A Very Taxing Ballot 
by John Campbell | Irvine & D.C.
Nuclear: It is far more informative to disregard what the President says, and instead watch his actions; quite often, the two bear no resemblance to one another. Although he has recently given carefully teleprompted speeches in support of nuclear power, his most recent action does the exact opposite. He is proposing to close the nuclear waste depository facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. This location is the only such facility in the country, and he has failed to propose an alternate location. If we have no place to put the waste, how can we continue the nuclear power we currently have? To say nothing of significantly expanding it, which we ought to be doing in the first place.
SEC enforces global warming: It matters who the President is. It matters much more than just the legislation that the President invariably proposes and signs. It matters because the President also affects the thousands of actions of multiple government agencies. As proof of this, businesses are now being required to file a disclosure as part of their financial statements on how global warming may impact their business. Shareholders do not require knowledge on how the company whose stock they own is going to deal with global warming. This is so far beyond the scope and purpose of SEC reporting requirements, there is little doubt that this is clearly an attempt to politicize financial reporting in order to satisfy the political agenda in the White House. I can’t make this stuff up.
The one place I think we should spend more: It seems as though there is literally nothing with which I agree on with this President. Even when he finds a place to reduce spending (vs. the trillions in increased spending he has put in place) and privatize, he picks the one place where I cannot agree. The Space Program. Government right now is involved in all kinds of areas where the private sector operates cheaper, better, and more efficiently. Health care is just one of many examples in which the government should have no role. But throughout the centuries, human exploration has been the province of governments. From Christopher Columbus to the present day, governments finance the frontiers of human exploration in part because of the extreme costs and risks associated with it. But they also finance it because of the “return” on such exploration. The ‘return’, which is often considerable, is also distant and many times cannot be monetized by the entity doing the exploring. We should go to Mars. And that’s something I am happy to have my tax dollars finance. Beyond just going to Mars, who knows what we may discover or invent in the process of this endeavor which will help lift and enhance the human condition. But no, not in this White House. Great explorations improve the human condition and lift up all levels of society. We will never make one man wealthier by making another poorer. We should be substantially increasing our investment in the exploration of “the final frontier.” Besides, how cool would it be to meet some real Klingons?
Financial Regulatory Reform: You may have seen the President in his very public meetings with Members of Congress on the subject of financial reform. This is to give the public the illusion that he is actually seeking a compromise on the issue in which there would be huge bipartisan consensus. However, at the same time as the President pretends to want Republican support, the White House is simultaneously and summarily rejecting all changes in the bill which could attract said bipartisan support. No, this bill will be like all others that this Congress passes. It will be at the far left of the political spectrum; it will cost jobs, increase taxes; increase deficits; create a giant new federal bureaucracy……and not solve the problem it claims to solve. CRO
copyright 2010 John Campbell
John Campbell (R-Irvine) is a Member of Congress representing 48th Congressional district [Orange County, California]. He can be reached through his Congressional website. rep.campbell@mail.house.gov
