David Scholl - Candidate for U.S. Congress, District 2, Florida

The deficit so far in the fiscal year that started in Oct. was $935.61 bil, down from $992 bil in the same period last year. Last year’s full-year shortfall was $1.42 tril. Deficits have ballooned due to massive gov’t stimulus and declining tax revenue amid the recession.

What will it take for our Congress to stand up and say “No More.” When will the America people realize our Government is destroying our Nation from with-in with massive debts, a stagnant economy, and rising total unemployment?

Speaking of leading, still no leadership from the Obama Regime with regards to stopping the oil spill. The grandstanding this week was impressive, even our own Allen Boyd held an invitation only seminar in Panama City discussing the “clean up and approaching hurricane season.” Once again, Mr. Boyd never ventured further west in the district than Panama City, had he come to the western edge of his district he could have seen firsthand the Destin Pass and picked up tar from the beaches.

What is really interesting is that no one is focusing on stopping the oil that is spewing into the Gulf. All the focus is on punishing BP and jockeying for position to belittle Big Oil. Say for a moment I was in charge, day one I would have formed two Tiger Teams, in the military these are threat based fact finding and solution based teams. One team would have brought together all the drilling experts in the world, developed a plan to cap the leak, and then gather the necessary materials and workers, and then get to work. The second team would focus on spill containment and cleanup. All offers of assistance should have been discussed and seriously considered.

The Jones Act should have been waived immediately. The skimmer ships offered from the Netherlands should have put to sea with-out hesitation. The oil dispersants offered by England should have been tested in the Gulf, if it worked fine, if not, discontinue their use. The fact that both were turned down based on lack of familiarity from our own EPA is proof that our Government does not have all the answers and can’t possibly be depended upon for every emergency.

The real item of contention that remains is this; our President and our own Allen Boyd have never shown decisive leadership during their time in Government, to expect anything now is wishful thinking.

Happy Father’s Day to all our Fathers. If only our President would read his own book, “Audacity of Hope”. In the book he talks about strengthening the family, in his own words, “In light of these facts, policies that strengthen marriage for those who choose it and that discourage unintended births outside of marriage are sensible goals to pursue.”

Now in power, our President turns a blind eye to the facts. According to the Heritage Foundation, a child raised in a home where Dad is married to Mom is much less likely to live in poverty, get arrested as a juvenile, be suspended or expelled from school, be treated for emotional or behavioral problems, or drop out before completing high school.

Taxpayers foot the bill for more than $300 billion a year in means-tested government spending on low-income single moms – and, in relatively rare cases, single dads.

Oh well, campaigns are one thing, actually leading, now that’s a whole different story.

In testimony last week, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan circled the wagons around the “affordablehousing mandates” that pushed Fannie and Freddie into the risky subprime market.  “As we work to reform our housing finance system, it is essential to keep in mind our broader housing policy goals,” he said. “A reformed housing finance system should ensure broad access to mortgage credit for minorities.”   He can’t be serious, can he?