Dear Vern,
Since 1894, Labor Day has been a time to honor the contributions of American workers to the prosperity of our country. Over the years, as economic conditions improved, it became better known as the last weekend of summer before kids head back to school – a time for families and friends to barbecue, vacation or go shopping.
Unfortunately, this Labor Day will be a time of stress and insecurity for the millions of American families who are struggling because of unemployment. Here in California, our unemployment rate is 12.2%. That number does not include the millions more who have not yet entered the workforce, who have fallen off the unemployment rolls or who may be laid off in the months ahead.
Job creation requires capital. It’s time for the big banks who got bailed out by American taxpayers to stop gambling on Wall Street and start lending to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Many of those same banks would rather see people lose their homes than work with them to refinance their mortgages. It’s wrong to have any sector of our economy profit at the expense of the American people – especially when the American taxpayer underwrote their recovery. My opponent, John Campbell has consistently acted against the interests of American workers. He opposes consumer protections, regulation and oversight of financial institutions and lenders. He supports offshore tax shelters and tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. He voted against the extension of unemployment benefits, but demands no accountability from the schemers and self-serving profiteers who brought down our national economy.
And now he’s one of three Congressman being investigated on ethics charges for raising campaign cash from top financial service industries at the same time the Financial Reform package was before Congress.
He has their backs. I’ll have your back. I’m running for Congress to stand up for middle-class families and small business owners who have played by the rules and worked hard just to keep their heads above water. We must restore the American dream. With your $25, $50, $100 or more TODAY! we will again put people ahead of profiteers, and reclaim our seat at the table. This Congressional district (CA 48) is the job center of Orange County. When I get to Washington, I will fight to restore prosperity for all Americans.
Sincerely,
Beth Krom
Candidate for Congress (CA 48)
Beth Krom for Congress
“And now he’s one of three Congressman being investigated on ethics charges for raising campaign cash from top financial service industries at the same time the Financial Reform package was before Congress.”
I am no fan of John Campbell but I find it quite hillarious that Beth Krom would raise the issue of campaign funds coming from people with business before Congress. This is exactly how the Agranista machine operates in Irvine. How do you think the machine stays so well oiled?
Sounds an awful like the pot calling the kettle black.
I prefer Bill Hedrick’s Labor Day Message:
Dear Art,
Hot dogs and hamburgers. Barbeques and beer. Parades and picnics. Since 1894, these have been the traditional building blocks of Labor Day observances in America—a holiday instituted specifically to honor American labor.
But today, working families in California’s 44th District need more than holiday honors. Parades and picnics are not going to change the reality in which we live. Free trade agreements like NAFTA have destroyed jobs and opportunity and gutted our economy. Un-American corporations, quietly working against our national interest, have exported jobs of working families. Manufacturing in the United States is on economic life support, as are our families whose salaries are eroded and benefits battered to swell the corporate “bottom line.”
To get us back on track, we need more than Labor Day good wishes—we need a plan. The economic agenda for 2010 must be recovery and reinvestment in America. To accomplish this, I propose an aggressive, multifaceted solution:
• Tax credits for private sector job creation
• Tax credits for companies that maintain an American workforce
• Reconstruction of our infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water and sewer systems
• Public/private partnerships to vastly expand and improve efficiency of clean energy technologies
• Mitigate entrepreneurial risk to spur development of the innovation economy
Further reform of the banking/credit system:
• Break up institutions that are “too big to fail”
• Reintroduce firewalls between securities, insurance and lending institutions
• Tax speculative financial transactions
• Pass a 15% cap on credit card interest
Stop bleeding jobs:
• Withdrawal from and/or dramatic renegotiation of trade agreements (NAFTA, WTO, etc.) that favor wealthy and corporate interests at the expense of the middle class and working families
• Create fair trade agreements with partners who support appropriate labor and environmental standards
• Rebuild important manufacturing sectors in America—stop off-shoring manufacturing that undermines our national security
Happy Labor Day! Now, let’s get to work!
Sincerely,
Bill
Hey! How did you get that before me?
Vern,
Magic! I don’t know really. But I have been a big fan of Hedrick’s for awhile. I hope he wins!