Root Causes

Trillions for symptoms, but not one dime for root causes. Back in the early 1800’s there was a saying “millions for defense but not one cent for tribute”. It spoke of America’s determination to stand strong in the face of terror and extortion. Unfortunately today, we are seeing that we would rather throw money at the economic problems we are facing than address the root causes of these problems. Some of the solutions do not even cost money to implement. It was a fool hardy approach taken by the Bush administration and it seems like the Obama administration is willing to continue it. I guess it is more of the same instead of the change we need.

There are many myths about the economy including that the last stimulus bill and its payments didn’t work. They did. They worked in 2002 and they worked in 2008. They helped delay the downturn by several months and should be part of a new package. The problem is that unlike 2002 this downturn was more than cyclical. It had some stubborn root causes which went unaddressed.

This writer called for us to address the housing crisis back in February 2008. It is still not done. We don’t need to buy toxic assets. We need to give the banks compensation for modifying mortgages and entice them to mass modify ARM’s and troubled mortgages of people who are not literally on the block. Economists estimate that federally guaranteed 4% mortgages done this way would cost us 300 billion dollars. Yet it would save the average family several hundreds of dollars a month for as long as they keep that mortgage. That would do more than any one time check. Let’s do it. We could use the second half of the TARP or use it in the stimulus bill. We should also extend the temporary credit to first time homebuyers. It would cost 20 billion but as an interest free loan paid back over 15 years it would really cost us nothing but the interest we pay.

We should give aid to the states so they don’t raise taxes and layoff workers which would worsen the economy. I would say pick up 95% of Medicaid for two years and give block grants for “shovel ready projects”. We should also pick up unemployment, federally mandated student testing, at 100% for two years federally.

Energy policy should be in the stimulus because it will help create a long term recovery. It is also a national emergency.

Cut the corporate tax rate and give accelerated depreciation to small and medium size businesses. Give a $1000 a person rebate this summer and cut the payroll tax for two years in half so businesses are rewarded for each person they keep and people have more money every week.

Taken together these steps would save and create millions of jobs without socializing and regulating the economy beyond recognition.

Tell me, would that type of policy work better than putting down new sod, giving out contraceptives, and funding starving artists?

Thanks

It didn’t work this time. The blue tide was too strong. I thank everyone who put their time, money, and heart into this race.

Congratulations to the winners. I have National Guard make up Thursday so I will not be at returns day. None the less I say may God give you wisdom as you continue to serve us Mr. Angel.

David

Jobs and Economy Need to Have Priority in County Policy

For Immediate Release
Contact: David Anderson
302-734-0366
ANDERSON DECLARES JOBS AND ECONOMY TOP ISSUE IN LEVY COURT RACE—
NATIONAL SITUATION DEMANDS A MORE PROACTIVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT

At Thursday’s Kent County Federation’s of Republican Women’s meeting, David Anderson candidate for Levy Court will promote a jobs and prosperity agenda for Kent County.
David Anderson believes now is the time to make jobs and the economy a top priority of Kent County Government. Levy Court 3rd District. The current Levy Court is investing $73,000 in economic development. 2008 was $74,000. The 2007 investment was $1,600,000 in grants, land acquisition, and expenditures. A previous year was approximately $900,000. $700,000 was transferred from Economic Development to open space preservation.
The following is a synopsis of Mr. Anderson’s proposal– A Prosperity Agenda!
We need to be pro-business in order to be pro-jobs.  I would like to see our industrial-commercial areas become enterprise zones and international trade zones. We need to work with the chamber of commerce (CDCC) to take advantage of grants available to businesses which export overseas.  With the Internet and parcel post services, it is an easy proposition for more businesses than we think.  There are more than 360 federal economic development programs.  Let’s have a contest with the colleges to see who can come with the best way to tap them. 
 I would also like us to take advantage of alternative energy and science grants.  I would also like to see a tax credit to any business anywhere in the county which expands.  The new expansion portion should be exempt from higher taxes for three years.  I would love to see start ups get a one year tax holiday.  These ideas won’t cost us money but could bring us a real return.
We can also publish all of the available support programs for local and start up businesses.  Every non profit, institution or agency should be known through the county website and a booklet.
Instead of wasting money on lawsuits because we don’t follow state laws, lets build our economy.
My recommendation is to draft an incentive which piggybacks on a program like the SBA small business loan program that requires a business plan. It has a track record of being effective and not abused. For example, proposed legislation might be that if one starts or expands a business in Kent County and one qualified for a small business loan through the SBA program then the County will provide seed money grant each year for three years as long as your location remains Kent County, etc. The amount of seed money could be a percentage of wages paid to encourage job creation, a percentage of taxable income generated by the business, both, or taxpayer’s choice each year. This would inspire all types of business entities: sole-proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and LLCs.
 I specifically note applicants must qualify for a SBA loan – not have received a SBA loan – because if a person doesn’t need to finance their business start-up/expansion they should not be ineligible. Other similar incentives may be available to entice larger businesses to the area by working with the State Economic Development Office.
What are we doing now?  We hired a professional firm which came up with some good ideas.  We shelved the study and cut the economic development budget to its lowest level in years.  When we need jobs the most, we made that the lowest priority. 

The meeting is sponsored by Kent County Republican Woman’s club. David Anderson will be one of the guest speakers at the monthly luncheon on September 25th at Maple Dale Country Club Dover. The luncheon starts at 11:30.
Mr. Anderson will gladly accommodate any press questions afterward or arrange interviews with any media unable to attend..
End

9/11 Remembered in Prayer

Noontime, September 11th 7 years ago, found almost all of us praying. There is a movement to pray in all 50 State Capitols and D. C. called Cry Out America. The gathering for Delaware is on the Green. Those so inclined are hereby invited.

It is time to put aside partisanship–I invite the Lynn supporters to join the effort for change

It was a close campaign. Some very important issues were raised. I praise Mr. Lynn for his hard work to bring valid concerns to the people. The haphazard way the county makes policy has opened us up to million in liability and 38 lawsuits. The job base is shrinking not expanding. We need a better way to address the future of the county.

I welcome Mr. Lynn and his supporters. All of those who still believe we need change are welcome to join the team. I also believe we need to address issues of emergency preparedness, a positive business climate, and affordable housing. We need to win because we can not stay in put. Mr. Angel has accomplished what he sought to do. Now it is time to move forward. I welcome Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and everyone else in this campaign to improve our county.

I am On WHYY Tonight.

Get the best in Primary analysis on channel 12 or WHYY.org. You also can get my perspective between 8 and 9:30.

Our Emergency Preparedness is a Disaster waiting to happen

It will be three years since Hurricane Katrina woke up America to emergency preparedness, and Kent county still isn’t ready for an emergency. It has been two years since the Dow/ Reichhold accident and we are still not ready. They couldn’t even handle the recent minor flooding in Kitts Hummock and Bower’s Beach. What if we had a chemical spill with toxic chemicals? What if we had a major storm and had wide spread flooding?
Tell me there is not a critical failure of leadership. The sad part is I doubt Kent county is alone. The state has made improvements but they didn’t filter down to the counties very well.
The lack of emergency preparedness concerns me. The Reichhold Chemical incident was our wake up call and our county leadership seems to have hit the snooze alarm. I testified before the state and city governments about our concerns, but I don’t see enough movement on the county level. The notification system is still not sufficient. The county needs to take charge and make sure the citizens are protected.
I know from my duty providing Katrina Relief with the National Guard that local government matters. Whether the relief operation went smoothly or was a source of frustration was directly related to the competence of the local officials. I saw elected officials who rose to being local heroes selflessly serve their community. They were models of leadership. I saw others get in way, and even divert aid to their friends. I saw first hand that local government matters. My family lives here and I am not comforted by our lack of coordination between first responders and the local government.
Each person needs to take responsibility for themselves and their families, but we still need government to keep us informed and help us when we need it. It is crazy for there to have been a chemical spill and the local hospital not be informed why people are coming in when the government is on site. It was beyond belief that people were going to shelters and Red Cross not be notified that the shelter was open let alone to stock it. It is absurd that there are no sirens to go off during an emergency because they are loud. It is sad that a recent storm came and people were stuck in their homes because the roads were flooded and the government didn’t even invest in marking the roads so emergency vehicles could find them. Every year we still have failures. It is like we heard the wake up call and hit the snooze.
We need at least one person to bring up these issues for the sake of your families. We need real change.

It’s Official, Anderson for Levy Court

I officially filed for the 3rd district Levy Court seat in Kent County. I have a lot on my plate, but I am concerned enough about this county to invest my energies to making it better.

We have some challenges ahead. Unemployment is up 25% over last year, but just as important so is underemployment. I have been talking with people working 3 jobs and still not able to make ends meet because the 3 jobs don’t pay as much as the one they lost. Others are paying 20 to 50 dollars a day to get to work. It is clear that we need a better business base here. We need to treat the businesses we have better and attract new ones.

The lack of emergency preparedness concerns me. The Rico Chemical incident was a wake up call and our county leadership seems to have hit the snooze alarm. I testified before the state and city governments about our concerns, but I don’t see enough movement on the county level.

I know from my duty providing Katrina Relief with the National Guard that local government matters. Whether the relief operation went smoothly or was a source of frustration was directly related to the competence of the local officials. I saw elected officials who rose to being local heroes selflessly serve their community. They were models of leadership. I saw others get in way, and even divert aid to their friends. I saw first hand that local government matters. My family lives here and I am not comforted by our lack of coordination between first responders and the local government.

I am not pleased with the way our county spends some of our money. I have detailed that elsewhere on this site. The Government needs to act like our money is a precious resource. When I am elected, you will have a constant voice asking the right questions.

Now you know why I did it, I hope you will give me a chance to serve you. It will be a decision you won’t regret. Thank you.
If you would like to help the campaign at no cost to you, follow this link to Revolutionary MoneyExchange (it is like paypal without the high fees), it is free and without obligation. The campaign will get ten dollars. Thanks.

This week we finally paid for our government–federal, state, and local

…At least we paid for this year. Cost of Government day came this week. “Cost of Government Day (COGD) is the date of the calendar year on which the average American worker has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government on the federal, state and local levels”, according to Americans For Tax Reform. Congratulations, my fellow Americans, you are now free to look out for yourself and your fellow man.

The worst part of the sad fact that Americans work the equivalent 197 days to deal with the economic consequences of government is that it will likely get worse. The entitlement bomb is crying out for reform. According to the Concord Coalition we face 53 trillion dollars (present value of money terms) of unfunded liabilities if we don’t implement reforms. That is about the equivalent of the world’s economy. If you took every dollar earned in the world this year, you could pay the promises Congress has made the people. That should be a wake up call.

Academy of Dover Turnaround

Update: we were featured in the lead story on WHYY TV Thursday.
There is nothing more fulfilling than being a part of success. The school is one of the great turnaround stories in Delaware education. Student Achievement is up. School morale is up. The school is run better in accordance to best practices in many areas. More needs to be and will be accomplished to make this a premier school. I am fully optimistic that the next year will bring that goal to reality.

Now it should be obvious that this was a team effort. In fact I would say optimistically, I may be responsible for 5% maybe 1%, but my 5% was essential to it happening. When I highlight my part in this to show you why I can be trusted, let it be with the understanding that a lot of other people did their part too. It was a team effort as the article said and without everyone’s effort the school would have failed. I especially credit the leadership of Mrs. Mary Scott (board president), Mrs. Leida Sanchez, MBA (treasurer), and the dedicated staff who went beyond the call of duty.

The Academy of Dover was a good school fundamentally (thanks to the vision of its founder), but it was facing some real challenges. The former management company did not live up to expectations and the school faced closure if changes weren’t made. The Department of Education demanded a new board of directors be chosen. I was honored to be one of those selected.

We faced 4 challenges. We needed better administrative procedures including financial management and reporting. We needed to improve our test scores and raise student achievement. We needed to meet 24 conditions set by the department of education. We needed to restore our image (damaged by the negative publicity from the problems which threatened the school’s viability) in the community and among our own parents.

Board President Mary Scott gave us our assignments. There was too much work to be done as a full board in just a couple of months before school opened this past year. So we each took an area and reported back to our committees which compiled and reviewed the work and reported back to the full board. We still had to have special meetings which lasted for 4 and 5 hours each (for an unpaid position). The results were worth the effort. We accomplished the conditions several at a time. We established Board Procedures for governing the school. We retained a firm to do an audit. We established best practice financial management. We sat down with our management consultants and made clear what we needed to happen. We had our contracts brought up to best practice legal standards. We brought the school up to the same standard expected of districts in many ways.

Stage 2 After the administrative items were handled, we went for the tougher job of bringing up student achievement. We implemented tracking of every student so a teacher and parents could know were each student stood not only in a class grade, but on each skill to be tested upon by the State (DSTP). We used Iowa testing at the beginning and end of the year. Next year we will test at the beginning, middle, and end of the year using MAPS.

I proposed a new math curriculum, Singapore Math which will be implemented next year. It is the number 1 rated math program in the world. We were one of three schools in the state of Delaware to pioneer the program. This was strongly supported by the principal at the time.

I also proposed a physical fitness policy, we now have one reflecting recommended practices and even received a grant to improve it. School safety was another priority of mine (having a child in the school) even though we had no incidents. We tightened some procedures and our bringing in more technology to help us over the coming year.

I have also had a part in bettering communications with the parents through a newsletter and an updated website. I also authored a parent satisfaction survey.

We are utilizing our computers better to aid learning. We have one for every 2 students. One of my areas was technology.

My part included writing some of the board procedures. It also included marketing and public relations. I authored the marketing strategy for the school. It was a low cost/ high effectiveness strategy. The school’s enrollment is up over 30% and climbing.

I am also one of those who proposed a gifted and talented program which will be brought on line this coming school year.

As I said many others did more, I am certainly not the star of the show, but my part was also significant. Because I am an activist, I do not believe in just belonging to a group. I am a man of action. If elected, I will do my best to achieve the goals laid out. I want to see a strong, sustainable economy. I have a record of achieving what I set out to do. Please give me a chance to work for you.