Obama’s 2013: A year to forget

January 16 — In the wake of the Newtown shootings, Obama outlines his gun-control proposals. After a backlash, nothing gets passed. In fact, gun sales skyrocket — up 55% in Texas and 46% in Pennsylvania.

January 20 – Obama is sworn into his second term; his inaugural address is “heavy on broad rhetoric and light on policy specifics” according to the Washington Post. More people talk about Beyonce lip-synching the National Anthem.

January 29 – In Las Vegas, Obama addresses the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. Though the Senate passed a bill in June, Obama again couldn’t get anything passed in the House.

February 12 – President Obama delivers the State of the Union address and announces a drawdown in Afghanistan. While “green on blue” insider attacks on US troops continue, President Karzai of Afghanistan holds out on signing any sort of security agreement. Without the deal, all US troops will be gone from Afghanistan in 2014.

March 1 — Despite saying his sequestration plan “will not happen” during the 2012 presidential campaign, Congress fails to reach a deal and sequestration cuts $85 billion across the board.

March 2 — Open-air parks like the WWII memorial are closed by the parks department. Insiders later tell reporters the reason was political. The administration wanted the public to “feel the pain” of sequester cuts.

May 10 — Lois Lerner, a director in the IRS, responds to a planted question at a speaking engagement, admitting the tax agency targeted conservative groups — delaying and denying their tax-exempt status. It’s later alleged that the IRS leaked tax returns of conservative groups and ordered up audits of political enemies.

May 12 — It’s revealed that the administration, angry that the AP broke a story about a terrorism plot, had the private phone records of reporters secretly subpoenaed. Attorney General Eric Holder denies knowing about the seizure, but defends it because of the “very, very serious leak.”

May 22 — Lerner claims before Congress she “didn’t break any laws” then invokes the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination.

May 23 — At the National Defense University, Obama tries to placate the left about his drone attacks by saying, “To say a military tactic is legal, or even effective, is not to say it is wise or moral in every instance. For the same human progress that gives us the technology to strike half a world away also demands the discipline to constrain that power — or risk abusing it.”

Apparently that “discipline” is “whatever Obama thinks is right.” Drone attacks continue unabated — including a strike on a Yemen wedding party earlier this month that killed at least 11.

June 6 — The Washington Post and Guardian newspapers both publish information about spying programs by the NSA, courtesy of Edward Snowden, a former NSA employee who stole the material and fled to Hong Kong.

June 23 — Edward Snowden arrives in Moscow, where Vladimir Putin refuses to give him up, and smirks when asked about him.

June 25 — In a speech on climate change, Obama again waffles on the Keystone pipeline, pleasing neither side. As months go on without it being built, Canada has been making plans to ship oil by sea to China instead.

July 2 — After taking off from Russia, the plane of Bolivian President Evo Morales is re-routed to Austria and searched, on reports he could be carrying Snowden. He isn’t — and the heavy-handed stop increases pressure on the US and angers NATO allies.

July 19 — Obama decides to weigh in on one criminal case out of thousands nationwide, saying, “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago” after George Zimmerman is found not guilty of murdering the teen. Obama calls for “soul searching.”

August 31 — Obama claims Syria has used chemical weapons in the country’s civil war, crossing the “red line” he had laid down. Obama claims he doesn’t need authorization to strike, but will ask Congress anyway. He later says even if Congress even says no, he can still do it.

September 15 — Weeks after his Syria ultimatum, Obama accepts a Russian deal that allows Syria’s Bashar al-Assad to stay in power if he gives up chemical weapons. Putin smirks.

September 23 — Lois Lerner retires suddenly; the investigation into the IRS targeting of conservative groups is ongoing.

October 1 — Depsite passing in 2010, the actual launch of ObamaCare is a complete failure — the website crashes, few if any people can sign up and millions discover that their insurance is cancelled. Obama is forced to admit that his promise that “if you like your insurance, you can keep your insurance” is a lie.

October 1 — Unable to reach a budget deal, the government shuts down.

October 17 — In a rare Obama victory, the shutdown ends with no concession to Republicans on the budget.

October 23 — Snowden’s leaks reveal the US listened to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone calls. She angrily confronts Obama and latter compares the behavior to the Stasi.

November 1 — Obama signs an executive order saying local governments must prepare for the “impact of global warming” — like making buildings stronger.

December 10 — With the selfie seen round the world, Obama upstages Nelson Mandela’s memorial with a cellphone picture with UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish PM Helle Thorning Schmidt.

December 18 — Congress passes a bipartisan budget agreement. Bob Woodward says deal was reached, “because Obama was not part of the negotiations.”

December 19 — Under pressure, Obama says people who have had their insurance cancelled don’t have to pay the penalty for not having insurance for one year. It’s the 14th change to the law since passage.

December 31 — Estimates indicate more people may find their old health-care policies cancelled than who successfully signed up for new health insurance from ObamaCare.

By Olivia Covington
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – New projections show Indiana will have nearly $300 million less in tax revenue to spend over the next two years than lawmakers thought when they wrote the current two-year budget, which could jeopardize tax cuts and other programs proposed by Gov. Mike Pence.

State Budget Director Brian Bailey answered questions Friday after fiscal leaders learned the state will have less money to spend during the next year than they expected when they wrote the current two year budget. Photo by Lesley Weidenbener, TheStatehouseFile.com

Sales, income, corporate and gambling taxes will all generate less money for the state in 2014 and 2015 than originally projected last April, fiscal analyst David Reynolds told the State Budget Committee on Friday.

As a result, Indiana will bring in $182.6 million dollars less than expected in 2014 and $115.1 million less in 2015.

State Budget Committee Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said that’s not good news but not likely to require budget cuts.

“I think the forecast is probably in line with the recent revenue receipts that we’ve had, and we’ve had a little bit of a shortfall, so we’re kind of downgrading the forecast slightly,” Kenley said.  ”If we can meet that forecast, though, I think that there’s a good opportunity for us to possibly be able to meet most of the funding appropriations that we made in the last session.”

But Kenley – who also chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee –said the state probably can’t afford this year to start eliminating the property on business equipment or to cut individual income taxes for those who take the standard deduction and have children. Pence has put both those ideas on his 2014 legislative agenda.

Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said there’s a disparity between projected economic growth nationally and Indiana’s tax revenue, which has not been meeting expectations. On Friday, a forecast group on downgraded those projections by about $183 million in the current fiscal year. Photo by Lesley Weidenbener, TheStatehouseFile.com

“These are all important issues worthy of discussion, and I’m glad to talk about them in 2014, but I doubt if we’re going to see real action on these until we get to the 2015 budget,” Kenley said. “For one thing, all of these things that have a fiscal impact need to be discussed at the same time that every other funding or tax cut request would be impacting the budget so that we have a playing field where everybody has an equal chance to present their case.”

The downgrade in the forecast is no surprise. Through the first five months of the current fiscal year, tax receipts missed the previous forecast by $114 million. That led Pence to order cuts for universities and state agencies and to put a state plan up for sale.

But those moves weren’t necessary for cash flow. The state has some $2 billion in reserves, money Pence has said he needs to protect. And even after the latest downgrade in the forecast, the state is still projected to have nearly $1.9 billion in reserves at the end of the current budget cycle.

John Ketzenberger, president of the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, said the revenue shortfalls so far have been small enough to be essentially “a rounding error” on a budget of nearly $15 billion a year. And he said it’s too soon for fiscal leaders to panic.

“While the trend has ben down a little bit, it’s too early to say it’s bad. There will be a surplus regardless,” Ketzenberger said. “The state’s fiscal condition is still very strong, despite the revision downward on revenue anticipated this year.”

But he said Pence will now face a larger hurdle in winning support for tax cut and spending plans.

“It’s more difficult to ask for additional spending if you’ve said you anticipate having less revenue and you’re not willing to part with some of the surplus,” Ketzenberger said. “It’s more difficult in the wake of this report.”

Despite the reduced state forecast, James Diffley, a chief regional economist with IHS Global Insight, told the budget committee the national economy will continue to see growth. Diffley said an increase in consumer spending caused by increases in the national employment level, personal incomes and asset values caused the U.S. gross domestic product to grow by 4.1 percent in 2013. This is the largest GDP growth in three years.

Diffley also said Indiana’s economy is seeing growth. He said the state economy is only 1 percent away from returning to its pre-recession peak and the employment growth rate in 2013 was 1.5. He also said Indiana is outperforming other Midwestern states.

But, Kenley said he thinks Diffley’s forecast might be too optimistic.

“I thought that Mr. Diffley’s presentation was kind of extraordinarily positive, where he thinks the overall national economy’s going, and we’re not seeing that with our monthly numbers here in Indiana,” Kenley said. “So I’m having trouble reconciling those two points of view.”

Olivia Covington is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students. 

Staff report
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – State employees won’t get raises next year but could instead receive one-time bonuses of $500 to $1,000 if they do well enough on performance evaluations to be completed next month.

In an email, Gov. Mike Pence told employees Friday that the state’s “present circumstances do not permit us to increase base pay.”

Through the first five months of the current fiscal year, tax receipts missed the previous forecast by $114 million. That’s led Pence to order cuts for universities and state agencies and put a state plan up for sale.

Also on Friday, a forecast team predicted that state revenues through Fiscal Year 2015 will be less than lawmakers anticipated when they wrote the current, two-year budget. However, the state is still projected to end the current budget cycle with nearly $1.9 billion in the bank.

Lawmakers had included money in the current state budget for Pence to give raises but he opted instead for the one-time payments, which won’t tie the state to higher personnel costs in the future.

Employees whose evaluations find they meet expectations will receive a $500 bonus. Those who exceed expectations will receive $750 and those rated outstanding will receive $1,000.

“I hope this news will be an encouragement to you for a job well done in 2013,” Pence said in his email.

By Lesley Weidenbener
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – When the State Board of Education meeting went off Friday without a hitch, it was hard to tell who was more relieved – the participants or the observers.

Certainly, there was a collective sigh of relief.

For months now, the board has been bickering. Or more accurately, the 10 members appointed by current and former Republican governors have been wrangling with state Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, a Democrat who won the office in 2012.

Last summer, Gov. Mike Pence even created a new state agency – the Center for Education and Career Innovation – to essentially represent the board in the disputes.

Things got so bad that the 10 board members went behind Ritz’s back to ask for help from legislative leaders and then Ritz actually sued her fellow board members. Later, she walked out of a meeting.

Along the way, the group was barely functioning, despite some incredibly important work on its agenda, including the crafting of new curriculum standards and new school accountability polices – as well as the assignment of grades to schools.

State Board of Education members B.J. Watts, Sarah O’Brien and Tony Walker shared a light moment at a meeting Friday after Superintendent Glenda Ritz announced she has a new grandchild. Photo by Lesley Weidenbener, TheStatehouseFile.com

In a sort of deal brokered by Ritz and Pence, the board brought in the National Association of School Boards of Education to try to mediate the dispute. Still, the first meeting where NASBE’s Kristen Amundson tried to work with the board was all but a disaster.

Because of the way the superintendent had notified the public about the meeting, no official action could be taken. The members couldn’t really debate some of the problems that had plagued it, including the way it operated, and couldn’t vote on any new procedures. Members left ticked.

But sometime between that messy meeting and the one the board had last week, something happened. Amundson solicited information from all the members – asking what was working, what wasn’t, about relations among members, about frustrations and problems.

She took those results and worked with a smaller team to try to hammer out a new board procedures agreement, one that would govern how the group operates inside and outside its meetings and include details about how items get on the agenda, the rules for the way votes are handled and who can speak at meetings.

The board didn’t work out everything. But members got far enough that on Friday, the board approved a new set of operating procedures. Among the changes is a reduction in the amount of notice a member must give to put an item on the agenda for consideration, a new rule that requires the public only to speak to items on the agenda, and a line that says no board member can be deprived of the basic rights of board membership, including the ability to put items on the agenda.

That’s been a big issue for the board. Members say they’ve spent months trying to get Ritz to put an item on the agenda – in a way that it can be discussed and voted on – to no avail. The new rules appear to solve the problem.

The board approved the new procedures with barely a discussion and then agreed to keep working on a few issues that remain unresolved. Among them are proposals to have a board parliamentarian, create board committees, and when the board’s attorney (rather than the Department of Education attorney) can address the group or answer questions.

The board later approved A-F grades for schools after a cordial discussion that led to suggestions for next year but never erupted into a quarrel. And it even discussed curriculum issues without raised voices.

To anyone who hasn’t been watching the board, these may seem like the way business ought to be done. But for the State Board of Education, the meeting was a big step forward. Whether the battle is still smoldering under the surface is unclear. But for now, the ceasefire is a welcome.

Lesley Weidenbener is executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.