stung once by the recession and worried about spending, they will simply be content to remain smaller.
* COMMERCIAL BUST? ... Some analysts predict that the next big shoe to drop will be in commercial real estate, with some predicting the worst will come in mid to late 2010.



All of this is bad news for the "consumer led" recovery that experts say we need. Until the credit crisis passes and people have jobs, there will be no recovery of any significance.

Bako Bits: Brain drain at the county, more drunks on the road and a bid to spike car sales

Cleaning off my desk preparing for a little vacation on the other coast. Wish I had better news on the local economy but it's chugging along the bottom, not getting any better but not getting much worse either. Let's wrap up some loose ends:

* FATHER OF THE YEAR? ... Just as we suspected, the driver who crashed head-on into another vehicle on Enos Lane on Sunday was drunk, according to the cops. And I suppose it should come as no surprise that the driver, 27-year-old Pedro Munoz of Delano, had been arrested on drunken driving charges two years ago. The tragedy is that Pedro's lack of responsibility led to the death of his wife and his two daughters, and the injury of a family of innocents in the truck he hit. Pedro's first mistake was driving drunk and his second - and fatal - mistake was trying to outrun a CHP officer who clocked him going 83 mph on Enos. Father of the year? Don't think so. By the way, that stretch of Enos between Panama Lane and Stockdale Highway is always treacherous. You have traffic heading to Interstate 5 and then trucks towing boats and RVs coming from the Lake Buena Vista Recreational Area. Be careful out there. (photo below courtesy of KGET TV)



* COUNTY BRAIN DRAIN ... Didn't want to let it pass without noting the pending retirement of David Price III, the chief of the Resource Management Agency. Dave is a longtime county bureaucrat and a good one at that, and it never hurts when you are blessed with a keen sense of humor and wit. Dave is heading to the bucolic hills of east Tennessee where his wife has family. He's worked at the county for 21 years. Price joins a number of other longtime county employees to leave recently, including County Counsel Bernie Barmann, waste management director Daphne Harley and Schools Superintendent Larry Reider.

* CLUNKERS FOR CASH ... Nice piece in today's Californian on the "clunkers for cash" program aimed at getting high polluting cars off the road. Turns out the California New Car Dealers Assn. is advising members to hold off until details can be worked out. One dealership eager to get in on the deal is Jim Burke Ford, where general manager Dan Hay reports a lot of interest. The deal: you get up to $4,000 for a trade-in toward the purchase of a new more fuel efficient vehicle but there are some small hiccups the program has to hurdle. Questions? Call your local car dealer for details.