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December 30, 2010
Page 3
To the editor:
As 2010 draws to a close, many
families across America are reflect-
ing on a tough year economically.
While we're enjoying boom times
in North Dakota, the hard reality is
that the national economy remains
sluggish. A lot of Americans are
hurting. Some 24 million people
are out of work or underemployed.
That's one in six working-age
Americans. More must be done to
create jobs and strengthen the
economy.
In an effort to accelerate eco-
nomic growth, the Obama
Administration and Republican
leaders recently agreed to a broad
plan to extend expiring tax cuts as
a way to create jobs and provide
vital tax relief for millions of mid-
dle-class Americans.
I do not agree with all the ele-
ments of this tax cut extension
package. Most notably, I oppose
the estate tax provision included in
the package. I favor an estate tax
exemption of $3.5 million per per-
son at a 45 percent rate instead of
the $5 million per person exemp-
tion at a rate of 35 percent in the
package. But at the end of the day,
I voted in favor of the overall pro-
posal. I believe the package -- as
a whole -- is necessary to strength-
en the economic recovery.
Above all, the plan provides a
two-year extension of all the tax
cuts that are set to expire
December 31 and ensures middle
class taxpayers are not hit with a
tax increase at the start of the new
year.
The package also includes a
payroll tax Cut for working fami-
lies. This will provide a one-year
2 percentage point reduction in
employees' Social Security payroll
taxes. This tax cut will increase a
worker's take home pay. For exam-
ple, a North Dakotan with $40,000
in income would save $800. This
measure is widely recognized by
economists across the political
spectrum as an effective way to
boost growth and job creation.
Here are some more examples
of the tax cut benefits provided by
I do not agree with all the elements of this
tax cut extension package.
this package: A mother with one
child with $20,000 of income will
receive a $1.105 tax cut. A married
couple with $40,000 of income
will receive a $1,943 tax cut. And
a married couple with two children
with $60,000 of income will
receive a $3,343 tax cut.
The package also extends
unemployment insurance benefits
at their current level for 13
months. This will save millions of
Americans searching for work
from losing unemployment bene-
fits in 2011. Economists also rank
this measure as having very high
"bang-for-the buck," because those
who receive these benefits immedi-
ately spend them on groceries, gas
and other necessities.
Additionally, the package
includes tax cuts for businesses in
North Dakota' and across the
nation, allowing them to write off
100 percent of their capital pur-
chases in 2011. The provision is a
useful incentive to get businesses
to start spending again and could
generate more than $50 billion in
additional investment in 2011. The
agreement also includes a two-year
extension of the research and
development tax credit and other
tax incentives to support business
expansion.
Economists estimate that the
tax extension package will inject
an extra $300 billion into the econ-
omy in 2011. Mark Zandi, chief
economist for Moody's Analytics
-- and a former advisor to Senator
John McCain's presidential cam-
paign -- predicts that the package
will provide a substantial boost to
economic growth in 2011 and help
bring down unemployment.
I recognize that this package
will increase the deficit over the
next two years. But allowing the
economy to fall back into a reces-
sion would do even greater damage
to our fiscal position. So we need to
distinguish between what is needed
for the economy and budget in the
short-term versus what is needed in
the long-term. In the short-term,
we need to boost economic growth
and create jobs. That's job one. And
the tax cut extension package will
help do that.
Then we can pivot and deal
with the deficit and debt longer
'term. In the coming year, we need
to develop and put in place a com-
prehensive, long-term deficit
reduction plan that restores confi-
dence in America's fiscal future.
I believe the deficit and debt
reduction plan assembled by the
President's Fiscal Commission -
on which I served as a member -
has provided a way forward. The
plan, entitled "Moment of Truth,"
cut federal deficits by nearly $4
trillion over the next decade, pro-
viding a roadmap to putting
America back on a solid fiscal
path.
Even though the plan fell short
of the necessary 14 votes in the
Commission to guarantee a vote in
Congress, it did receive support
from 11 of the 18 Commission
members, more than 60 percent of
the panel. It was a bipartisan vote,
with five Democrats, ,five .
Republicans, and one Independent
giving their support. That outcome
proved that Democrats and
Republicans can come together to
solve this challenge.
So we now have a responsible
and realistic bipartisan plan on the
table, and national attention is
focused on the serious threat posed
by America's mounting debt. We
cannot let the Fiscal Commission's
plan fall idly by the wayside. It is
up to Congress and the President to
come together to finish the job. A
summit between the White House
and congressional leaders --
Republican and Democrat -- is the
vital next step in efforts to get the
nation's financial house in order. It
is absolutely essential to America's
economic future.
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Hello,
I hope 3 ou had a Merry
Christmas! Ours was wonderful,
with family and friends. The weath-
er wasn't real bad. Foggy, snowy,
and breezy. But compared to the
east coast, it was pretty darn good.
Now many people are making
resolutions for the coming year. I
decided to quit chewing and smok-
ing. In fact, I quit years ago, so I jusf.
keep on making the same resolu-
tion. Why change the game plan
when it's working? So, with my res-
olution intact and quite achievable,
I'll just drift around a little with this
article
Now, I'm not sure if you told me
this or if I heard it on the radio. But
someone was talking about the
Hat Tips
By Dean Meyer
weird things people say and do.
Seems this guy was campaigning
and taking questions and complaints
from the local citizenry. This lady
stood up and complained about the
deer crossing signs along the river
outside of town. She thought they
should move the "deer crossing" to
an area where there wasn't so much
traffic!
And another thing. I attended a
little get together the other night.
And one of the people we expected
to see there, was noticeably absent.
When her son-in-law was asked
where Mom was, he was quick to
explain. Seems she had been clean-
ing up to come to the party and
inadvertently, if I'm lying I'm
dying, zhe had inadvertently
brushed her teeth with Preparation
H. Now, I'm not one to accuse a
son-in-law of planting that tube
there, but there did seem to be a lit-
tle gleam in his eye, right behind the
tears. Man, I bet that would make it
hard to spit your snoose ore, would-
n't it?
That reminds me of a story, I'm
not much of a snoose chewer. Oh, I
used to spit a little. Actually, I spit a
lot. And chewed very little. I never
could really get into it. But when
you were a young cowboy, it was
just the thing to do. If you were set-
ting on a peaceful hill, overlooking
I
a bunch of cows, you could relax
by taking a chew. Or if you were
going to step on a colt that was
rolling his nose and showing the
whites of his eyes, and your mouth
was full of cotton, you could get a
little moisture by tucking a little
snuff under your lip. Oh, maybe if
he blew up and bucked, you'd swal-
low your snoose, but what the heck,
you were relaxed!
Cowboys are always bumming
stuff from each other. Pickups, hors-
es, cigarettes, and snoose. Just to
name a few. Some guys get pretty
adept at it. And guys know which
ones they are. Back when I used to
smoke, before I saw the light. That
is before my anddaughter gave
me "the patch". Anyway, I knew
rl
this guy that would bum a cigarette
or two every time I saw him. And
then he would stand there, smoking
your cigarettes, and brag about how
long ago he quit! Really! He would
say, "I quit smoking three years ago.
The last pack I bought is still laying
on the dresser. Quit cold turkey
too!"
But the best I ever saw at getting
people to quit bumming was a roper.
Ropers are really good about bum-
ming smokes, chew, and beer. This
one feller got so tired of people
bumming a chew from him. that he
devised a sure method of getting
them stopped. When he was done
with a chew, he would spit the plug
back in the can, instead of on the
ground. Now, if you're just getting
ready to ask for a chew, and you see
a guy spit his back in the can, you
can get by a little longer without
one!
And then there was Uncle Hugh.
Hugh had a habit of taking a chew
with his morning coffee. And he
would sit there and visit, sipping his
coffee, and occasionally spit his
snoose back in the cup! If you
objected, he would quickly point
out that there wasn't a big differ-
ence between mixing his coffee and
snoose in his cup, or in his mouth. It
used to bother Dorothy a bunch.
Especially cause Uncle Hugh would
never let his food mix on the plate.
He would build little dams with his
silverware to keep things straight!
Later. Dean
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I~4, A .
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