It is unfortunate that so many Republicans, conservatives lawmakers, and pundits conflate being pro-market with being pro-business. These are two separate things. Unfortunately, this confusion has produced thousands of government handouts and privileges to companies in the name of being pro-business — and these companies have developed a sense of entitlement. Worst of all, for many of them, government-granted privileges are an inherent part of their business models.
The latest example of this has to do with the nomination by President Trump of former Representative Scott Garrett to become the new president of the crony Export-Import Bank. The institution has been pretty much zombified since 2015 thanks to a few Republicans in Congress who actually believe in the free-market and despise government subsidies (no matter what form they take) to big businesses. As a reminder, during the heyday of the Ex-Im Bank, ten massive domestic companies benefited from 65 percent of the agency’s activities, which subsidized loans to equally massive and often state-owned foreign companies. Also, while the bank also subsidizes billion of dollars in loans to companies in countries that President Trump claims are hurting us on trade, such as China and Mexico, Trump has reversed his position on Ex-Im and wants it up and running and sponsoring large firms again. Go figure. The silver lining is that while the bank will be back in business, at least the man he has nominated understands full well the many problems with the institution — including fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. Scott Garrett was a staunch opponent of the Ex-Im Bank and he is exactly the kind of guy you want there
Ridgewood NJ , Scott Garrett (R-5th Dist.) now faces scrutiny over his “reported comments” that he was not contributing to the House Republicans’ fundraising arm because it backed gay candidates and “Democrats think he is more vulnerable and he might be more vulnerable, but we don’t have empirical evidence that he is more vulnerable.” https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/08/will_voters_remember_nj_rep_scott_garretts_comments_next_fall.html
Since this is revelation of “reported comments” , some say leaked by DC establishment republicans during the Speaker John Boehner feud who were uncomfortable with a real Republican chairing a powerful financial services subcommittee watched closely by the industry and filled with lucrative donors .
The New Jersey media who works hand in hand with the states Democratic party has been filled with Garrett donor defection stories .
So now the hated “Wall Street” has suddenly been elevated to the moral arbitrator of all things , despite heavy donations to the Clinton Campaign with its dubious ties to serial women abuser and accused rapist ex- President Bill Clinton as well as its ties to Twitter would be porn star ex Congressmen Anthony Weiner .
At a September possible Democratic candidate Gottheimer fundraiser that came less than a week after James Cicconi, the RINO Republican head of external affairs at AT&T Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Peter Scher hosted another one for the Democrat.Attendees included executives from Blackstone, Comcast, Verizon, McGraw Hill, U.S. Telecom Association, Tribune Media, United Health, Ogilvy & Mather, Raben Group and Akin Group. The invitation for the event had said it was “an excellent opportunity to oust one of the most conservative members of the House of Representatives.”
Bloomberg News, which was the first to report plans for the Cicconi fundraiser, said some business executives had already been growing tired of Garrett. They were apparently bothered by his vote against big spending former Speaker John Boehner,and were troubled that he has opposed the crony driven , taxpayer funded corporate welfare, Export-Import Bank.
Garrett has said about the Ex-Im bank, “It’s hard to imagine anything more unfair and un-American than having the government financially support mega-corporations at the expense of small businesses and American workers. But that is exactly what has been happening, and it will continue to happen if we don’t let the Export-Import Bank expire next month. It rewards those with close relationships with Washington bureaucrats and makes victims of startups that dare to compete against them—literally picking winners and losers in our economy.
“Ex-Im has transformed the role of government from a disinterested referee that guarantees a free and open marketplace into a biased actor that tilts the scales in favor of its friends in businesses. We have the opportunity to save capitalism from cronyism and to fulfill a promise to the American people to work for them instead of a select few with special connections in Washington. For the sake of the American taxpayer and the preservation of the free enterprise system, Congress should put the Export-Import Bank out of business.”
Garrett has also made enemies by his unrelenting disapproval of Dodd-Frank which has codified the disastrous “too big to fail” policy and mega Wall Street bail outs . “Garrett says , “the Dodd-Frank Act has stifled economic growth, made it more difficult for Main Street businesses to obtain credit, and increased the likelihood that taxpayers will be on the hook for additional Wall Street bailouts. Most importantly, this law has and has made it harder for Americans to find a job, buy a home, and save money for their family’s future. ” Garrett went on , “Despite creating new bureaucracies that have imposed thousands of pages of rigid, invasive, and unworkable regulations, Dodd-Frank did nothing to reform the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose actions caused the 2008 financial crisis.”
The Democrats great hope is Joshua S. Gottheimer ,so who really is Joshua S. Gottheimer . Gottheimer was (born c. 1975) is an American lawyer, speechwriter, and public policy adviser. He has been active within the Democratic Party as a speechwriter for Bill Clinton and an advisor for the presidential campaigns of Wesley Clark, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton. He has also worked for Burson-Marsteller, the Federal Communications Commission, Ford Motor Company, and Microsoft. He is currently running for the United States House of Representatives in New Jersey’s 5th congressional district. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Gottheimer )
So Mr Gottheimer is another PR person like Ridgewood Mayor Paul Aronsohn not sure many residents will share any enthusiasm given the bad taste the Jim Mac Greevey mouth piece has left in Ridgewood .Gottheimer it seems is funded by Big Government ,pro Wall Street bailouts, pro-corporate welfare , pro-crony types looking to remove the last impediment to getting their hands on more tax payer money.
APRIL 15, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* State authority approves sizable grants
New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority on Tuesday approved more than $130 million in tax credits aimed at convincing several companies to expand in New Jersey, rather than in nearby states. The action included two sizable grants in Jersey City.
“The assistance approved at today’s meeting illustrates the breadth of programs EDA offers to support the revitalization of our cities,” the authority’s chief executive officer, Melissa Orsen, said in a statement.
The EDA voted Tuesday to offer Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., a private bank, $19.4 million of tax credits over seven years to keep 435 jobs in Jersey City. The New York-based company also said it hopes to add 110 jobs, some through growth and some through relocations from New York City. The project would bring the state a net benefit of $193 million over 20 years, according to the authority.
The authority also approved a $33.9 million worth of tax credits over 10 years to New York Life Insurance Co. to move 325 jobs from Parsippany to 30 Hudson St. in Jersey City, where it would hire 300 more workers. Without the grant, New York Life would consider moving the Parsippany workers to Manhattan or Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. The New York Life project would bring the state a net benefit of $430.4 million over 20 years, the authority said.
