Obama Must Be Listening

After reading President Obama's opinion piece in today's Wall Street Journal, Towards a 21st-Century Regulatory System, we're convinced that President Obama must be reading and listening to at least some of what we've said.

President Obama opens by praising free market capitalism:

For two centuries, America's free market has not only been the source of dazzling ideas and path-breaking products, it has also been the greatest force for prosperity the world has ever known. That vibrant entrepreneurialism is the key to our continued global leadership and the success of our people.

The President further went on to criticize excessive government intervention and regulation, calling them "unreasonable burdens on business -- burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs." Previously, we wrote about President Obama looking towards the concept of supply-side economics to help reduce the national debt. In reading his Wall Street Journal piece, it appears that he is embracing the supply-side economic concept of removing government hinderances to the production of goods and services, which can help lead the country to greater prosperity. President Obama then mentions his new executive order:

This order requires that federal agencies ensure that regulations protect our safety, health and environment while promoting economic growth. And it orders a government-wide review of the rules already on the books to remove outdated regulations that stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive. It's a review that will help bring order to regulations that have become a patchwork of overlapping rules, the result of tinkering by administrations and legislators of both parties and the influence of special interests in Washington over decades.Where necessary, we won't shy away from addressing obvious gaps: new safety rules for infant formula; procedures to stop preventable infections in hospitals; efforts to target chronic violators of workplace safety laws. But we are also making it our mission to root out regulations that conflict, that are not worth the cost, or that are just plain dumb.

The executive order from the President makes it clear that he is interested in reducing government involvement in the free market and eliminating rules and regulations that are bad for business and bad for the economy. President Obama cites removing regulations that stifle job creation, making it clear that he somewhat understands the American people believe job creation should be a top priority for the country.

President Obama seems to also be taking a hint from Representative John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in indicating that the American people must be listened to when developing rules and regulations. President Obama wrote that moving towards a better regulatory system for the country requires "writing rules with more input from experts, businesses and ordinary citizens." Additionally, the President suggests "using disclosure as a tool to inform consumers of their choices, rather than restricting those choices," indicating that he understands that the American people should be free to make their own decisions instead of having the government make decisions for them.

President Obama, who is the first United States President to be on Twitter and the first to utilize a smartphone (reportedly, a BlackBerry), also called for "means making sure the government does more of its work online, just like companies are doing." The President further noted that the federal government would focus on "getting rid of absurd and unnecessary paperwork requirements that waste time and money." In the private sector, using technology to eliminate paper has resulted in a savings of time and money, and also created new jobs. It is good for the American people that President Obama understands the need to utilize ideas proven in the private sector in the federal government.

As an example of fixing government regulation, President Obama pointed to the EPA and saccharin:

...the FDA has long considered saccharin, the artificial sweetener, safe for people to consume. Yet for years, the EPA made companies treat saccharin like other dangerous chemicals. Well, if it goes in your coffee, it is not hazardous waste. The EPA wisely eliminated this rule last month.

While many who make up President Obama's base on the left may balk at the idea of reducing government regulation and intervention in order to grow the economy, President Obama is wise to embrace supply-side economic principles. After all, they worked during the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was President.  As written about yesterday, former Vice President Dick Cheney suggested that President Obama will be a one-term President. However, if President Obama continues to listen to the American people, adopts more moderate positions, and successfully turns the economy around, he could win the votes of some "Obama Republicans" back and retain "Reagan Democrats." Indeed, if the President acts properly, American people might just vote in 2012 to give him four more years.

John Boehner Keeps His Promise

Last year at CPAC, the man who will become Speaker of the House of Representatives tomorrow, Representative John Boehner (R-Ohio), pledged that if the Republicans took back control of the House, all bills would be posted online for the American people to read and provide their feedback to members of Congress. Mr. Boehner even promised to provide the bills 72 hours in advance, to eliminate the potential for shenanigans such as posting a bill at 2:00 PM EST only to have the vote take place at 2:01 PM EST.

Mr. Boehner has kept his promise. The first bill the House is set to vote on is a rules package. The vote will take place on Wednesday, and the bill was made available last week. On Thursday, the House will consider a bill that will cut the budget of Congress. In fact, Mr. Boehner has gone above and beyond his promise to the American people. On January 12, the House will vote on a bill "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law," that has become known as Obamacare -- an act that has been challenged by several states and even ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge as The Report previously discussed. While this bill will likely not make it past the Senate, and would almost certainly be vetoed by President Obama were it to pass Congress, the bill is posted online for the American people to read over seven days before a vote will take place! That is double the time promised by Mr. Boehner.

Mr. Boehner has the opportunity ahead of him to be one of the greatest Speakers in the history of the House of Representatives. Tomorrow, the American people will be able to watch the start of a era in the House of Representatives... literally, as for the first time, Congress will broadcast a live stream on Facebook in addition to normal broadcasts on C-SPAN and other outlets. By adhering to the will of the American people and committing to transparency, Mr. Boehner is the type of leader leader that can help make the United States an even greater country than it is today. It is a shame that during the last four years soon-to-be former Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not embrace the principles that Mr. Boehner does.

Note: The website that bills are currently being posted on is http://rules-republicans.house.gov/

Release Assange & Arrest The Damn Hackers!

The controversy over WikiLeaks and cablegate continues. As posted before on The Report, the United States government should not be attacking and blaming WikiLeaks for its troubles, but rather, should be blaming its own citizen and armed forces member, Private First Class Bradley E. Manning. Manning betrayed his country by leaking the documents out, and as written before on The Report should be prosecuted for his treasonous acts and executed if found guilty.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, WikiLeaks' Julian Assange was arrested by authorities in the United Kingdom on a European Union arrest warrant out of Sweden. Assange faces extradition to Sweden to face charges of sexual assault / rape charges. However, it turns out that he didn't actually rape anyone: the women involved have actually stated that the consented to having sexual relations with Assange. The charges stem from Assange refusing to go to a Doctor to get tested for sexually transmitted disease/infection and being difficult to reach. As a result, the women went to the authorities in Sweden when the simple solution would be that they get tested for diseases/infections and leave Assange to deal with anything he may have picked up on his own terms. It is absolutely absurd that the Swedish authorities issued an EU arrest warrant for Assange, and even more absurd that the British actually acted on these ridiculous charges. Had Assange actually forced himself upon these women, then this blog would be advocating for his arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment for life so that he never has the chance to rape another woman again. However, since Assange did not rape anyone, he should be released, the charges should be dropped, and the arrest warrant cancelled. The Report also would advise Assange to go get tested for disease/infection for his own good, because having something like syphilis or herpes go untreated is probably going to be quite painful.

Besides PFC Manning, the other party that needs to be found, arrested, and put in prison are the hackers who have been wreaking havoc on various websites and firms through denial of service attacks. These attacks slow down the Internet for users worldwide, and can hurt the economy by preventing transactions from taking place. While MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, and EveryDNS (not be be confused with a good DNS provider based in Canada called EasyDNS) did the wrong thing by cutting off WikiLeaks, attacking their websites is not the proper course of action. Further, it is illegal, and the criminals behind it should be prosecuted. Those who oppose the actions of the companies that cut off WikiLeaks should oppose them through legal means, such as boycotting them. Instead of using a Visa card or MasterCard card, for example, go with American Express -- if Visa and MasterCard see transaction numbers fall, they won't make as much money and will realize that such poor judgement will cost their bottom line.