John Fund: The Obama-Pelosi Lame Duck Strategy - WSJ.com

John Fund: The Obama-Pelosi Lame Duck Strategy - WSJ.com

Now that the din of the World Cup vuvuzelas have been silenced, we are hearing and reading about another obnoxious blast concerning proposed actions by a lame-duck Congress. John Fund's column is one of many opinion pieces about the issues that TeamObama may try to push through Congress in the wake of a republican upset of control of the House of Representatives in the November elections.

Some of the the issues that John Fund and others allege might be on the lame-duck table that TeamObama and Democrat candidates do not want to debate on the campaign trail leading up to this fall's elections:

• "card check"—the measure to curb secret-ballot union elections

• Senate ratification of the New Start nuclear treaty

• a federally mandated universal voter registration system to override state laws

• a budget resolution to lock in increased agency spending

• lots of pork for members of Congress likely not returning

• onerous carbon tax and climate change regulation

Coincidentally, the Business Roundtable and the National Chamber of Commerce including some Obama allies have gone public opposing TeamObama's increased anti-business regulatory burden that they argue add billions to the cost of doing business and creates a dampened climate for economic growth in the face of unemployment.

Here's the conclusion of a 54-page letter/report to TeamObama (letter to Peter Orszag):

We believe that a new, comprehensive assessment of federal policies and regulations is fundamental to the U.S. economy regaining its competitive strength. Regulators should assess the financial impact of individual and collective mandates, remove existing mandates that have become redundant and increase efficiency through market competition. They should also establish a system for creating new regulations that do not impede private‐sector investment and job creation.
At the same time, the government must reduce spending to manage down deficit and debt. The current levels of U.S. debt, as well as those required to finance the forecast deficits, will crowd out private capital. If less capital is available for corporate borrowers, it will retard future growth and investment, erode the value of the U.S. dollar, accelerate inflation and, eventually, reduce consumer spending power.
Economic recovery must be lead by the private sector, both large and small, if we are going to create jobs and reduce the unemployment rate. In assessing all regulations, the goal should be to reduce uncertainty, fear and overall cost impact while creating a regulatory system that is business‐friendly, cost‐effective, and encourages efficiency.

Obviously, the national business community fears the same possibility. Fortunately, they seem to have gotten TeamObama's attention.

Here's a brief video excerpt of a recent speech by Ivan Seidenberg, Chairman of the NBR, to the Economic Club of Washington DC.





We should contact our Congressmen and Senators advising against any attempt to push through such controversial legislation/regulation using such a naked abuse of power. I for one will vote against my Senator and Representative if they support a lame-duck session for this purpose.