Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Let's Keep our Eye on the Ball
12:58 PM | 
Posted by
Luke Messer for Congress
An old friend of mine used to say: "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." In baseball, they say it a slightly different way: "keep your eye on the ball."
Either way, the lesson is the same. In challenging times, you need to stay focused on what really matters.
Everywhere I go, folks have the same priority - jobs. They want to see us get the American economy going. Yet, they are amazed by the disconnect in Washington DC. We've seen some token efforts in recent days. But, for months and months, Washington's liberal leadership has virtually ignored jobs and the economy. Instead, they remain focused on bailouts, a healthcare takeover and other philosophy-driven efforts to grow the size of government and re-shape America in the image of Europe's Socialist Democracies.
In contrast, President Ronald Reagan's response during the 1980's was to enact broad-based tax cuts and limit the size of government. These actions resulted in a booming economy and the greatest economic expansion in the history of mankind. We should observe these lessons from our past and enact policies similar to that of President Reagan.
The path to an economic comeback is lower federal government spending, tax cuts and putting jobs first. If you agree, we hope you join our team.
Best regards,
Luke Messer
P.S. To learn more about the campaign, volunteer or contribute securely online, check out http://www.lukemesser.com/.
Either way, the lesson is the same. In challenging times, you need to stay focused on what really matters.
Everywhere I go, folks have the same priority - jobs. They want to see us get the American economy going. Yet, they are amazed by the disconnect in Washington DC. We've seen some token efforts in recent days. But, for months and months, Washington's liberal leadership has virtually ignored jobs and the economy. Instead, they remain focused on bailouts, a healthcare takeover and other philosophy-driven efforts to grow the size of government and re-shape America in the image of Europe's Socialist Democracies.That is bad for America. People are experiencing tremendous economic difficulties that cannot and should not be ignored. According to a recent federal report, nine months after Congress approved its $787 billion dollar so-called stimulus bill, the rolls of the unemployed have grown by millions and, by any measure, more jobs have been lost than created. Since the stimulus bill was enacted in February, nearly three million Americans have lost their jobs and the percentage of people who are without work has risen to 10 percent. The bottom line is we now have a much higher national debt and fewer jobs.
To jumpstart our economy, we need to stop the runaway growth of government, cut taxes and put jobs first.
Last week, we released a plan called "Jobs First, Jobs Now" that would help promote small business job growth. The plan includes: enacting broad-based tax cuts, an end to corporate bail outs, incentives for cheaper energy, controlling spending, using unspent stimulus dollars to pay down national debt, the creation of a district-wide jobs advisory council and restructuring the congressional office staff to hire a full-time professional devoted to utilizing the more than 340 federal economic development programs to help 5th District local elected leaders and businesses create jobs. (Click here to see a copy of the plan.)
If we learn from the past, we can improve America's future. Prior to today's crisis, our country faced two major economic downturns during the last century: the Great Depression and the recession of the late 1970's and early 1980's. The government response to the Great Depression was to increase government at a rate unseen in our country's history. Most historians agree that this expansion likely prolonged the crisis and actually made things worse.
In contrast, President Ronald Reagan's response during the 1980's was to enact broad-based tax cuts and limit the size of government. These actions resulted in a booming economy and the greatest economic expansion in the history of mankind. We should observe these lessons from our past and enact policies similar to that of President Reagan.
The path to an economic comeback is lower federal government spending, tax cuts and putting jobs first. If you agree, we hope you join our team.
Best regards,
Luke Messer
P.S. To learn more about the campaign, volunteer or contribute securely online, check out http://www.lukemesser.com/.
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Thursday, December 10, 2009
Luke Messer on Jobs: Jobs First, Jobs Now
Today Luke unveiled his jobs plan, "Jobs First, Jobs Now." To read Luke's policy paper, click here. Here is today's press release:
MESSER OFFERS “JOBS FIRST, JOBS NOW” PLAN
5th District Congressional Candidate Says the Most Critical Issue Facing the District Is Jobs
(Shelbyville, IN) – Republican Luke Messer today offered a plan to address jobs and the economy. Many communities in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District have struggled with double-digit unemployment for months. Messer’s announcement is in response both to the counterproductive actions of President Obama and the liberal Democratic leadership over the past several months as well as a clear call for action by voters throughout Indiana’s 5th district.
“As I travel the district, folks are amazed by the disconnect in Washington,” said Messer. “We’ve seen some token efforts in recent days. But, for months and months, Washington’s liberal leadership has virtually ignored jobs and the economy.” Messer continued, “Instead, they remain focused on a philosophy-driven effort to grow the size of government and re-shape America in the image of Europe's Socialist Democracies. People are experiencing tremendous economic difficulties that cannot and should not be ignored.”
In it’s so-called “stimulus bill,” Congress approved $787 billion dollars based on claims by the Obama administration that the spending would hold unemployment at eight percent. According to a recent federal report, “nine months later, with over $200 billion of stimulus funding already spent, the rolls of the unemployed have grown by millions and, by any measure, more jobs have been lost than created. Since the stimulus bill was enacted in February, nearly three million Americans have lost their jobs and the percentage of people who are without work has risen to 10 percent. ”
“Nine months, over $200 billion in spending and the end result is a higher national debt and fewer jobs,” noted Messer. “The bottom line is that we need to stop runaway spending and enact policies that will help jumpstart the economy. Simply put, we have to put jobs first.”
Messer’s jobs plan includes: enacting broad-based tax cuts, an end to corporate bail outs, incentives for cheaper energy, controlling spending, using unspent stimulus dollars to pay down national debt, the creation of a district-wide jobs advisory council and restructuring the congressional office staff to hire a full-time professional devoted to utilizing the more than 340 federal economic development programs to help 5th District local elected leaders and businesses create jobs.
"Prior to today’s crisis, our country faced two major economic downturns during the last century: the Great Depression and the recession of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s,” explained Messer. “The government response to the Great Depression was to increase government at a rate unseen in our country’s history. Most historians agree that this expansion likely prolonged the crisis and actually made things worse.”
“In contrast, President Ronald Reagan’s response during the 1980’s was to enact broad-based tax cuts and limit the size of government. These actions resulted in a booming economy and greatest economic expansion in the history of mankind. We should observe these lessons from our past and enact policies similar to that of President Reagan. The path to an economic comeback is lower federal government spending, tax cuts and putting jobs first.”
For more information, visit http://www.lukemesser.com/.
MESSER OFFERS “JOBS FIRST, JOBS NOW” PLAN
5th District Congressional Candidate Says the Most Critical Issue Facing the District Is Jobs
(Shelbyville, IN) – Republican Luke Messer today offered a plan to address jobs and the economy. Many communities in Indiana’s 5th Congressional District have struggled with double-digit unemployment for months. Messer’s announcement is in response both to the counterproductive actions of President Obama and the liberal Democratic leadership over the past several months as well as a clear call for action by voters throughout Indiana’s 5th district.
“As I travel the district, folks are amazed by the disconnect in Washington,” said Messer. “We’ve seen some token efforts in recent days. But, for months and months, Washington’s liberal leadership has virtually ignored jobs and the economy.” Messer continued, “Instead, they remain focused on a philosophy-driven effort to grow the size of government and re-shape America in the image of Europe's Socialist Democracies. People are experiencing tremendous economic difficulties that cannot and should not be ignored.”
In it’s so-called “stimulus bill,” Congress approved $787 billion dollars based on claims by the Obama administration that the spending would hold unemployment at eight percent. According to a recent federal report, “nine months later, with over $200 billion of stimulus funding already spent, the rolls of the unemployed have grown by millions and, by any measure, more jobs have been lost than created. Since the stimulus bill was enacted in February, nearly three million Americans have lost their jobs and the percentage of people who are without work has risen to 10 percent. ”
“Nine months, over $200 billion in spending and the end result is a higher national debt and fewer jobs,” noted Messer. “The bottom line is that we need to stop runaway spending and enact policies that will help jumpstart the economy. Simply put, we have to put jobs first.”
Messer’s jobs plan includes: enacting broad-based tax cuts, an end to corporate bail outs, incentives for cheaper energy, controlling spending, using unspent stimulus dollars to pay down national debt, the creation of a district-wide jobs advisory council and restructuring the congressional office staff to hire a full-time professional devoted to utilizing the more than 340 federal economic development programs to help 5th District local elected leaders and businesses create jobs.
"Prior to today’s crisis, our country faced two major economic downturns during the last century: the Great Depression and the recession of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s,” explained Messer. “The government response to the Great Depression was to increase government at a rate unseen in our country’s history. Most historians agree that this expansion likely prolonged the crisis and actually made things worse.”
“In contrast, President Ronald Reagan’s response during the 1980’s was to enact broad-based tax cuts and limit the size of government. These actions resulted in a booming economy and greatest economic expansion in the history of mankind. We should observe these lessons from our past and enact policies similar to that of President Reagan. The path to an economic comeback is lower federal government spending, tax cuts and putting jobs first.”
For more information, visit http://www.lukemesser.com/.
Thanksgiving Rich in History, Tradition
As we all learn in elementary school, the first Thanksgiving Day feast occurred during the harvest celebration of the Pilgrims and Indians in the autumn of 1621. Our modern celebration can be traced back to 1863 when President Lincoln became the first President to declare Thanksgiving Day a national holiday. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.
Still, as we head into the holiday season, let's never forget that America is a blessed country that has faced big challenges before. There is nothing wrong with America today that cannot be fixed by all of the things that have been right about America for more than 200 years. The desire for freedom and the belief that government should not intrude on the everyday lives of its citizens are the very ideas that brought the Pilgrims to this land. These time-honored principles are the key to bringing prosperity back to our great country, and we cannot allow today's economic crisis to become an excuse to take our freedoms from us.
Working together, we can help the next generation of conservative leadership step up and make a big difference for our state and our nation. All we have to do is act. And, the time for action is now!
So, enjoy time with family and friends during this holiday season. Then, let's get back to work fighting the good fight and moving our country forward.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Luke
Last week, my first grade daughter appeared as an Indian in her school's Thanksgiving gala. All of the songs and costumes were great, but my favorite was a little song called: "Let's have a gratitude attitude!"
During the song, the students would sing the chorus "Let's have a gratitude attitude!" together and then one of the students would step forward to tell the audience something specific that they were grateful for. Answers varied from "my Mom and Dad," to "Jesus," to "friends" to "my goldfish."
It was all in good fun. But, the song reminds us all that Thanksgiving is a time to look past our struggles, thank the Lord and remember all of the small things that make our lives great.
For many, that will be a difficult challenge this holiday season. With double digit unemployment gripping many of our communities, folks are understandably concerned about our future. Make no mistake about it. These are challenging times. And, it will take a host of good decisions and a lot of hard work to get things turned back around.
Still, as we head into the holiday season, let's never forget that America is a blessed country that has faced big challenges before. There is nothing wrong with America today that cannot be fixed by all of the things that have been right about America for more than 200 years. The desire for freedom and the belief that government should not intrude on the everyday lives of its citizens are the very ideas that brought the Pilgrims to this land. These time-honored principles are the key to bringing prosperity back to our great country, and we cannot allow today's economic crisis to become an excuse to take our freedoms from us.
Working together, we can help the next generation of conservative leadership step up and make a big difference for our state and our nation. All we have to do is act. And, the time for action is now!
So, enjoy time with family and friends during this holiday season. Then, let's get back to work fighting the good fight and moving our country forward.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Luke
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