Sunday, January 11, 2015

DEVELOPING: Massive News in the State Rebellion Against Barack H. Obama

DEVELOPING: Massive News in the State Rebellion Against Barack H. Obama

Monday, January 5th, 2015

While the Republican takeover of the Senate, and expansion of their control in the House, was the big story in the 2014 midterm election, there was a lesser known outcome of the elections that actually has the potential to impact the everyday lives of Americans even more than any action the new Congress is likely to take.
According to the Washington Post, Republicans now hold total control, both governorships and legislatures, in 24 states.  Conversely, Democrats only hold total control in seven states.

It is widely expected that legislators in the GOP-held states are going to aggressively pursue a rather conservative policy agenda, mostly, but not all, aimed at limiting federal intervention in the affairs of individual states.
There are nine states that have already proposed, or plan to propose, legislation making their states “right-to-work,” joining the 24 other states that have already done so. “Right-to-work” states allow employees of businesses to opt-out of joining labor unions.
It is also expected that several states will pursue legislation that would ban abortions after 20 weeks.  Furthermore, some states, like Tennessee, are looking to take up measures requiring mandatory counseling, waiting periods, and strict inspection of clinics, in order to regulate and limit abortions.
The Common Core educational standards and curriculum has become a huge target for conservatives, who rightly view it as a federal intrusion on states’ affairs.  Some states intend to completely drop out of the program, while others are merely seeking to make their own changes to standards and testing requirements.  Others still want to limit how much student information and data is shared with the federal government.
It is also quite likely that more states will pass measures pushing back against the Obama administration’s anti-energy agenda, which is being perpetuated by EPA regulations that are strangling the U.S. energy sector.  A dozen states have already filed suit against the EPA, and that suit could be joined by other states, or similar lawsuits.
Numerous states are eyeing making cuts to personal and corporate income taxes and sales taxes.  This is in conjunction with plans to balance state budgets, taking on the increasingly underfunded and rapidly growing public employee pension plans, along with overcrowded prisons, that are proving to be drains on state budgets.
Many states are waiting to see how Obamacare holds up against it’s Supreme Court challenges, before deciding how to further deal with Medicaid expansion or setting up state-based health insurance exchanges, if at all.
Decriminalization and legalization of marijuana also will be an issue in many states as that movement spreads.
And of course, it is quite likely that some of the more conservative states will take steps to ensure that the gun rights guaranteed to their citizens will be protected from further federal infringements.

Please share this on Facebook and Twitter if you are ready to see how the conservative policy agenda plays out this year in the GOP-controlled state legislatures.

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