Navigating Politics

In the first year of NavigatingPolitics.com we have seen dramatic change in the middle east, the death of a terror leader, and the end of an almost nine year war. Domestically however, we have seen numerous moments that have warranted a countdown clock as Republicans and Democrats repeatedly fought to the bitter end. The issues always at hand: taxes, spending, or both.

The first was the government shutdown threat in April when Republicans demanded at least $60 billion in immediate cuts and Democrats pushed to protect funding for priority programs(Pell grants, planned parenthood, Head Start…). In the end, after much drama, an agreement to cut $38.5 billion was reached with less than an hour and a half before the government was set to shut down.

April’s government shutdown fight set the scene for the Summer-long debate over increasing the nation’s debt ceiling. As we reported this summer, the debt limit was something that has been routinely raised because failure to raise it would lead to a catastrophic credit default. President Obama insisted on large-scale deficit reduction (about 4 trillion) that represented a “balanced approach,” with both spending cuts and tax increases on the wealthy. Republicans, however, wanted deficit reduction to come from spending cuts exclusively. Just two days before the first ever US credit default, a deal was reached that included a debt ceiling increase funded by immediate spending cuts and a congressional “super-committee” that would find $1.2 Trillion in additional cuts. Months later, the committee failed to find those cuts.

And most recently, Americans were brought a week and a half away from a 1,000 tax increase. Last year, middle-class payroll taxes were cut temporally from 6.2% to 4.2%. In September, President Obama proposed a 1 year extension and expansion of that tax cut in his American Jobs Act. The President’s plan included a small tax increase on the wealthy as a way to both cut the deficit and pay for the tax cut. Republicans, who say this middle-class tax cut is not as stimulative as the tax cuts for the wealthy, refused to allow any tax increase on the wealthiest Americans. In the end, the tax cut was extended for two months after a stalemate over how to pay for the tax cut and the inclusion of these policy riders.

This year of down-to-the-wire politics was a direct result of the 2010 Midterm elections that increased the Republican’s power over the legislative agenda. It can also be seen as a guide as to what we can expect in 2012, an election year. The first battle that will be waged will be over how to pay for the full year extension of the payroll tax cut (even though Bush Tax Cut Extension was not paid for). This must be done by February. The next battle will be cutting 1.2 Trillion dollars from the deficit in order to avoid deep automatic budget cuts that are set to occur in 2013. Both will be simple continuations of the debates that occurred this year.

2011 was an extremely divisive and unproductive year in domestic politics. As the election season commences on January 3rd, the priorities of congressional leaders and the President will shift from trying to get work done, to working to get reelected. With the political dysfunction seen this year, do you expect much to get done in an election year? We’ll find out in 2012! Happy New Year!

Herman Cain. He was the man with the plan, the one-time front runner in the Republican Presidential Race, but since has been marred with news of a previous sexual harassment settlement followed by a flood of women claiming sexual harassment.

Last week, in what proved to be the final nail in the coffin for his campaign, a woman named Ginger White came out and claimed that she and Mr. Cain have been having a 13 year long affair. In a Fox 5 Atlanta news exclusive, Ginger White went through the details of the affair, saying it just ended about 8 months ago.

When we asked for any corroborating evidence, she pointed us to her cell phone contacts. One name: Herman Cain.

She showed us some of her cell phone bills that included 61 phone calls or text messages to or from a number starting with 678. She says it is Herman Cain’s private cell phone. The calls were made during four different months– calls or texts made as early as 4:26 in the early morning, and as late as 7:52 at night. The latest were in September of this year. (Watch the full special here)

This led to a week of denials from Cain who said it represented more false accusations, but culminated this Saturday when Herman Cain dropped out of the Republican Primary.

So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul-searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign. I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions, the continued hurt caused on me and my family — not because we are not fighters; not because I am not a fighter.

Cain went on to announce that although he is ending his campaign, he is not planning to leave the political arena. While running for President was what he referred to has his “Plan A,” he has moved on to plan B: www.thecainsolutions.com. Cain plans to use this platform to continue to promote his policies, especially his 9-9-9 tax reform plan.

He ended his speech on Saturday by using a quote from the Pokemon movie (suggesting Pokemon used it from someone else) to describe where he is privately and where we are as a nation.

Life can be a challenge. Life can seem impossible. It’s never easy when there’s so much on the line. But you and I can make a difference. There’s a mission just for you and me. Just look inside and you will find just what you can do. Just look inside and you will find just what you can do.

So what do you think? Is this fair? Who do you think stands to gain the most from Cain’s departure? How seriously do you take a candidate who quotes the Pokemon movie? Comment Below!

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In the highly anticipated monthly unemployment report released Friday, the unemployment rate fell .4 percentage points to 8.6%, its lowest level since March 2009. The drop came as the private sector added 140,000 jobs in the month of November, with a loss of Government jobs bringing the overall number down to 120,000 net new jobs.

The White House used the unemployment data as ammunition in its fight to get the payroll tax extended for one year, a key provision of the President’s American Jobs Act.

In this environment, the President’s American Jobs Act is the right medicine to sustain and strengthen the recovery.  In particular, with 13.3 million Americans still unemployed, and 43 percent of them unemployed for 6 months or longer, it would be a setback for the economy and American families if Congress were to allow extended unemployment benefits to expire at the end of the year. – Alan B. Krueger, Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers

However, the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, used the data to attack the President and push for “Republican Solutions.”

Today marks the 34th consecutive month of unemployment above eight percent. As you may remember, the Obama administration promised unemployment would stay below eight percent if its ‘stimulus’ was enacted.  That promise has gone unfulfilled.

Because the president’s policies have failed, the House has passed a series of bills designed to remove government barriers to private sector job creation…

While the decrease in the unemployment rate is welcome news, experts warn that the big dip makes the situation appear better than it truly is. This is because the unemployment data only considers people who are in the labor market and are actively looking for jobs. As people become discouraged, they stop looking for jobs, making the labor market smaller. The truth to this report is that although legitimate jobs were added, about half of the drop in the unemployment rate is simply because almost 300,000 people stopped looking for work (which inflated the size of the dip in the unemployment rate). Because of this, analysts predict a future increase in the unemployment rate if jobs continue to be created at this slow rate (about 131,000/month).

The Unemployment data also showed a disproportionate addition of jobs. The jobless rate for whites and adult men decreased (adult men down .5% to 8.3%), while “the rates for adult women (7.8 percent), teenagers (23.7 percent), blacks (15.5 percent), and Hispanics (11.4 percent) showed little or no change”

Click HERE to view the full report.

I just wanted to give all of you a quick thank you for being a subscriber to NavigatingPolitics.com! To all of you who commented on posts, who have reposted or retweeted the articles, and who just read to stay informed, I am extremely grateful for your support.

Thank you and I hope you all have a fun, safe, and food-filled day with the ones you love!

Shaquille Brewster