Jake Towne Says John Callahan Clueless on Job Recovery

"Even if they had good intentions, dinosaurs went extinct for a reason.  So it will be with Republocrat career politicians." - Jake Towne, independent candidate for US Congress, PA-15

John Callahan is a local mayor and Democrat challenger in my race for Congress. Backed by the White House and the Democrat National Committee, he has been able to raise large sums of money last year while publishing on his congressional website just three issues – jobs, health care, and public safety. Callahan and his donors appears blissfully unaware of such pressing matters as a collapse in the dollar, the multiple nation-building wars abroad and rampant military spending, the destruction of the rule of law and how to address rampant corporatism. This piece will focus on the fact that Callahan has no clue solving job recovery.

On his website, he claims to have led the replacement of Bethlehem Steel with Las Vegas Sands Corporation's casino, which he calls an “economic engine for the Lehigh Valley.” Due to the financial crisis where its stock plunged from $80 a share to less than $2, Sands halted construction of a hotel and shopping center, leaving an eyesore of an iron girder skeleton hanging unfinished in mid-air while opening the casino last year. This week at a license renewal meeting, he publicly demanded that Sands Casino finish the construction of the structure saying, “I want to see the job finished and more jobs created as soon as possible.''

First, Callahan needs to understand that firms create sustainable jobs, not the government. Sands Casino would certainly finish building to remove the hulking unfinished infrastructure if they thought they could profit more from this action as compared to the rest of its options. As Sands stock price is still less than $20, and is considering a $3 billion casino complex in Florida, this is fairly doubtful for 2010. As I describe in my Jobs plank, firms do not create jobs for pleasure, all businesses entail risk while seeking to create profits.

Second, casinos are certainly not “economic engines.” In 2009, the Bethlehem Sands removed $130 million from gamblers' pockets, but it needs to pay its workers' salaries, pay down the $743 million costs of building the casino complex in the first place, pay its taxes to government, and return a profit to shareholders. It should be obvious that unless most of the losers are not district residents, the local area is truly in fact being impoverished by having its level of savings depleted and redistributed to government and the casino. However, even IF the majority of gamblers losing money are from outside the area, the country as a whole is no better off in terms of standard of living.

Casinos and places of entertainment DO provide a service – satisfaction in the economic sense for those wishing to gamble and have fun. Now, if everyone was allowed to open up a roulette table in their front yard, at least there would be a little competition for the best place to gamble. However, what the government does is legalize the monopolization of gambling for its own purposes – to increase taxes.  The Sands is not even a true gambling firm – it's public knowledge that its machines are electronically rigged to generate winnings for the casino.

Third, in his jobs plank, without naming any specifics he would take as Congressman, Callahan opines, “It's time... [to end] reckless spending practices." However, Callahan has no clue that all the best actions government can take are simply to stop its interventions which are depressing the job market, as I wrote this week in “Common Sense Fixes the Job Market.” In terms of 'reckless spending,' Callahan spent $335,600 without authorization from city council last year.  The Morning Call reported that this was a direct violation of city law.

Fourth, Callahan is a true career politician who gives all the signs of continuing the same old Republocrat game of politics as usual. His entire judgment on the casino as Mayor of Bethlehem is now called into question as he has accepted a $5,000 corporate PAC donation from the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. (page 112/161)

The incumbent career politician, Charlie Dent, is no better. For the past six years, he sat back and watched as the financial crisis developed and has abjectly failed to help residents in our district in any meaningful way. He voted for the Banker Bailout in 2008 and supported the $600 billion Republican stimulus plan instead of the $800 billion Democrat stimulus plan in 2009. Dent does not realize that the problems of excessive spending will not be solved by more spending. My common sense solutions are listed here and my proposals to cut both taxes and spending and restore sound money are outlined here.

Both Callahan and Dent never responded to my November offer to debate either of them. This is understandable as they will certainly both lose. While I will certainly gain support since I have the solutions to our problems, the real winners of debates will be the residents of the district as they will be able to make the informed decisions that will affect themselves, their families and friends.

In the meantime, if any individual or group in the district wishes to discuss the problems our district and the nation face, I am at your service and available to listen and talk. Perhaps the best way to reach me is towneforcongress@gmail.com or through this website.

I have yet to appear on local television, but this week I was very happy to be interviewed by WAEB's Bobby Gunther Walsh and was interviewed for the third time by FOX News here. I am open to discussing my campaign with any local media.

That Freedom Shall Not Perish.

Jake Towne

February 5, 2010          Also highly suggested reading is "The Government's 'War' on Main Street"

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