White House Budget $1.5B for Farmers: What Budget? Does WH Have Spending Power?

Rahm Emanuel, Obama's Chief of Staff, has told Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) the White House will find $1.5 BILLION for farmers suffering from disasters across the country, including for her state of Arkansas, from the budget. What budget? We don't have a budget. He means from Obama's stash, which comes from only the Almighty knows where.

White House

Lincoln successfully got the $1.5 billion of agricultural disaster assistance in a bill designed to aid small businesses. Republican blocked the vote. But apparently Rahm will find it, and provide it through "administrative assistance" from Obama's stash? 

Emanuel called Lincoln on Thursday morning to tell her the administration would find $1.5 billion within its budget to help farmers in Arkansas and around the country who are coping with natural disasters.

Emanuel promised to provide the assistance administratively to get her to agree to delete $1.5 billion in disaster relief assistance for farmers from small-business legislation. 

Emanuel’s intervention shows how closely the president and his senior aides are following the bill Democrats are trying to push through Congress. 

Since when does the Executive Branch have the right to spend? Again, from what Budget will Rahm find the $1.5 billion? Only Congress has the power to spend. The point is, if Congress does not agree to spend taxpayer dollars, the President cannot just take care of it himself.

Note: this has nothing to do with farmers getting money that may be due them. It has everything to do with how they get it. From what authority does White House have that power?

ObamaCare Forces 100 Million off Employer Plan: Coburn Barrasso Report Bad Medicine

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) issued a 32-page report, titled Bad Medicine, confirming what we all knew before ObamaCare was passed: close to 100 million people will lose their employer-based insurance, as we march toward Obama's single-payer, Obama-designed insurance for each of his subjects.

Bad Medicine comes on the heels of a questionable up-tick in approval of the government-mandated plan. Read the Daily Caller report here. Let every Republican "serving the people" in the House and Senate know if you waffle on full repeal of ObamaCare, we will notice on election day.
Photo: Senator Tom Coburn

          

Sams Club Offers $25,000 Business Loans to Minorities, Women, Vets

Sam's Club will offer small business loans of up to $25,000 to minorities, women and veteran-owned business' in a test program. The super wholesaler is teaming with Superior Financial Group to make loans from $5,000 to $25,000. Applications are available online.

JP Morgan Chase is also focusing on the small business owner offering lines of credit with lower interest rates for customers approved with a $250,000 credit line. Source for both programs.

Kopps Custard Manager Asks Biden to Lower Taxes: Joe Ignores Him - Eats his Free Ice Cream

What a jerk. Joe Biden was in Greenfield, Wisconsin for a fundraiser for Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI). He and his entourage stop by Kopp's Custard Stand. Biden donns a two-corner hat, gets behind the counter and does something unuseful. We see him with a cone of yummy-looking frozen custard. He loses the hat and tries to pay. The smiling Manager tells him the custard is comp'd, then asks Biden to "lower taxes." Biden doesn't even look the guy's way. He completely ignores him and walks away. Arrogant, rude, brutish and uncalled for behavior. Update: see second video below, in which Real Clear Politics says Biden called the Manager a "smartass."







Joe Biden at Kopps Custard (video)

George Miller Paid Sick Leave Law: Democrats Tromp Business and Liberty

This week, a new federal law was introduced. If it becomes law, and if your employer sends you and your H1N1 home, he must also pay your salary for up to five days. But it is apparent that Rep. George Miller (D-CA) plans to go farther than just H1N1 with this legislation as the first step.

George Miller

In fact, if passed, your employer must pay for your time off for the swine flu AND any "other infectious disease," according to George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee.

Sick workers advised to stay home by their employers shouldn't have to choose between their livelihood, and their co-workers' or customers' health," Miller said.
 
"This will not only protect employees, but it will save employers money by ensuring that sick employees don't spread infection to co-workers and customers, and will relieve the financial burden on our health system swamped by those suffering from H1N1."

I believe many employers would rather pay an employee to stay home with H1N1, as a less expensive option to spreading the virus around the workplace, but it should be the employer's choice.

The bill will be heard the week of November 16th and Miller hopes to have a full vote soon. Paid sick leave for "infectious" diseases is just the first step to legislated paid sick leave, all the time, every time:

Miller said at least 50 million American workers are not paid for time taken off sick, "many in lower-wage jobs that have direct contact with the public such as the food-service and hospitality industry, schools and health care fields." 

Foot of Big Brother

Today, paid sick leave is not mandatory under U.S. law today. The above quote tells us what is coming. Call, email, and write your Congressman. Find your Representative here. This is one more case of Big Brother tromping its exquisite Testonis all over liberty.