with Mike Porco

The Case for Romney

In 2008, President Obama was elected on "Hope and Change" and yet four years later many Americans have lost hope in the future. The change we've experienced has not created sufficient job growth or economic expansion.

Today, we have 23 million Americans struggling to find work. In fact, fewer people are working today than when the President took office. The unemployment rate was 7.8% when he started and today, it is 7.9%.But you know, if you calculated the unemployment rate, taking into account the people who have dropped out of the workforce, it would be 10.7%.

Incomes are down while poverty, electricity, food prices, and the price of gasoline are up. Fifty percent of kids graduating from college can't find jobs and half a million manufacturing jobs have been lost. We can't continue down this path.

While the intentions for Obamacare were good, the long term financial impact could be devastating to our country. Obamacare will keep many businesses from hiring people and will do nothing to lower the price of health care. The Romney plan will keep the best parts of the law that work and repeal the rest.

Romney vows to crack down on China. One of the ways China doesn't play by the rules is artificially holding down the value of their currency. Because if they put their currency down low, that means their prices on their goods are low. And that makes them advantageous in the marketplace.

On day one, Romney will label China a currency manipulator, which will allow him as President to be able to put in place, if necessary, tariffs because he believes that they are taking unfair advantage of our manufacturers.

He also plans to dramatically expand trade in Latin America.

Governor Romney believes that while President Obama did inherit a bad situation, he unfortunately decided to focus his political capital on passing health care reform rather than focusing on job creation. That was a mistake.

Obama's big job plan came later in the form of stimulus spending that has only helped to balloon our debt to 16 trillion dollars today. The spending was plagued with cronyism and if you look at the jobs number today, it just didn't work. His plan for the next four years is more of the same. Why would we expect a different result?

Obama talks a good game about equality, but he doesn't include the life of the unborn. Romney believes that life begins at conception and supports the overturning of Roe v. Wade so that states will be empowered through the democratic process to determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate. As President, he will end federal funding for abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood.

Governor Romney also opposes President Obama's mandate requiring that employers at private institutions, including religious institutions (other than houses of worship), provide contraceptive services — including sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs — among the healthcare benefits provided to their employees, in compliance with Obamacare.

Let's look at the budget. What Obama calls fairness, Romney calls class warfare. Obama's plan focuses on raising taxes for those making over $250,000 a year. He makes no mention however how this will hurt small business job growth and how it won't make a dent in lowering our national debt. For example, if the IRS grabbed 100 percent of income from those making over $1 million, it would equal just $616 billion, only a third of this year’s deficit (not to be confused with our debt). We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

In contrast, Mitt Romney will cut federal spending and regulation, and bring much-needed reforms to Medicare and Social Security (President Obama has not even put forward any entitlement reform plan). He will work toward balancing the budget, reducing the size and reach of the federal government, and returning power to the states and the people.

On his first day in office, Romney will cut non-security discretionary spending by 5% which will reduce spending by $500 billion a year by the end of his first term. His plan is to balance the federal budget by the end of his second term.

Romney wants to bring tax rates down, and at the same time lower exemptions and deductions, particularly for people at the high end. He believes that if you bring rates down, it makes it easier for small business to keep more of their capital and hire people.

The top 5% of taxpayers will continue to pay 60% of the income tax the nation collects. Middle-income people are going to get a tax break and every taxpayer making $200,000 per year and less will no longer pay any tax on interest, dividends or capital gains. This will spur savings and investment.

Romney's plan is to get America 12 million new jobs in four years. Energy and trade policy can help us get there.

Governor Romney believes we need coal plants but under the President's plans and EPA regulations it is impossible to have one built. This raises the cost of energy and results in the loss of good paying jobs.

On defense, Romney supports additional funding for our troops and taking a harder line on Iran to make sure they don't develop a nuclear bomb. In contrast, the President's policies throughout the Middle East began with an apology tour and he pursued a strategy of leading from behind.

This strategy is unraveling before our very eyes. In Beghazi, we now learn that the administration was not forthcoming about the killing of four Americans including our Ambassador. It took President Obama two weeks to label it a terrorist act instead blaming it on a youtube video. Americans demand better.

On education, Mitt Romney will take the unprecedented step of tying federal funds directly to dramatic reforms that expand parental choice, invest in innovation, and reward teachers for their results instead of their tenure.

On immigration, Romney believes we do not grant enough visas to high-skill job creators and innovators our economy needs to make up for labor shortages and gaps in skills. His focus is on promoting legal immigration and enforcing our immigration laws.

In contrast, President Obama said in his first year that he would present an immigration plan that would deal with our immigration challenges. He didn't even file it. Instead, he signed a last minute executive order as an election year gimmick. And rather than assist states in cracking down on illegal immigration, Obama's Department of Justice has sued to stop states from assisting the federal government in enforcing immigration laws. President Romney will partner with states to protect our borders.

This election is about who do you trust best to create jobs and spur economic growth. President Obama tried his plan but it did not work. He was elected on a promise to work across party lines and yet instead he blames Republicans rather than develop a plan both sides can get behind. Four more years of Obama will be four more years of gridlock and slow economic growth. It is time for a change. It is time for Mitt Romney for President.