I received an electronic newsletter today from Congressman Rick Larsen telling me how he was looking out for my interests by voting on various bills before the congress. It occurred to me that what we really need is elected officials that look out for our interests before the crisis rather than after the crisis.
My number one priority is creating jobs and restoring fiscal responsibility so we can create an economic environment that will grow and support good jobs well into the future.
But if we want to build a foundation for future economic growth, it is critical that we change the underlying rules that helped to create the recession in the first place. A failure to act will merely set us up for another economic disaster.
That is why Congress must pass legislation to end the Era of Big Bank Bailouts.
Two years after the economy collapsed, we continue to uncover shocking new details about the risky practices and reckless behavior of Big Banks that cost Americans trillions of dollars in retirement, college savings and financial security.
Congressman Larsen should tell us specifically what he recommends we do proactively to change our government so us regular folks are better protected from perils like this one. The proposal before the congress has many regulatory changes; which ones in particular does he think change things for the better? If creating jobs and restoring fiscal responsibility are his number one priority, how would passing the Dodd Bill make that happen?
The “underlying rules that helped create the recession” have been in place for a long time. What effort did Congressman Larsen make to safeguard us during his ten years in office?
What exactly is Mr. Larsen or for that matter any of our elected officials doing to solve the significant problems that are spiraling out of control already but are not at crisis proportions yet?
Many of us regular folks have known for a long time that the banking regulations were not protecting us consumers, but Congressman Larsen wasn’t fighting for banking regulations until after the collapse. What kind of leadership is that? We need leaders who are out in front the issues, preventing a crisis, not responding after the fact.
Mr. Larsen would have us believe that big banks are the problem. So what legislation did he propose that would change banking regulations to protect us?
There is a current outcry about the Arizona governor’s decision to sign legislation from the Arizona Legislature requiring that Arizona law enforcement agencies enforce state and federal immigration laws in Arizona. As elected officials in that state, they were bound by their oath of office to enforce the laws, to protect and defend the people of their state. How could that be a bad thing?
So Congressman Larsen tell us what you think Immigration Policy should be! If you think law enforcement agencies will have to do illegal profiling, how do you propose they identify illegal aliens without it? Tell us specifically what you think about this issue? Should we be securing the border? How should we secure the border? Are Mexicans the biggest threat we face from an unsecured border? How should we deal with the millions of Mexicans (and others) living in the U.S. who have come across the border illegally? Do you support deportation or amnesty?
So Congressman Larsen tell us what you think about the explosion on the drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico that is currently creating an environmental crisis in that region? What should government’s responsibility be in the aftermath? Should we suspend all off-shore drilling? Have we learned anything from this experience so far? Do we need more or different regulations?
Every elected official in the land should be advocating we enforce the laws on the books today. If there are laws that jeopardize our well-being and you are doing nothing to change them, we should assume you are in agreement with them. Not serving on a particular committee is not an acceptable answer to inaction!
During his ten years in congress, what exactly did he do personally to prevent the housing crisis, the banking crisis, the energy crisis and the debt crisis? Or whatever other crisis that has not already come to light? And maybe just as important, what is he working on today to avert another crisis from damaging our country?
How has his service in the congress made a positive difference to his constituents? Where has his leadership been demonstrated best during his ten years in office? Has Congressman Rick Larsen demonstrated leadership qualities at all during his five terms in office?
We need leaders elected who will work proactively for the betterment of our citizens, not special interests and after the fact.
No Loss for Words 
When is a Disaster a Federal Disaster?
by Steve DanaOnce again, tragedy along the gulf coast in general and Louisiana in particular captivate the news. Whether it was an accident caused by fate or folly of man, the explosion on the floating oil drilling platform that resulted in a massive oil spill has changed that place forever. Right wing news organizations criticize the Obama Administration for not acting more decisively at an earlier point in the time-line.
Hurricane Katrina devastated gulf coast communities from western Florida to upper Texas; Louisiana and New Orleans in particular. Left wing news organizations sustained a prolonged attack on the Bush Administration for not acting more decisively at an earlier point in the time-line.
Citizens across our nation grieve for the losses sustained by our neighbors in that region for a second time in only a few short years.
While we grieve on the one hand, criticism has been levied against the federal government for failing to act proactively in a timely manner in both of these emergencies which begs the question “Is the federal government the agency of first resort or last resort in the case of disaster?” What protocol should we employ to determine when federal assistance is needed as opposed to required?
Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and wild fires all are capable of wiping out a community or even a state. We are learning that man-made disasters can be every bit as damaging. In either case, what triggers a federal response to such a disaster? Does the federal government do joint planning with every state to determine in advance a plan of action for all perils or does the planning fall to the states?
It has become commonplace to see elected officials flying over an area devastated by a disaster in helicopters then hear that the area had been declared a “federal disaster” which triggers financial assistance during a recover, but what has to happen before the federal government’s role changes to proactively managing a disaster on the ground?
During Katrina we learned that FEMA was waiting for Louisiana to ask for assistance. Is a request for assistance part of the protocol? Should FEMA and the federal government make an assessment on their own and act unilaterally or wait to be invited?
Is there any such thing as a routine “oil rig” fire? When any oil rig explodes and burns, someone does an assessment at some level to determine the risk factors. Was that done in this case and who did follow-up? When did authorities decide this was an emergency of national significance?
Is there a process Americans can use to guide us when a disaster happens in knowing when the government will only watch and when they might mobilize and actually do something to help?
Flooding is a peril that we often see in the news and New Orleans got hit hard with Katrina, but I don’t recall the role the government played in helping all the other victims in all the other flood events that happened around the country that year or for that matter in any year.
Where are the left wing and right wing news organizations when the federal government chooses not to take an active part in a disaster? When do they decide the federal government has not acted in a timely, decisive and proactive manner?
The risk associated with living in a flood plain is periodic flooding; with living along an ocean beach is the possibility of hurricanes; with living in the mid-west is the possibility of tornadoes. Some of us live with the risk of volcanoes, earthquakes and wild fires as well. What is the federal government’s role in protecting us from those perils and saving us from them after the fact? What role should the government play in saving you if we all agree that choosing to live in a hazard zone might be perilous?
We cannot expect the federal government to swoop in to save our butts from all perils. If we live where it floods we do so at our own risk. If we opt to invest in protection from floods we need to do so at our own expense. The federal government is not responsible for paying for our own poor judgment.
We need to have federal government policies that clarify the role the federal government will play in the case of major disasters.
Press coverage should not dictate whether the government steps in or not.
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