Mitt Romney
It appears that Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican candidate for President in 2012. Lets try and find out some facts. I am listing below the ECONOMIC positions that Romney has taken in the past from wikipedia.
Can you add to this information from other sources?
Political positions of Mitt Romney
Economic policy
In January 2008, a comprehensive analysis by the National Taxpayers Union found that Romney's presidential campaign proposals would increase the federal budget by $19.5 billion.
Jobs plan
Mitt Romney published a far-reaching economic plan. He also claims that his average of 15,000 jobs created a year on average exceeds Obama's job creation record.
Stimulus
In January 2009, Romney said:
I think there is need for economic stimulus. Americans have lost about $11 trillion in net worth. That translates into about $400 billion a year less spending that they'll be doing, and that's net of additional government programs like Medicaid and unemployment insurance. And government can help make that up in a very difficult time. And that's one of the reasons why I think a stimulus program is needed
Romney said, however, that he did not support the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
In 2011, Romney reversed himself and repeated the charge after denying that he had ever said that Obama's actions had made the recession worse. Then on February 3rd, 2012, he managed to take both sides of the issue on the same day.
Housing market
In 2011, Romney said that
"As to what to do for the housing industry specifically, and are there things you can do to encourage housing? One is, don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom. Allow investors to buy homes, put renters in them, fix the homes up, and let it turn around and come back up. The Obama administration has slow walked the foreclosure processes that have long existed, and as a result we still have a foreclosure overhang. Number two, the credit (that) was given to first time homebuyers was insufficient and inadequate to turn around the housing market. I think it was an ineffective idea. It was a little bit like the cash-for-clunkers program, throwing government money at something which was not market oriented, did not staunch the decline in home values anymore than it encouraged the auto industry to take off. I think the idea of helping people refinance homes to stay in them is one that's worth further consideration. But I'm not signing on until I find out who's going to pay and who's going to get bailed out, and that's not something which we know all the answers to."
Auto rescue
Mitt Romney in an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times during the recession supported letting "Detroit go bankrupt". A direct quote from the Mitt Romney op-ed piece "If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." Mitt Romney after-the-fact supported a rescue of the auto-industry with government backed loan guarantees and warranty guarantees, preferring the corporations go through a managed restructuring process.
Deficit
"Instead of supporting spending cuts that lead to real deficit reduction and true reform of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, the President dug deep into his liberal playbook for 'solutions' highlighted by higher taxes."
Romney opposed the Budget Control Act of 2011 during the United States debt-ceiling crisis. Romney (like several other Republican candidates) signed the "cut, cap and balance" pledge, under which an increase in the federal debt ceiling would be contingent on major cuts in spending, caps on spending, and a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. He opposed the debt ceiling deal struck by President Obama and congressional leaders, leading journalist Jonathan Cohn to ponder whether Romney, "a seasoned businessman who was a model of moderation as governor of Massachusetts, sincerely believes the country would be better off defaulting on its debts."
Unions
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has been critical of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Thursday as he took his presidential campaign to his native Michigan. "They're out there working very hard for their friend, Barack Obama," he added. "I think the union folks basically bought and paid for his last campaign, so he's taking care of them and they're taking care of him."
Campaign finance
In 2007 Romney began criticizing the McCain-Feingold Law, saying "We step into dangerous territory when politicians start eviscerating our fundamental freedoms in the name of amorphous principles, like campaign finance reform." In his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Romney proposed taxing private political contributions in order to finance publicly funded campaigns. In his 1994 Senate campaign, Romney advocated spending limits on congressional campaigns and suggested abolishing political action committees. Romney has not given up on campaign finance, but says that McCain-Feingold does not work. He said; "The original intent of McCain-Feingold was to reduce the role of money and special interests in our political system. But on this too it has been a failure. Political spending has been driven into secret corners and more power and influence has been handed to hidden special interests. What is really needed is greater transparency, and disclosure, of campaign contributions not more restrictions on political speech."
Trade
Romney has campaigned in support of free and fair trade and has said that America must act quickly to ensure trade and commerce, which will further strengthen and grow its own economy. He states that if America fails to act quickly, their economy will be eclipsed by these growing nations.
Romney supports getting tougher with China on trade issues and has pushed to renegotiate trade deals with China to help eliminate the Trade Deficit. Romney opposes currency manipulation by China and is willing to impose tariffs when necessary.
Minimum wage
Governor Romney has said that he favors "moderate, predictable changes" in the minimum wage linked to other indicators of growth in the economy. "I don't like the big jumps from time to time."
Unemployment insurance
In 2010, Romney said that
"A decent and humane society must have a strong safety net for the unemployed. I served for 15 years as a lay pastor in my church and saw the heartbreak of joblessness up close; a shattering loss of faith in oneself is but only one of many forms the suffering can take. Nonetheless, the vital necessity of providing for those without work should not be used as an excuse to ignore the very real problems of our unemployment system. In this, as in so many other arenas of government policy, unemployment insurance has many unintended effects.
The indisputable fact is that unemployment benefits, despite a web of regulations, actually serve to discourage some individuals from taking jobs, especially when the benefits extend across years.
The system is also not designed for a flexible economy like ours in which some employees move from job to job for short periods, and are therefore ineligible for unemployment compensation when they are faced with a protracted spell without work."
Romney instead offered two possible replacement systems, one involving individual unemployment savings accounts that employees would withdraw from when they lose their jobs, the other keyed on instituting financial incentives for businesses and other employers to hire and train those who had been unemployed for a long time.
It appears that Mitt Romney is going to be the Republican candidate for President in 2012. Lets try and find out some facts. I am listing below the ECONOMIC positions that Romney has taken in the past from wikipedia.
Can you add to this information from other sources?
Political positions of Mitt Romney
Economic policy
In January 2008, a comprehensive analysis by the National Taxpayers Union found that Romney's presidential campaign proposals would increase the federal budget by $19.5 billion.
Jobs plan
Mitt Romney published a far-reaching economic plan. He also claims that his average of 15,000 jobs created a year on average exceeds Obama's job creation record.
Stimulus
In January 2009, Romney said:
I think there is need for economic stimulus. Americans have lost about $11 trillion in net worth. That translates into about $400 billion a year less spending that they'll be doing, and that's net of additional government programs like Medicaid and unemployment insurance. And government can help make that up in a very difficult time. And that's one of the reasons why I think a stimulus program is needed
Romney said, however, that he did not support the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
In 2011, Romney reversed himself and repeated the charge after denying that he had ever said that Obama's actions had made the recession worse. Then on February 3rd, 2012, he managed to take both sides of the issue on the same day.
Housing market
In 2011, Romney said that
"As to what to do for the housing industry specifically, and are there things you can do to encourage housing? One is, don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom. Allow investors to buy homes, put renters in them, fix the homes up, and let it turn around and come back up. The Obama administration has slow walked the foreclosure processes that have long existed, and as a result we still have a foreclosure overhang. Number two, the credit (that) was given to first time homebuyers was insufficient and inadequate to turn around the housing market. I think it was an ineffective idea. It was a little bit like the cash-for-clunkers program, throwing government money at something which was not market oriented, did not staunch the decline in home values anymore than it encouraged the auto industry to take off. I think the idea of helping people refinance homes to stay in them is one that's worth further consideration. But I'm not signing on until I find out who's going to pay and who's going to get bailed out, and that's not something which we know all the answers to."
Auto rescue
Mitt Romney in an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times during the recession supported letting "Detroit go bankrupt". A direct quote from the Mitt Romney op-ed piece "If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." Mitt Romney after-the-fact supported a rescue of the auto-industry with government backed loan guarantees and warranty guarantees, preferring the corporations go through a managed restructuring process.
Deficit
"Instead of supporting spending cuts that lead to real deficit reduction and true reform of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, the President dug deep into his liberal playbook for 'solutions' highlighted by higher taxes."
Romney opposed the Budget Control Act of 2011 during the United States debt-ceiling crisis. Romney (like several other Republican candidates) signed the "cut, cap and balance" pledge, under which an increase in the federal debt ceiling would be contingent on major cuts in spending, caps on spending, and a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. He opposed the debt ceiling deal struck by President Obama and congressional leaders, leading journalist Jonathan Cohn to ponder whether Romney, "a seasoned businessman who was a model of moderation as governor of Massachusetts, sincerely believes the country would be better off defaulting on its debts."
Unions
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has been critical of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Thursday as he took his presidential campaign to his native Michigan. "They're out there working very hard for their friend, Barack Obama," he added. "I think the union folks basically bought and paid for his last campaign, so he's taking care of them and they're taking care of him."
Campaign finance
In 2007 Romney began criticizing the McCain-Feingold Law, saying "We step into dangerous territory when politicians start eviscerating our fundamental freedoms in the name of amorphous principles, like campaign finance reform." In his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Romney proposed taxing private political contributions in order to finance publicly funded campaigns. In his 1994 Senate campaign, Romney advocated spending limits on congressional campaigns and suggested abolishing political action committees. Romney has not given up on campaign finance, but says that McCain-Feingold does not work. He said; "The original intent of McCain-Feingold was to reduce the role of money and special interests in our political system. But on this too it has been a failure. Political spending has been driven into secret corners and more power and influence has been handed to hidden special interests. What is really needed is greater transparency, and disclosure, of campaign contributions not more restrictions on political speech."
Trade
Romney has campaigned in support of free and fair trade and has said that America must act quickly to ensure trade and commerce, which will further strengthen and grow its own economy. He states that if America fails to act quickly, their economy will be eclipsed by these growing nations.
Romney supports getting tougher with China on trade issues and has pushed to renegotiate trade deals with China to help eliminate the Trade Deficit. Romney opposes currency manipulation by China and is willing to impose tariffs when necessary.
Minimum wage
Governor Romney has said that he favors "moderate, predictable changes" in the minimum wage linked to other indicators of growth in the economy. "I don't like the big jumps from time to time."
Unemployment insurance
In 2010, Romney said that
"A decent and humane society must have a strong safety net for the unemployed. I served for 15 years as a lay pastor in my church and saw the heartbreak of joblessness up close; a shattering loss of faith in oneself is but only one of many forms the suffering can take. Nonetheless, the vital necessity of providing for those without work should not be used as an excuse to ignore the very real problems of our unemployment system. In this, as in so many other arenas of government policy, unemployment insurance has many unintended effects.
The indisputable fact is that unemployment benefits, despite a web of regulations, actually serve to discourage some individuals from taking jobs, especially when the benefits extend across years.
The system is also not designed for a flexible economy like ours in which some employees move from job to job for short periods, and are therefore ineligible for unemployment compensation when they are faced with a protracted spell without work."
Romney instead offered two possible replacement systems, one involving individual unemployment savings accounts that employees would withdraw from when they lose their jobs, the other keyed on instituting financial incentives for businesses and other employers to hire and train those who had been unemployed for a long time.
