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U
Prof. Rothschild or
Agent Rossi? You Decide
•iM
In an episode of "Criminal
Minds," a suspect named
Professor Rothschild tells Special
Agent David Rossi that be kills
because of an extra Y chromo
some. Rossi laughs that off as
long discredited “junk science.”
"So you don't believe killing is
genetic?’’ asks Rothschild.
“It s not a matter of me believ¬
ing it ll isn’t true,” Rossi
declares
So it is with a lot of things
debated in the public sphere. We
all have some degree of Prof.
Rothschild (without being psy¬
chopaths) and some lesser degree
of Agent Rossi. People make
passionate arguments and signifi¬
cant policy decisions based on
beliefs that often aren’t supported
by facts. When an Agent Rossi
presents us with actual facts, we
are likely to deny them.
A recent post on the business/
economies website “The Motley
Fool" got me on this train of
thought. Its title is “3 Economic
Misconceptions That Need to
Die ' T he three misconceptions
are: "Most of what Americans
spend their money on is made
in Chinn," We owe most of our
debt to China' and "We get most
of our oil from the Middle East.”
The facts about these three sur¬
prised me; is there more Prof.
Rothschild in me than I like to
think?
Here arc some of the many facts
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♦ FEBRUARY 22, 2012
cited by Morgan House! in that
post, which you can find at www
dailyfinancexom Just 2.7% of
Americans' personal spending is
on Chinese made goods: 883%
is on American-made goods and
services. Only 6.4% of non¬
durable goods bought here are
from China and just 12% of dura¬
ble goods. We make 76.2% of
our non-durables and 66.6% of
our durables, in 2011. the U.S.
imported $399 billion of goods
from China, or 2.7%_ of our $143
trillion economy.
As of November 2011. China
owned $ 1.3 trillion of Treasuries,
or 7.6% of $14.9 trillion. Social
Security owns $4.4 trillion of that
debt and the Federal Reserve $1.6
trillion. Japan owns $1 trillion
and Great Britain $429 billion.
Private domestic investors own
$3.1 trillion.
Turning to oil: 9.8% of oil
consumed in this country comes
from the Middle East, while 49%
is domestic. We import twice
as much oil from Canada and
Mexico as we do from the Middle
East.
My point here is not to belit¬
tle the challenges coming from
China, federal borrowing or the
Middle East. My point is that
we need facts to have informed
and meaningful debate, from Fort
Valley to Washington, D.C.: and
to make sensible and effective
policy decisions, from Byron to
the U.N. Don't you want elected
and appointed officials, schools
and businesses rising to meet the
real challenges that we face at the
local, state, national and interna¬
tional levels?
Be careful. If you answer
“yes" too quickly - because you
don’t want to look like an irra¬
tional know-nothing in front of
me - then you commit yourself
to being Agent Rossi and not
Prof. Rothschild. If 1 tell you,
for instance, the fact that federal
environmental requirements have
]
Opinions expressed by writers on this page are their own and not necessarily those <4 The l-eader-Tribune
- ,
A
m
r
With America still facing
a sluggish economy and great
uncertainty Washington lawmak¬
ers must not slip into a do nothing
campaign mode before the elec¬
tions in November. Instead they
must get busy working with
the business community to put
Americans back to work.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
President Tom Donahue says that
American business is improving
but it is doing so very slowly.
Most recent job numbers have
been positive with unemployment
going down to 8.5% which is a
slight improvement but there are
still 23 million Americans unem¬
ployed or working part-time.
In order to put more Americans
back to work the economy must
grow faster than it currently is,
however Donohue feels that the
economy could slow down during
the first part of 2012.
He outlined the Chamber's
2012 policy agenda which would
expand the economy, create jobs
and boost American’s competi¬
tiveness as follows: (1) Produce
increased the cost of the elec¬
tricity that the Fort Valley Utility
Commission buys to distribute
to customers, and the FVUC is
already over $1 million in the
hole this fiscal year due to those
costs, and the commission's
electric rates are still among the
lowest in the stale, how will you
react?
Remember, what we do about
the facts is an entirely separate
issue from the facts themselves.
It’s a fact that its costs more to
produce electricity and that the
FVUC’s rates are low. What to
do about the hardships of higher
electric bills is a separate issue.
It’s a fact that American manu¬
facturing output is 75% high¬
er than it was in 1979, which
means it isn’t true that our man¬
ufacturing sector is in decline.
Manufacturing employment is
down due to technological inno¬
vation (as well as outsourcing),
which is certainly bad for the
people who lost jobs. However,
the President’s call to “revise"
manufacturing is likely to lead
to ineffective and wasteful poli¬
cies if he aims to bring back
jobs that simply don’t exist any
more.
So, here we are - facing facts,
and facing challenges that we
must meet, Prof. Rothschild
believes certain things about
himself and justifies his actions
with “facts” that aren’t facts.
Agent Rossi tells him people
die because of the choices he
makes. Beliefs and facts often
conflict, but we still make our
choices
Are you Prof. Rothschild or
Agent Rossi?
It’s your choice.
1
:3
This week marks the half¬
way point of the 2012 legislative
session. Friday, February 17 was
legislative day 21 of the 40 days
that we are allowed to meet. With
the end of session drawing closer,
our pace quickens as we work
on a buildup of legislation in the
committees and an ever-increas¬
ing number of bills that come to
the house floor.
1 was proud to see Governor
Deal sign legislation I co-spon¬
sored clarifying Georgia statue
regarding garnishment proceed¬
ings, stating that executing and
filing of an answer to a gar¬
nishment order does not consti¬
tute the unauthorized practice
of law. This change will allow
businesses needed flexibility and
cost savings. With the governor's
signature, the new law goes into
immediate effect.
We passed House Resolution
1325 this week which urges
Congress to repeal an outdated
law so that illegal cell phone
use can be more easily detected
in prisons. Illegal cell phone
use has become a huge problem
in Georgia’s prisons. In 2011,
the Georgia Department of
Corrections confiscated more
than 8,500 illegal cell phones.
These phones arc often used by
inmates to initiate attacks against
prison guards and coordinate
CONGRESS - A combina¬
tion of two luttin words; CON
meaning to fight against, impede,
present and stop and GRESS
meaning to advance, support and
work.
CONSTITUENT - A vAer
who has the right to complain to
and be heard by a polytick. The
polytick will immediately forget
everything about the constituent
when the constituent leaves the
room.
CONVENTION - A gathering
of people who belong to a politi¬
cal party. They gather in order
to congratulate each other and
remark on bow smart everyone is
for believing the same Idiotology.
DAMNOCRAT A United
States political party comprised
This week marks the half-way point
of the 2012 legislative session
gang activity from behind bars.
Georgia corrections officers
have reported that they could
dramatically decrease the vio¬
lence with the use of cellular
jammers, devices that prevent
cellular phones from receiv¬
ing signals from base stations.
Unfortunately, prisons are unable
to use cellular jammers due to an
outdated federal law. While we
cannot change this law ourselves,
we can send a strong message to
Washington.
Dozens of my constituents
have contacted me with concerns
that the HOPE scholarship is
either "going away" or family
income will limit participation.
Unfortunately the Atlanta Journal
Constitution amplified some
unrealistic legislation introduced
by Democratic Senators and
created some misinformation. It
is true there are more Zell Miller
(3.7 GPA full tuition) qualified
students which made expenses
a bit higher than expected. It is
also true that as tuition rises and
the number of students enter¬
ing Georgia colleges increases
that the per-person HOPE award
amount will likely go down over
time. However, there is no crisis
right now, and the regular schol¬
arship will be 90% of tuition
through 2012-13. It may go down
at least somewhat in 2013-14. but
I know Chancellor Huckaby is
sincerely making cost control and
slowing down tuition increases
his priority. This will ease the
pressure on HOPE. Income limits
seem to have little support and
are not really on the table as a
policy alternative.
The House also passed HB 71
last week, which is aimed at pro¬
tecting victims of domestic vio¬
lence. This bill provides for con¬
fidential communication between
victims and workers at shelters
and other charitable organiza¬
tions. This makes sure those who
seek help are not scared away
A Modern Political Dictionary
mostly of people who cannot
think for themselves, bow to the
idol of Ted Kennedy and believe
Bill Clinton is as close to a god
as a person can get. Official party
mascot, an intransigent, consti¬
pated mule.
DEATH - A minor impediment
to voting or running for office.
ELECTION - The end of a
campaign at which time taxpay¬
ers learn who will be in charge
of lying, cheating and stealing for
the next few years.
ELECTORAL COLLEGE A
college with no courses, degrees,
graduation requirements. The
sole admission requirement is that
the member of the college must
vote for president, whether he
warns to or not.
ETHIC - Concept which causes
poly ticks to cough, choke, twitch
and change the subject.
IDIOTOLOGY A blind.
unreasoning, unthinking, irra¬
tional and delusional thought
process which states one and only
one way is the correct way to do
Leaders Must Put
Americans Back To Work
American energy and rebuild
the infrastructure. (2) Expand
trade, investment and tourism.
(3) Advance regulatory and legal
reform. (4) Develop an innova¬
tion agenda. (5) Control spending
and reform entitlements.
Donohue says that the real
roadblock to stronger economic
growth, better jobs and more
opportunities for all Americans is
lack of leadership in Washington.
“What we can plainly see is an
urgent need for leaders in every
sector and at every level who
are dedicated to meeting the
country’s challenges, solving
problems and helping America
achieve her full potential. Real
leaders don’t ignore realities.
They don’t sweep problems
under the rug. They don't point
fingers. They don't divide us.
They seek to unite us." he said
As we move into 2012
the question that is yet to be
answered concerns the economic
growth that our economy will
see during the year. During 2011
the economy grew at a rate of
less than 2% according to the
U.S. Chamber. During the first
half of 2011 the grow th rate was
less than 1% due to rising oil
prices and other events around
the world. Then it picked up in
the second half of the year to
almost 2%.
According to figures given
by the Chamber holiday shop¬
ping was better in December
2011 compared to 2010 with
sales up over 3%. Other helpful
trends were the resumption of
banks' lending to businesses and
corporate profits that plunged
during the recession expected to
improve.
Boosted in part by tax incen¬
tives investment in equipment
and software was one of the
contributors to GDP growth in
2011. Investment in equipment
and software should remain solid
during 2012 and we should get a
boost from investments in struc¬
tures.
Another good trend over the
past year has been the improve¬
ment in net exports caused by
a weaker dollar and a reduced
demand for imports. Export
growth was not strong in 2011
because the world economy
slowed. As consumption contin¬
ues to pickup in 2012 imports
should increase which could skiw
the growth of exports.
Job creation began to increase
last September and an average
of 156,000 new jobs was created
each month through December.
The job growth has affected
the unemployment rate which
dropped nationwide from 9.1%
in August to 8.5% in December.
Another factor has been the
decline in the labor force partici¬
pation rate.
Our economy is currently
showing signs of strength and we
arc guardedly optimistic about
continued positive growth this
year, a U.S. Chamber official
said.
by worrying about having infor¬
mation end up in court. It also
clarifies that the exemption in the
law about testifying against your
spouse is not relevant to domestic
violence cases.
This week I co-signed HB 954
which would ban abortion from
the time that prebom a child can
feel pain. It is modeled after a
bill that was authored by Mrs.
Mary Batch, State Legislative
Director, National Right to Life
and known as the Pain v pable
Unborn Protection Act. It passed
in Nebraska in April 2010 and
subsequently in four other states.
To date none of these have been
challenged. Sadly as I under¬
stand, Georgia is the 2nd highest
nationally for the number of
late-term abortions performed.
Hopefully we can pass this bill
and make strides in the direction
of protecting these innocent and
unborn lives.
We also continued our Red
Tape Watch initiative this week.
Through this series of hearings,
we have had the opportunity
to hear from small businesses
across the state, as they shared
the challenges they face with
unnecessary government regula¬
tions. The feedback has pro¬
vided us with some insight into
possible areas for improvement.
For example, business owners
from several different industries
have complained about delays
in working with state agen¬
cies to obtain inspections and
licenses. Also, many owners of
day care centers complained of a
new requirement that employees
must have a technical or college
degree. Some of these centers
say they may have to lay off
workers who have been working
with them for 20 years. We
need to look at policies like these
and determine if this is the right
step to take. My colleagues und
i appreciate these many busi
ness owners who have stepped
forward with their stories, and
we look forward to finding ways
to resolve these issues so that
small businesses can flourish and
create more jobs.
As always I enjoy hearing from
constituents of Peach County.
Last Tuesday was Georgia Farm
Bureau Day at the Capitol. Many
Farm Bureau board members
traveled to Atlanta to meet with
their representatives and share
their concerns facing the agri¬
culture industry. Wednesday was
Georgia Dental Association Day
and enjoyed seeing the many
dentists from Middle Georgia.
On Thursday, the House and
Senate Ag Committees met
for a special UGA CAES Ag
Forecast session, where we had
an opportunity to hear from Dr.
John McKissick and others in
the industry about ag trends for
2012 and beyond. Insight into
the farm labor situation from
Nowell Berreth. Farm Bureau
President Zippy Duvall and
Commissioner Gary Black gave
us an update on H-2A reform
and process We also had the
opportunity in our House Rural
Caucus meeting to hear about the
impact Rural Health has on our
area. Matt C'aseman, Executive
Director of the Georgia Rural
Health Association, along with
Sallie Barker. President, helped
legislators understand that the
rural areas in our state are differ¬
ent and have unique healthcare
service delivery needs from the
urban areas. Our rural hospitals
and associated healthcare provid¬
ers require continued support.
I continue to be honored
to be serving as your State
Representative. Please contact
me with your concerns at 404-
656-0287 or by email at robert.
d ickeytff house.ga gov.
Representative Robert Dickey
District 136
everything and every other way is
supported by morons. Idiotniogies
are not fixed and can be freely
exchanged between parties. When
one side adopts an idiotology. the
other side must adopt the opposite
idiotology. The sides can swap
idiotologies at will.
LAW' - A formal rule by which
government lies, cheats, steals
and abuses citizens while pre¬
venting citizens from doing the
same to each other.
LEFT - Idiotological belief
in which a person believes that
government should do unto
others before it does unto him.
Represented as being to the left
side of a moderate.
MODERATE - Idiotological
belief in which a person believes
that government should do unto
others before it (kies unto him.
Represented as being in between
the left and the right and so gets
beat up by both sides at the same
lime.
POLY TICK - A government
leech or parasite on the average
member of the public who
manages to become a leech by
buying an elected office. Front
the Latin words POLY meaning
many and TICK meaning a
blood sucking parasite.
RIGHT - Idiotological belief
in which a person believes that
government should do unto
others before it docs unto him.
Represented as being to the right
side of a moderate.
TAX - Government approved
theft.
TEA BAG - A United States
political party comprised mostly
of people who cannot think for
themselves and can’t agree on
whom to idolize and each secretly
believes that he is as close to a
god as person can get. Official
party mascot to be decided, but
will probably involve throwing
some sort of beverage-making
substance in a lake. An individual
is called a Tea Bagger.
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com/authotibenbaker and twiner,
com/redneckgenius
THE LEADER-TRIBUNE