There were 319 people who changed to the Republican Party during the caucuses on

January 3. Those of us who have been in the party for a long time need to

welcome them and offer any assistance they desire.

# 1 THE STIMULUS

Obama's Stimulus Failed To Keep Unemployment Below 8 Percent As Obama Promised

Obama's $825 Billion Stimulus Failed To Keep The Unemployment Rate Below The 8 Percent And Is Nowhere Close To The 6 Percent They Predicted It Would Be At By Now. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/6/12; Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, "The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,"1/9/09; Congressional Budget Office, 5/25/11)

Instead, Since The Stimulus Was Passed, The Unemployment Rate Has Increased From 8.2 Percent To 8.5 Percent And Has Remained Above 8 Percent For A Post-WWII Record 35 Straight Months. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/6/12)

The Unemployment Rate Peaked At 10.1 Percent In October 2009. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 1/6/12)

IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

The Problem of Uncontrolled Government Spending

by John Hendrickson

This past year has been troublesome as the United States struggles to emerge into economic recovery from the “Great Recession.” Unemployment still remains at 8.6 percent and the national debt has risen to over $15 trillion. The federal government continues to run yearly trillion-dollar deficits and Congress has failed to pass a budget in well over 900 days. The congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Super Committee), which was charged with finding $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, failed to come up with a solution to reduce both spending and the national debt.

The failure of the Super Committee to come up with an agreement over spending cuts is a reflection of the deep philosophical divide between conservatism and liberalism in addressing the need to reduce federal spending as well as create pro-growth economic policies. Patrick J. Buchanan in his recent book, Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?, outlined the financial problem that confronts the nation: