TUESDAY TWO-FER:GREEN GETTING SCREWED AND MARTIN RELEASES A PLAN

JACKIE GREEN IGNORED AGAIN: What more can be said about the candidacy of Jackie Green? Apparently not much if event organizers are to be believed. Jackie has been left out of yet another forum in the Mayoral debates and now it appears these "organizers" are using some made up rule to do it. According to LEO Green barred from another debate - FatLip, The Louisville Forum is refusing Green the opportunity to debate because he is not polling at 15% or above.

This makes a mockery of what debate is supposed to be. If Green, a legitimate Mayoral candidate, cannot be included in the public discussion on issues, how can he raise his profile to hit the 15% they want to use as a measure? Once again the status quo is ignoring anyone who is not part of the entrenched two party system.

Hell everyone allowed practically all candidates to debate in the primary forums and that was a fiasco with what a dozen people? Now we have the field narrowed and all of a sudden we just can't let Green in because of some phantom "15% rule?" Spare us and admit you are exclusionary folks.

ED MARTIN RAISES THE BAR: Ed Martin who has been through a lot lately, what with the Lally campaign trying to illegally get him off the ballot and all, has taken his campaign to the next level by doing something Lally has not and cannot do. He has put out just one part of his platform with a detail. That is what I expect from those seeking office. Details on how and what they will do.

This is a start to detailed info by the Martin camp once again leading in a way the Republican candidate Lally can't and won't. From the Martin release:

Ed Martin, Libertarian 3rd District congressional candidate, released the first in a series of in depth policy initiatives today.

Despite talk of recovery, the U.S. economy remains bogged down, with 1-of-10 Kentuckians struggling to find a job. While Democrat incumbent John Yarmuth supports failed bailouts and stimulus policies, and Republican challenger Todd Lally counters with clichéd generalities, Martin has developed a plan to stimulate small business growth and spur job creation.

“Politicians from both major parties constantly play lip service to the fact that small businesses form the backbone of the economy and serve as a job creation engine. Then they follow up the rhetoric with impotent solutions, all the while striving to bailout, backstop, and subsidize the special interests that contribute obscene amounts of money to both the Democratic and Republican parties,” Martin said.

Martin’s plan would directly stimulate small business growth by exempting the first $25,000 of profit a business earns from federal tax.

“I don’t cater to any special interests, and with 25 years experience running a small business, I not only understand what benefits and hurts businesses, I actually care,” Martin said. “There isn’t going to be any economic recovery until we do something substantive to stem the deterioration in the jobs sector, and this targeted tax relief will help businesses survive, thrive, and hire.”

Martin says the plan will provide a number of positive effects.
• Small businesses fail at a notoriously and disturbingly high rate. Cash flow issues arising from tax liabilities on every cent earned contribute to the problem. Allowing companies to show a profit without extracting upwards of 30 percent off the top would result in the survival of many more small businesses.
• The exemption would allow businesses to utilize dwindling credit resources to pay bills and capitalize expansion, instead of maxing out credit lines to satisfy tax liabilities on modest profits. Under the current system, laws enacted by Congress force many business operators to borrow from banks to pay tax bills - banks that contribute heavily to both political parties.
• Tax relief would incentivize business owners to leave working capital in their businesses. The current tax system encourages pulling money out to avoid double taxation.
• Allowing business owners to keep more of what they earn would result in an increase in capital purchases and hiring, both desperately needed in this economy. And it would allow businesses to add jobs and expand without taking on excessive debt.
• Martin’s plan makes business ownership more attractive, offering support for success instead of disincentives. Americans will reconnect with their innovative and entrepreneurial spirits, getting back to the business of increasing the inherent value of the national economy.

“Exempting the first $25,000 of profit would be a godsend to thousands if not millions of struggling small businesses in America, without benefiting Wall Street billionaires and bank executives,” Martin said.

Some will argue that the U.S. simply can’t afford any more tax cuts. But Martin points out that every unemployed person costs the government at least $12,000 per year, and upwards of $20,000 factoring in Medicare. And while the plan would result in a $3,500 to $7,500 decrease in revenue to the treasury for each exempted businesses, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

“It’s a pittance, really, when you think about the trillions of taxpayer dollars given to Wall Street, Freddie and Fannie, and bailed out banks,” Martin said. “My plan will help everyday Americans, create jobs and get the economy back on track – and that’s the best way to begin tackling this deficit problem.”

Until next time folks!