Melissa Bean

Joe Walsh

Here’s the latest blast from 8th District Republican congressional candidate Joe Walsh:

Walsh to Bean: How is Spending a Trillion Dollars Being Fiscally Conservative?

(Lake Zurich, Ill)–“For moderates like myself who are fiscally conservative, this is a win,”–Rep. Melissa Bean, The Daily Herald, March 20. Link
A moderate who votes her party not her district? A fiscal conservative who votes to spend a trillion dollars of money we don’t have for something 8th district families don’t want?

This “win” she refers to will be paid for with $569.2 billion in new taxes on American families and businesses. “Is that what winning looks like to you?” asks her Republican challenger Joe Walsh. “For Rep. Bean to invoke the phrase ‘fiscally conservative’ in reference to this government takeover of health care indicates she doesn’t know what those words mean,” Walsh said.

First, there is the $52 billion in taxes on businesses that do not provide what the government deems “acceptable” or “affordable” insurance for workers. Perhaps Rep. Bean can explain to us if this would be considered “moderate” or “fiscally conservative”?

Then, there is the new tax on unearned income (dividends, capital gains, investments, etc.) aimed at the “wealthy” families making above $250,000 a year that will do nothing but promote entrepreneurs not to invest. Does this qualify as “moderate” of “fiscally conservative”?

And, there are the new health care taxes that include: $60.1 billion on health insurers, $27 billion on drug producers and importers, and $20 billion on medical device producers and importers. How do you think $107.1 billion in new taxes on an industry that currently makes up 1/6 of our economy will bode well for job growth? Innovation? Would Rep. Bean term these job-killing, innovation-stunting tax hikes “moderate” or “fiscally conservative”?

Throughout history we have learned if you want less of something tax it, if you want more of it subsidize it. Apparently, Congress wants less jobs because the taxes on business owners are expected to result in lower wages, fewer hours and shipping jobs overseas. Just ask the 130 economists who petitioned President Obama last Thursday not to pass the bill for fear of massive job loss.

“According to the Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois may lose as many as 169,000 jobs as a direct result of Obamacare. If that’s what winning looks like to Rep. Bean then I shudder to think what she considers losing,” Walsh said.

In fact, the only winners in this story are the politicians. By expanding the reach of government, and thereby expanding their control over people’s lives when it comes to something as critical as health care, they will have created more dependency. Democrat dependency, since no Republicans voted for the bill.

612,000 Illinois citizens, many of whom are 8th district residents, will see their health insurance premiums increase by $2,300. They don’t win.

121,722 Illinois seniors, many of whom are 8th district residents, will feel the impact of $500 billion in Medicare cuts. They don’t win.

And neither do future generations of Americans, including the children of 8th district families, who former CBO director Douglas Holtz-Eakin predicts will be left to finance more than $562 billion in spiraling federal debt over the next ten years alone.

This bill is a loser for Illinois and, for it, Melissa Bean should suffer the same fate in November.

Higher taxes, lower wages, fewer jobs, more debt. Four reasons why we couldn’t afford this health care bill and we can’t afford Melissa Bean in Congress.