Of course, if it is learned that a fire broke out because the [...]]]> Generally, while in the teeth of a crisis, it is unwise to spend much energy on recriminations. Firemen wait until the inferno is reduced to embers before beginning to piece together the circumstances that caused the blaze.  It is a matter of priorities.

Of course, if it is learned that a fire broke out because the building did not have proper wiring, or stored flammables incorrectly, or some other such violation of the fire code and it is learned that the fire department just inspected the place and gave them a series of waivers for violations, that is a different story. In that case, we would see the inspector as indirectly responsible for the damage or injuries.

If it is further learned that the building owner had a very cozy relationship with the fire chief, giving substantial sums of money and support to the chiefs’ favorite causes, we would see corruption.

Far from being a free-market “leave us alone” corporation, British Petroleum has been very cozy with Big Government.  BP chief executive Tony Hayward was helping Senator John Kerry promote Cap and Trade legislation. BP funded a lobbying group that agitated for regulation – not de-regulation.  Right up until the point 11 people died on the Deepwater Horizon and oil began gushing into the gulf, BP was the very model of a modern corporation – a favored pet of Congress and the Administration.  Over and over, BP lobbyists lined up to advocate for subsidies, earning profits by digging into taxpayer and consumer’s pockets.  On the ill-fated oil rig, BP received slack from those appointed to enforce the rules.  I think we will learn that the long series of waivers from standard practice BP secured from their overseers cost the lives of our fellow citizens – good people who were just doing their job.

The Gulf Oil Spill is not a failure of the free market or the consequences of de-regulation.  It is a failure of lax enforcement brought on by judgment clouded by ideological considerations or outright graft.  Arguably, overregulation over the decades as government has encroached where it does not belong has lead to a system where big corporations  find it easier to influence the regulatory environment than to comply with byzantine laws.

We barely have a free market anymore.  Rather than being an impartial referee for the common good, government has gotten into the habit of picking winners and losers through regulations, tax codes, bailouts and subsidies.  That’s where the big campaign money is.  Big Corporations have learned that it is easier to suck up to the Big Government agenda and earn special consideration in laws and enforcement.  Big Government believes it can use corporate cash to buy elections.  We need to support efforts to disentangle Government so that it no longer favors individual businesses and industries, but simply and evenly serves the common good as defined by the Constitution.

He votes against local cement companies then RSVP’s for ribbon cutting of new cement plant

(ST. LOUIS, MO.) June 4, 2010 –Congressman Russ Carnahan obviously has no scruples and will apparently do anything for a photo opportunity. He pushed his way into a ribbon cutting ceremony that [...]]]> IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Theresa Petry, (314) 807-7077

He votes against local cement companies then RSVP’s for ribbon cutting of new cement plant

(ST. LOUIS, MO.) June 4, 2010 –Congressman Russ Carnahan obviously has no scruples and will apparently do anything for a photo opportunity. He pushed his way into a ribbon cutting ceremony that is to be held later today to celebrate the opening of a new Holcim cement plant in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. It is odd behavior from a congressman who voted in favor of the Waxman-Markey Clean Energy and Security Act. It’s a bill known as the cement tax or cap and trade and it is sure to prove devastating to the cement industry among others.

Just last year a Holcim representative talked about the dangers of regulations like cap and trade. “If you’re going to regulate our industry and go with no more coal to power the plants, what’s the alternative?” Sharon Myers, Holcim’s environmental manager, said. “And at what cost to you, your children, and your grandchildren?” Myers went on to say, “We can potentially regulate the industry out of the United States.” (ADA Evening News, Justin Loftin, March 11, 2009)

What does Rubberstamp Russ plan to say to Holcim as he helps cut the ribbon on its newest plant, “Congratulations – I voted to put you out of business?” And as he celebrates the 250 jobs the plant will create in his district will he openly admit that if he has his way their jobs are in jeopardy? Because if the cap and trade bill that Congressman Carnahan voted in favor of actually passes it’s unknown if this new facility will even meet the new government standards and regulations.

Since Carnahan is actually in the district maybe he can go explain why he voted for cap and tax to the 165 employees at the cement company Buzzi Unicem in Festus too. Of course we’ve come to know Congressman Carnahan never truly wants to discuss his actions with the people he is supposed to represent. It’s understandable though; who would want to admitthat they just followed orders from Pelosi? Maybe, like the stimulus bill, he didn’t read the cap and trade bill either. Maybe, like the healthcare bill, he simply didn’t understand the implications it would have on the people of his district – the small businesses it would cause to close, the high energy costs passed on to the people, or the continued job loss.

“The hypocrisy displayed by Congressman Carnahan is typical of a Washington-insider. People are tired of politicians like Carnahan who cast votes against them and then the very next minute pose in a picture smiling as if what they’ve done is a good thing. Carnahan must have learned his spin zone tactics from Pelosi – she was camera ready and smiling as she forced government healthcare upon us. The people of Missouri’s 3rd district are too smart to fall for Carnahan’s posing –they are calling his bluff. They want a real representative not a feel good photo opportunity,” said congressional candidate Ed Martin.

Analysis done by A Concrete Products and Cement Americas found that congressmen with cement interests in their districts voted against the Waxman-Markey Act by a 2-to-1 margin. A large number of the 44 Democrats who voted against it have cement properties in their district. (Concrete Products, Cement Tax, July 1, 2009)

Carnahan as usual did not vote in the best interest of his district but rather rubberstamped the bill along party-lines; once again the actions of a Washington-insider.

For more information about Martin’s background and the campaign, visit EdMartinforCongress.com, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter @ed4congress.

Theresa Petry
Press Secretary
“Ed Martin for Congress”
(314) 807-7077 (cell)

theresa.petry@edmartinforcongress.com
www.edmartinforcongress.com

Ed Martin with small business owners discussing the current business climate

Tuesday afternoon (Feb 23, 2010) I had the opportunity to have a round table discussion at Imo’s Pizza in South County.  The owner Brian was kind enough to host this discussion with fellow business owners.  After a few minutes of conversation and enjoying good [...]]]>

Ed Martin with small business owners discussing the current business climate

Tuesday afternoon (Feb 23, 2010) I had the opportunity to have a round table discussion at Imo’s Pizza in South County.  The owner Brian was kind enough to host this discussion with fellow business owners.  After a few minutes of conversation and enjoying good St. Louis style pizza and toasted ravioli, we began to go over concerns they have about the current business environment.

“I don’t need a loan, I need customers” was one of Brian’s poignant statements.  He was addressing the obsession this President has with getting banks to lend.  Certainly there are businesses who depend on access to lines of credit, but Brian’s concern was the fact that no amount of loans would make up for the fact that his customer base is seeing their disposable income eroded.  Some are out of work but more are feeling the crunch of other issues such as increased consumer prices.  Brian believed these factors were forcing his customers to tighten their belts.

The owner of an insurance agency noted that his business was seeing a lot of business owners calling him to see if they can economize on the costs of their policies.  Health insurance costs became a topic of discussion.  Premiums are on the rise.  The owner of a local nursery indicated that she has to carefully balance her staffing to prevent health insurance costs from destroying her bottom line.

We talked about the creation of association pools for health insurance.  Small businesses, among other groups, could band together to create larger risk pools just as large corporations can and negotiate better rates.  For instance, a pool could be made for all Imo’s pizza franchisees making a pool of hundreds.  This measure would cost almost nothing while doing a much better job of solving a significant portion of the uninsured issue.  I’d like to end the restrictions that keep these associations from flourishing and plan to do my part at the Federal level.  This is one of many inexpensive health insurance reforms that can do a lot of good and do not require the heavy hand of the Federal government.

An attendee working in real estate noted that after years of “if you have a job and a pulse, you get a loan”, banks are tightening up their standards.  Easy homeowner credit was fueled by a long series of misguided efforts by the Federal government to distort the mortgage lending market. Now, the credit crunch was hurting otherwise viable businesses.  The nursery owner noted that her business depends on a line of credit to operate.  If the bank, driven to restrict lending by losses in real estate, trims her access to this credit line she will face very difficult days ahead.  These responsible business men and women felt that they are paying the price for the folly of others.

The consensus was that government has become an obstacle, not just through taxation and regulation, but by creating great uncertainty.  What will energy costs be next year?  It depends upon the success of Cap and Trade legislation.  What will health care costs be next year?  It depends upon what version of the health care legislation passes.  I don’t think anybody believed it would relieve their burden.  All assembled believed that the course government was on would make the business environment harder.  The question was to what degree.

This input and that of many other meetings I have had will inform my policy decisions.  My opponent has a track record of avoiding talking with small businesses, preferring to cavort with representatives of well-connected corporations in photo-op summits.  No surprise that Russ Carnahan’s latest rubber stamp will be to borrow more money and watch it get funneled to the politically connected interests in Washington.  I will represent the interests of all businesses, and that includes the beleaguered entrepreneurs who cannot afford to pay a lobbyist to bend Russ Carnahan’s ear with a fat contribution.

From a conservationist’s viewpoint, generating electricity with minimal environmental consequences is a good thing – a [...]]]> I sincerely hope that the wind farm being built in DeKalb County, Mo., works out.  The $300 million project slated to begin next year is supposed to bring 2,500 jobs to that area and generate enough power for 50,000 homes.

From a conservationist’s viewpoint, generating electricity with minimal environmental consequences is a good thing – a very good thing.  However, every alternative source of power generation has to stand on its own two feet economically. The fact that this project is seeking a $90 million aid package from the federal Stimulus bill is sufficient reason to make you wonder.  Requiring nearly one-third of the project’s budget from taxpayers already groaning under mountains of debt and evaporating jobs is a very bad sign.

Many people will understandably justify the government’s involvement based on concerns about global warming. But how valid are those concerns?  Climategate demonstrates that the scientists giving politicians like Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi and Russ Carnahan a thin veneer of legitimacy were in reality cooking the books, torturing data until it confessed to what they wanted to hear.  With global warming skeptics vindicated, how do we justify shoveling nearly $100 million of taxpayer money into a wind farm?

According the Business Journal, Tom Carnahan’s company has secured $240 million in loans for a $300 million project.  For whatever reason, these lenders and investors do not believe in the project enough to cover the entire note.  Why not? What do the guys putting up their own money – or the money of investors – know about the project that says “we are only in for 80 percent” ?

That sounds suspiciously like they expect a 20-percent down payment from Tom Carnahan’s company. Is this what the $90 million in our taxes is for?  By my math, $90 million from the stimulus bill Missouri Representative Russ Carnahan voted for will cost each Missouri 3^rd district citizen (man woman and child) about $3.  Twelve bucks for a family of four may not seem like much, but multiply that by thousands of other projects like this all over the United States.  It adds up.

You probably don’t have relatives in Washington who can vote for Cap and Trade legislation to create the need for alternative energy your company hopes to fill.  Few of us have a brother who can vote for stimulus bills to cover the costs of filling that need.  If we have a bright idea, we have to secure our own money and put it at risk.  If we succeed, we reap the benefits.  If we fail, we lose our investment.

This looks like a classic example of a politically connected business hoping to reap all the benefits without taking any of the risks, instead putting taxpayers on the hook. Tom Carnahan and his fellow investors are welcome to build wind farms to their hearts content — I sincerely hope they succeed.  But I am weary of private sector businesses going to Uncle Sam with their hand out, and I am sick of politicians accommodating them. If a wind farm in DeKalb County is a good investment, it’s a good investment without a fat wad of taxpayer cash.

But unlike limousine-ecologists Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi and Russ Carnahan, whose private jets belch carbon into the air while traveling across [...]]]> Any American will offer a modicum of respect to anyone who takes their beliefs seriously. From what I can observe, Bill Nye (the Science Guy) and Ed Begley Jr. both take their eco-alarmism very seriously.

But unlike limousine-ecologists Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi and Russ Carnahan, whose private jets belch carbon into the air while traveling across the heated plain, these men seem sincere in their pursuit of reducing their carbon footprint. Ed and Bill are not “Do as I Say, Not as I Do” environmentalists; they lead by example, at least when the cameras are rolling.

Now, with outright fraud in the Climate Research Institute casting doubt on the very basis for global warming hysteria, is there a role for sincere eco-warriors who labor to reduce, reuse and recycle?

It would be unfortunate if the apparent collapse of the sacred Hockey Stick Chart – a foundational text to so many of Al Gore’s inconvenient truths – were to cause Americans to lose interest in being green.

I am a conservationist. When I buy a pickup truck, I buy the one that gets the job done and has the highest MPG rating. Not just because it is cheaper at the pump, but because it conserves. Growth and green do not have to exclude one another.

I enjoy reading up on technology. I get excited every time I come across a story about an American firm creating packing material out of fungus and waste rice husks for a fraction of the energy of Styrofoam. If we can reduce, reuse and recycle and truly conserve resources, I am all for it.

Early adopters of technology – and that’s what green living is, adopting new technology – are most welcome in a free market economy. Pioneers like Ed Begley and Bill Nye,who test out ways to minimize the energy we need to live, are heroic in my book. I find their lessons interesting and helpful as I look for ways to conserve. We may not all get our carbon footprint down to zero, but I will certainly learn about a number of new technologies that can help me pursue those goals. I appreciate their example and plan to follow it when I can.

The heartless conservative who eats Snail Darter Crunch (made from real snail darters!) for breakfast, drives a Canyonero through fragile habitats on the way to his office at Devastate and Despoil, Inc. is a myth. Few of us are willing to live in a yurt, cook yogurt by the heat of our compost pile and bicycle to our job at the animal rescue shelter, either. Most of us live somewhere between these extremes. Most of us are willing to adopt changes in our lives that are beneficial to ourselves and the general goals of conservation.

What we object to is politically connected “green” industries running to Congress and securing handouts and regulations that ultimately limit out freedom to pursue our own future. These public/private “partnerships” rarely benefit anyone except the politicians offering them and the firms receiving the largess. Worse, these political distortions in the free “green” market are propping up players who otherwise would not survive, crowding out competitors who do not enjoy the congressional babysitting.

Last week, I stopped in McArthur’s Bakery on Lemay Road in south St. Louis County. McArthur’s is a full-service bakery and deli and I had a nice lunch (delicious BLT wrap, by the way). [quote]

After lunch, I fell into conversation with Randy McArthur, the [...]]]> First published in the St. Louis Metro Evening Whirl on July 6th, 2009

Last week, I stopped in McArthur’s Bakery on Lemay Road in south St. Louis County. McArthur’s is a full-service bakery and deli and I had a nice lunch (delicious BLT wrap, by the way).
[quote]

After lunch, I fell into conversation with Randy McArthur, the owner of McArthur’s, and his brother David. These two were hot under the collar and were not mincing words. You see, Congress had recently passed a new National Energy Tax bill – the so-called “Cap and Trade” bill – that Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her allies admitted would raise everyone’s energy bills by at least 7% a year for the next 10 years or more. McArthur, upset that his Congressman Russ Carnahan had voted for this bill, changed the neon sign in front of McArthur’s Bakery to read “Russ Carnahan just voted to put us out of business.”

The McArthur brothers explained to me that their energy costs – for the ovens, refrigeration, and other stuff – are close to $150,000 per year. An increase of 7% per year as Pelosi and Carnahan want in the new National Energy Tax would mean that McArthur’s would have to lay off staff or close their business… the margins for their business are simply too tight. The McArthurs were angry that Carnahan had no regard for their business – instead he was voting with Pelosi and other liberal left-wingers who think that government can solve all the problems by raising taxes on businesses.

After McArthur put the sign up identifying Russ Carnahan’s bad vote, they have received emails and calls of support. Other businesses – from dry cleaners to taxicab drivers to fast food restaurant owners – have realized that the new National Energy Tax would impact them quickly and terribly. The bill was a bad mistake for Pelosi and her Democrats… it may have been the one act that puts them on the road out of power.

A few days after my visit to McArthur’s, I was in the Carondelet Bakery in south City (great strawberry and chocolate cake, by the way!). Linda Smith, the co-owner, confirmed that, like McArthur, she and her husband worried about energy costs. Her bakery – the oldest in St. Louis – is a traditional bakery (no deli or extra sales) and her costs are directly for baking: oven, refrigerators, etc. An increase of 7% per year on those costs would put the bakery in jeopardy.

I heard the similar complaints and fears from bar owners and restaurant operators across St. Louis regarding the Energy Tax. They fear that they cannot absorb an increase. And, individuals and families are worrying about their own energy costs going up. And one other question all these people – individuals and businesses – keep asking: why put an energy tax on us now, in the midst of a recession?

The story for McArthur’s has a twist. Congressman Russ Carnahan’s staff, stung by the bad press and the McArthur sign, called the McArthurs and said that Russ Carnahan wants to meet with them to explain. The McArthurs are willing to meet but they are wondering: why didn’t Russ Carnahan meet with them before he voted for the new national energy tax?

***

On Saturday, July 4th, I was in Washington, Missouri with 3000 others for another Tea Party. The crowd was mixed – young and old of all shapes, sizes and colors – and fired up. They have seen and heard what Randy McArthur has: that our government – especially our Congress – has lost touch with the people and what we need and expect. If Russ Carnahan and his ilk in Washington, D.C. don’t start listening to the people back here in America – and right quick! – they may find themselves out of a job.

Ed Martin

***

In case you want to find them, www.McArthurs.com and www.CarondeletBakery.com.