Posts filed under John Kennedy
Sen. John Kennedy Call For Resignation Of Gov. John Bel Edwards
Photo source: KPEL
"I just don't think (Edwards) can run the government, and if he can't he needs to step down and let Nungesser take a shot," Kennedy said during an interview this week on KPEL NewsTalk radio in Acadiana.
Sen. John Kennedy on Trump Meeting with Kim Jong Un
Kim Jong Un did not come to the table out of the goodness of his heart. He came to the table because he understands that for the first time in a long time, America means what it says and that a military option is on the table. I would like to thank President Donald J. Trump today, on behalf of all Americans who believe in peace, for the successful start to what I hope is a successful relationship with North Korea.
OPINION: U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, AG Jeff Landry column: Criminal justice reform actually hurting public safety
Photo source: The Advocate
We’ve got to be smarter about this. We can’t let prisoners go simply to cut down on the cost of bologna sandwiches. Public safety needs to come first.
AG Jeff Landry Stumps for Kyle Duncan
Photo source: YouTube
AG Landry and the Judicial Crisis Network have put out a video supporting Louisiana's Kyle Duncan, the President's pick for an open seat on the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Jeff Landry Endorses John Schroder for Louisiana Treasurer
Source: John Schroder for Treasurer
The latest public official to come out to endorse John Schroder in the race to become the next Treasurer for the State of Louisiana is Attorney General Jeff Landry. The endorsement video is below.
KENNEDY: A tax code for the middle class – let’s invest in the American dream
Photo source: Wikipedia
BY SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA.)
It doesn’t take an expert to see that something is stalling the American economy.
2016 was the 11th straight year that America failed to achieve 3 percent annual growth, which was our average nearly every year since 1960. I’ve heard numerous pundits act like returning to 3 percent growth is something special. No, it’s just “average.” The American people deserve better than just average growth.
But even average growth is optimistic if we keep hamstringing our job creators. Our 40 percent corporate tax rate and broken tax code are chasing our ideas, our jobs, and our investors into the open, waiting arms of foreign countries. We are keeping wages and productivity low. We are crippling our small businesses.
Changes have to be made to unshackle our small businesses, but in the process, we can’t forget about the primary vehicle for economic growth: the middle-class.
I’ve said it before: What we have right now in America is too many undeserving people at the top getting bailouts and too many undeserving people at the bottom getting handouts. And you know who’s been stuck with the bill? Middle-class families. And they can’t afford it any more. Their kids’ tuition has gone up, their health insurance has gone up, but you know what hasn’t gone up? Their take home pay.
That’s why I’m speaking up for the middle class. Someone has to speak up for ordinary people when it comes to tax reform.
Middle-class families drive our economic engine. They buy the goods and services that our businesses are selling. They work hard to be able to spend and save and invest. They are our entrepreneurs and our innovators. And now, as they are trying to balance their checkbooks, nearly one-third of their income is automatically withheld and sent off to Washington.
Right now, if you’re a middle-class family in Alexandria, La., with a combined household income of $59,000 and two kids, and you claim all your exemptions and take the standard deduction, you’re still going to be sending the federal government $3,500. Now, that’s not even counting contributions to state and local taxes, or payments to Social Security and Medicare. By the time the bills are paid and there’s gas in the car, very little is left for the kids’ college funds.
I have a plan for how tax reform can target the middle class and bring those families some badly needed relief.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans opt to take the standard deduction when filing their taxes. It’s simple, it’s fair, and it requires less documentation than itemizing. All Congress needs to do is to double the standard deduction across the board in order to inject more than $600 billion back into the economy over 10 years, according to a 2014 CRS report. That’s an immediate shot in the arm for the American economy. That family of four in Alexandria will have their tax bill reduced to $1,700, freeing up almost $2,000 of hard-earned income.
That’s $2,000 new dollars back into my state’s economy. As the cost of earning more is reduced, people will want to work harder. That means more productivity and even more growth. It’s Economics 101: You give people more to spend and they’ll spend it, and grow the economy in the process.
We need to liberate the middle class and their power to spend and save. In short, we need to renew the belief in the American dream.
A tax reform policy that provides relief to the middle class, such as doubling the standard deduction, will reawaken the incentive to work, save, and invest. Our economic fate is tied to the health of our middle class and our small businesses. It’s high time that we offer middle-class Americans a tax code that believes in them.
Kennedy is the junior senator from Louisiana.
Source: The Hill
Sen. John Kennedy On Reauthorization of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana has introduced a bipartisan bill to address the federal program related to flooding.
Per an email release late Friday afternoon, “The Sustainable, Affordable, Fair, and Efficient (SAFE) National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2017, will lower the amount the federal government can raise your premium. My bill will reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program while making common sense reforms to maintain its solvency.
Photo source: YouTube
Boustany Endorses John Kennedy for Senate
(Lafayette, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany endorsed Treasurer John Kennedy in Louisiana’s open Senate race.
Boustany said: “Republicans who care about the future of our country need a Republican in the Senate who will work with Donald Trump to roll back the failed liberal policies of President Obama. I endorse John Kennedy and urge all my supporters to cast their vote for him.”
"Bananas" Foster is Toast in the December Runoff
Photo source: The Advocate
John Kennedy is going into a runoff with Foster Campbell to replace outgoing Sen. David Vitter with an almost assured win coming in December. In this piece, Republicans gained nearly 60% of the total vote in the primaries as opposed to 36% for a Democrat.
If you are having buyers remorse for voting for "Honor Code" Edwards in the gubernatorial election last year, then hopefully you've learned your lesson and won't make the same mistake again in voting for Campbell.
Read more: Republicans Flood the Zone in Louisiana Senate Runoff
Charles Boustany Releases "Publicity Hound" Ad
Photo source: YouTube
The latest from Boustany's campaign takes aim at John Kennedy and his history of candidacies in various political races within the state of Louisiana.
Charles Boustany Releases a Piece Called "Finally" Regarding Treasurer John Kennedy
Photo source: YouTube
Congressman Charles Boustany, running for the seat being vacated in the US Senate by David Vitter, is in a heated contest with, among others, State Treasurer John Kennedy. It seems that Boustany has set his sights on Kennedy with the latest piece being put out by the campaign, along with an accompanying video, highlighting what Boustany calls a "truth telling parody".
Below accompanied the video in an email released today:
The ad says: “He’s a career politician. He’s run for office ten different times.1 Backed a $1.1 billion tax increase.2
“John Kennedy led costly short-term budget gimmicks that cost taxpayers $200 million.3 Wasted taxpayer money renting office space from one of his campaign contributors.4
“Budget gimmicks. While the state’s credit rating is downgraded.5 John Kennedy: finally, someone is calling him out.”
1Career politician John Kennedy ran for office ten different times from 1991-2016.
1991 – Attorney General (D), lost
1995 – Attorney General (D), withdrew
1999 – Treasurer (D), won
2003 – Treasurer (D), won
2004 – Senate (D), lost
2007 – Treasurer (R), won
2008 – Senate (R), lost
2011 – Treasurer (R), won
2015 – Treasurer (R), won
2016 – Senate (R)
2John Kennedy backed a $1.1 billion tax increase on Louisiana oil & gas earlier this year as a way to make up the state’s budget shortfall. On WWL-Radio New Orleans, Kennedy claimed: “The total amount of waste and inefficiencies that the legislative auditor in these 36 reports identified just last year, in 2015, is $1.745 billion.” When challenged on his numbers, Treasurer Kennedy provided a report on government waste to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards identifying $1.7 billion in ‘waste’ – including $1.148 billion in uncollected revenue from the state’s temporary tax exemption on hydraulic fracturing from 2010-2014.
3A performance review of the Louisiana Bond Commission in February found that short-term budget gimmicks employed by Kennedy as Chairman of the Bond Commission dating back to the 2010-2011 budget year helped plug short-term budget gaps, but incurred long-term costs to the state of as much as $231 million.
4A report by The Advocate found that the Treasurer’s Office has leased office space since 2011 at One City Plaza in Baton Rouge at a cost of $369,597 per year to taxpayers. The Treasurer repeatedly ignored attempts from the Office of Facility Planning and Control to move to state-owned office space that would have saved the state $293,868 per year. Kennedy has received $21,600 in campaign contributions from the owner of the facility.
5Louisiana’s credit rating was downgraded by Moody’s in February 2016. According to the AP: “Treasurer John Kennedy said Moody’s decision surprised him."
Is John Kennedy Getting Desperate?
Photo source: The Advocate
On Wednesday, Charles Boustany refuted a story being circulated that he was someone involved with a prostitute that ended up murdered. Per this piece, Boustany went on to state "it is all total lies – and everyone, even John Kennedy, knows it."
Read more: Congressman Charles Boustany blames John Kennedy for spreading prostitute-involved claims
John Kennedy Offers His Ideas to Solve Louisiana's Budget Crisis
Treasury Secretary John Kennedy offered his advice to solve the budget crisis during a televised speech last night. His approach is dramatically different from the taxation approach Governor John Bel Edwards has planned.
Kennedy Announces Via Facebook His Intent to Run for US Senate
State Treasurer Kohn Kennedy released this via his Facebook page this morning:
Photo source: Facebook
I will be a candidate for the United States Senate in 2016.
The reason is pretty simple: I want my country back. I'm scared we are losing it.
My Dad and Mom were conservative people. Dad was a small businessman. He owned a little lumberyard. Mom was a retired schoolteacher. They taught me conservative values: God, country, family, discipline, hard work, and education. They taught me to always do the best I can. I worry that America is losing those values.
Here's what I see: too many undeserving people at the top getting bailouts and too many undeserving people at the bottom getting handouts. And we in the middle get the bill. So will our kids. It's not right.
The sad truth is that our children's generation is at risk of becoming the first in America to be worse off than their parents', because it's harder than ever to get ahead and easier than ever to do nothing.
I want more for my country and my state.
I want a country that respects taxpayer dollars. I'm sick of the waste, and I'm sick of the debt.
I want an America and a Louisiana where every person can get a decent job. You can't be for jobs if you are against business. To create jobs, our businesses need low taxes, sensible regulations, good infrastructure and a skilled workforce.
I want an America and a Louisiana in which no parents have to send their child to a failing school.
I want an America and a Louisiana where parents can take their sick child to a family doctor instead of to an emergency room because they have decent, affordable insurance of their own choosing from the private sector.
I want a country that is strong and therefore free, that values peace but is not afraid to fight back. America is the most powerful country in the history of the world. We need to start acting like it.
I want an America and a Louisiana that understand that free market capitalism has done more to lift people out of poverty than all the government programs put together. Welfare was meant to be a bridge, not a parking lot.
I want a country and a state that protect life – whether that life is 82 years old or 82 seconds.
Most Louisianians know me and what I stand for. As State Treasurer, I've balanced 16 department budgets, earned taxpayers $3.4 billion by investing their money wisely, returned $315 million in lost money to citizens, refused to join the state retirement system, fought against corruption and cronyism, and stood up to politicians more powerful than I am in both parties.
I try not to be rude, but I speak my mind. Some politicians call me a troublemaker, a misfit, a rebel, a square peg in a round hole, because I'm not part of the club. I think I make the right people mad. My job is to protect taxpayers, not seek the approval of my political peers.
I hope voters will give me a chance to do the same thing in the United States Senate. I believe our country and our state can be better than our present, and our past.
May God bless us and keep us, and make his face shine upon us, Louisiana and the United States of America.”
