Jake's Opinion

• Hows that Hope and Change Working for ya? >> Bank failures total more than 100 so far in 2010 – Jul. 23, 2010 http://bit.ly/cOsNIC about 23 hours ago via TweetDeck
• RT @USArmy: Army Photo of the Day: Afghan girl accepts gift from a Soldier during humanitarian mission: http://bit.ly/95Xh2j 10:00 AM Jul 23rd via TweetDeck
• Confidence in congress is at 11%. I still think it’s too high. http://bit.ly/b4mqWr 8:25 AM Jul 23rd via TweetDeck
• RT @WSJ: One in five Americans saw their income (after medical costs) decline 25% or more between 2008 and 2009 http://j.mp/9LbP1Z 9:46 PM Jul 22nd via TweetDeck
• RT @Heritage: The @WhiteHouse FINALLY admits #Obamacare is a tax. (Why were they the last to know?) #hcr http://herit.ag/9VC 12:52 PM Jul 20th via TweetDeck
• RT @ScottWGraves: If Obama spent more time focusing on jobs, he could spend less time worrying about jobless benefits. 11:10 PM Jul 19th via TweetDeck
• RT @Heritage: Not getting #unemployment benefits? Blame @SenatorReid and liberals’ addiction to #deficit spending. #tcot http://herit.ag/YT8 11:08 PM Jul 19th via TweetDeck
• The “Financial Reform” Bill was a win for no one. Except the government who won’t be paying for it. >> http://yhoo.it/ddPOJb 7:34 AM Jul 19th via TweetDeck
• Six more banks closed on Friday. Hows that hope and change working for ya? >> FDIC: Failed Bank List http://bit.ly/9QBy9u 7:32 AM Jul 19th via TweetDeck
• RT @rorycooper: Remember when Obama shut down car dealers, costing jobs for sake of saving Govt Motors? Bad move. http://drudge.tw/dCniyH 12:41 AM Jul 19th via TweetDeck

• RT @WVaRed: National Review Online: “West Virginians Don’t Like Coronations” http://bit.ly/cgZy5X 11:36 PM Jul 16th via TweetDeck
• Well Crap RT @WSJ: Breaking: A majority of senators have voted to pass the financial overhaul bill as the roll call continues http://wsj.com 4:47 PM Jul 15th via TweetDeck
• Trying to take most of the week off from politics while I am on vacation. So hard to do while my country is being run into the ground. 9:55 AM Jul 14th via Twitter for iPhone
• wow -> http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 6:14 PM Jul 12th via TweetDeck
• Jake’s Opinion » Blog Archive » Senator Byrd Federal Money can’t and didn’t solve everything http://bit.ly/9Mltta 5:16 PM Jul 10th via TweetDeck
• Great Piece! -> Brian Bolduc: Robert Byrd’s Highways to Nowhere – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/byojAO 5:09 PM Jul 10th via TweetDeck

The quotations below are from the WSJ Opinion Piece by Brian Bolduc.

Senator Byrd thank you for your service to this state.  Even though I disagreed with almost everyone of your political stances I have to believe that your heart was in the right place when it came to WV.  However the billions of dollars in Federal Money that you sent to this state only allowed it to sink deeper into poverty while allowing some mistakenly to believe that progress was being made.

The state now has to maintain a sea of asphalt and concrete that our tax base will never in the near future be able to support.  We now have to maintain large buildings and facilities that we never should have been able to build.  WV has been the beneficiary or victim depending upon your view of wealth redistribution.  You funneled money from other states to your own and allowed every single item to bear your name.  Yet all this money did nothing.

When Byrd became senator in 1959, West Virginia ranked No. 39 in median family income, and No. 42 in per capita income. Today, it’s No. 48 in both categories.

Your continuous flow of money allowed WV the luxury of not having to make the hard choices that needed to be made.  It allowed the budget to be balanced every year and hard choices to be continually put off.  Almost every single bit of “advancement” that came as a result of your work was just more federal money being brought into the state.  We have jails, the FBI center, large hospitals, but very little of the enormous amount of money that you robbed from other states created private investment.  For decades WV has needed to make changes to its tax structure and business climate that would spur private sector growth.  But we never did; the state just allowed Big Daddy to continue to write checks for money that was not his. 

51.3% of the state’s economy relies on spending by the local, state and federal government—the highest level of any state. "We’ve created this culture of dependency," warns Mr. Sobel, "Our human capital is not good at competing in the marketplace; it’s good at securing federal grants."

I am both happy and sad at the days that are to come for my beloved state of WV.  I am happy that maybe finally the elected officials will be made to force changes that will hopefully allow the state to grow.  I am sad that it has to be done in such a compressed time frame.  With only about 20 to 30 years of coal excise taxes left we have less than a generation to make changes that could have started in the 60’s and 70’s.  WV’s workforce is strong and dedicated but they lack the opportunity to work and fulfill their potential. Until the business climate in WV is improved its economic status will continue to deteriorate.   

An economy that grows because of government spending and not private sector investment is nothing more than redistribution of wealth.  The faucet has now been turned off its time for WV to make the hard choices.                  Jake Stapleton 07-10-10

1. Once again they produce nothing! – How Americans Are Overtaxed to Overpay the Civil Service | The Heritage Foundationhttp://bit.ly/cW5zR5 about 8 hours ago via TweetDeck
2. I really don’t care about the sports side of this, but we are talking millions here! – LeBron’s Tax Holiday – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/9go4er about 9 hours ago via TweetDeck
3. Pastor Yanked From Capitol over “Jesus” Prayer « FOX News Radio http://bit.ly/aWyxyo about 9 hours ago via TweetDeck
4. It’s 5:15 on a Friday 2 banks have already been shut down. How’s that hope and change working for ya?about 23 hours ago via TweetDeck
5. RT @michellemalkin: Another ass-kicking: 5th Circuit rejects White House drilling ban appeal – http://tinyurl.com/387txkp 8:40 PM Jul 8th via TweetDeck
6. RT @shellyroche: NSA Launches “Perfect Citizen” Spy Op -http://is.gd/dkn7j #tlot #tech 8:12 PM Jul 8th via TweetDeck
7. RT @Heritage: 100 days later, the best way forward with Obamacare remains the same: END IT! #healthcare #tcot http://herit.ag/JSI 8:11 PM Jul 8th via TweetDeck
8. RT @Heritage: If you love playing “make believe,” you could have a career analyzing the climate change bill. #green http://herit.ag/Urk 8:10 PM Jul 8th via TweetDeck
9. RT @politicalmath: Making George W. Bush look like a coupon-clipping bargain shopper? #YesWeDid 8:07 PM Jul 8th via TweetDeck
10. Oh Nancy are you listening? – Arthur B. Laffer: Unemployment Benefits Aren’t Stimulus – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/d86J4Q 8:14 AM Jul 8th via TweetDeck
11. RT @AudreyJones: Jindal said it best: No is not a plan. Lead or get out of the way. #oilspill #tcot 7:37 PM Jul 6th via TweetDeck
12. RT @BarackObama: Thank you to all who helped us reach 10 million supporters on Facebook. Because that’s about all I have left. (Paraphrased)6:04 PM Jul 6th via TweetDeck