Problem+Research

Klein, Alyson. "Obama Seeks $60 Billion for Teachers, School Renovations." //Education Week// 14 Sept. 2011: 1. //Student Resources in Context//. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA267981728&v=2.1&u=pl7053&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w


 * President Obama wishes to spend $60 billion in education spending.
 * GOP worried that this will put strain on an already weakened economy.
 * Congress still must cut 1.2 trillion USD in overall government spending in order to fulfill the agreement which raised the debt ceiling.
 * Plans to use the $60 billion to renovate schools and preserve teaching jobs.
 * John Kline expressed his worries that government getting involved in school construction will lead to more regulations and higher costs with no assurance that quality education will be provided. He also exclaimed that "More stimulus spending is not the right solution to our nation."
 * Coming right after a $450 billion attempt to stimulate the economy.

Hayward, Steven F. "President Solyndra; And his mean green wealth-wasting machine." //The Weekly Standard// 3 Oct. 2011. //Opposing Viewpoints In Context//. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA268140233&v=2.1&u=pl7053&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

*The federal government has loaned $535 million to the solar-panel manufacturing company Solyndra Inc. *Solyndra Inc. declared bankruptcy on September 6, 2011. *Much of the loan was wasted on unnecessary luxuries. *Loan was given under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which doubled the budget for loans and set a deadline for when that money had to be spent. *DOE staffers weren't sure if they could even spend all of the stimulus money. *Previous studies actually supported not giving a loan to Solyndra, saying that it was too unstable of an investment. *Solyndra officials lied to the White House about financial troubles they were experiencing, saying everything was going fine. *A large part of why Solyndra received a loan from the government was political favoritism. *It is believed that economic calamity will result if the ideologies of the Obama administration continue to effect the economy, destroying much wealth because of ideological reasoning.

"Taxing our patience." //National Review// 17 Oct. 2011: 20. //Infotrac Newsstand//. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA268790178&v=2.1&u=pl7053&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

*President Obama wants to raise the tax rate to pay for another stimulus package which he thinks will revitalize the economy. *Wishes to raise the tax rate on families making $250,000 a year or more. *President Obama's logic arises from the assumption that a secretary pays more in taxes than a millionaire, which is simply untrue. *Both parties wish instead for a revised tax code instead of higher taxes. *Could ultimately harm the economy more than help. *Millionaires and billionaires often get their money outside of normal income, so the tax would have little effect on them. (Note: While this may seem like a solution, it is exhibiting the problem of the government spending even more money in an effort to fix the problem. It isn't a solution because it actually solves nothing.)

Johnson, Gary. "Government spends too much because it does too much." //The American Spectator// June 2011: 8. //Infotrac Newsstand//. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA258767484&v=2.1&u=pl7053&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

*Government is getting too involved in private sector activities. *Cutting the budget without cutting the activity simply postpones inevitable spending. *Specific items include education and housing. *Article suggests partial socialism on government's part. *Article suggests the spending results from the inability to accept limited government.

Smith, Josh. "Lobbyists Have a Lot To Work With." //Nationaljournal.com// 17 Feb. 2011. //Infotrac Newsstand//. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA264032319&v=2.1&u=pl7053&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

*President Obama wishes to invest heavily in electronics using government funds. *The administration plans to spend $5 billion to bring the internet to rural and impoverished regions, increased the Federal Communication Commission budget by $18 million, $34 million to bring electronics to the government, and $183 million to the Veteran's Affairs Department's electronic archives. *President Obama says that technology and innovation are required for this government to succeed. *While sympathetic with the president's cause, the GOP remains unpersuaded that more spending is not the answer. *Chairmen of the Communications and Technology Sub-committee Greg Walden was quoted saying, "... it will be important to remember the colloquial definition of insanity: repeating the same actions and expecting different results." *If adopted, Obama plans to assign money to other technological pursuits as well.

"State Department Defends $79,000 Purchase Of Obama Memoirs | Fox News." //Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos//. 26 Oct. 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. .

*The U.S. state department recently spent $79,000 to purchase a large amount of the Obama memoirs. *Alerted so called, "spending watchdogs." *State department defends its decision by saying that the embassies decide what books they carry in their libraries. *Embassies defend themselves by claiming they select material to help foreign nations get in on our political process, foreign policy, and culture. *President Obama himself has claimed several thousands himself for the sales of these books. *One spokesperson for Citizens against government waste claimed that we should be looking at whether it is worth it in our economy.

Blanton, Dana. "Fox News Poll: Voters Say Bad Leadership To Blame For Economy More Than Bad Luck | Fox News." //Fox News - Breaking News Updates | Latest News Headlines | Photos & News Videos//. 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. .

*A recent poll has indicated most Americans blame poor leadership for the bad economy. *Obama defends himself by saying he has helped the economy more than hindered. *Most voters blame Obama for the poor leadership, while others blame congressional democrats, congressional republicans, Tea Party members, and, most surprisingly, corporate CEOs. *While most voters believe that it is a bad idea to raise taxes in our current economy, they believe it is a good idea to tax the rich more to help reduce debt. *Voters mainly believe that job markets will get worse. *Voters attribute the blame to the government and corporations rather than themselves. *Strangely, many voters believed Obama's plans would help the economy.