Kevin Bryant

Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina

Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina

 

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China reduces holdings in US debt

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China reduces holdings in US debt
Dollar notes

China wants to establish a new global currency regime

BBC News – China reduced its holdings of US government debt by the largest margin in nearly nine years in June, according to data from the US Treasury.

China holds more US government debt than any other country and cut its holdings of US securities by more that 3% in June, said the BBC’s Chris Hogg.

Japan and the UK – second and third largest holders of US debt – increased their holdings over the same period.

China’s holding of US debt is about 7% higher than at the turn of the year.

Inflation fear

In recent months the US government’s budget deficit has widened thanks in part to the Obama administration’s costly stimulus plan.

Our correspondent in Shanghai says that China is worried about this, and fears the stimulus efforts will fuel inflation in the US, reducing the value of the dollar.

This would then erode the value of the debt China holds in the US currency.

In June, China cut its holdings of US securities by about $25bn, a fall of 3.1%.

‘Dollar alternative’

The sales were made as the US treasury secretary was visiting Beijing to try to reassure the Chinese that their investment in his country’s government debt is safe.

In 2008, the Chinese increased their holdings in US debt by 52% over 12 months.

“China has said it would like to establish an alternative to the US dollar as the world’s favoured currency for foreign exchange reserves,” said our correspondent.

“So far there is no evidence that there is a suitable alternative. But these figures suggest they are exploring ways to diversify their investments where they can.”

from chairman Steele

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Dear Friend,Barack Obama recently said, “I think private insurers should be able to compete…I mean. If you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems.”

The President is acknowledging what Republicans have been saying all along: That the private sector does a better job offering choices and delivering services to customers in a competitive and cost effective manner than a government-run monopoly.

But Obama and liberal Democrats in Congress are pushing for a government-run health care scheme that is inefficient, limits choices and hemorrhages taxpayer money like the Post Office.

Two weeks ago, the Post Office was called a “high risk” federal agency by the Government Accountability Office. The Post Office will have a $7 billion operating loss this year. So what makes the President, Nancy Pelosi and their left-wing allies think that government bureaucracy can run health care better than the private sector?

Friend, it’s clear Americans simply aren’t buying into the Democrats’ government-run health care experiment. They are waking up to the fact that the Democrats are trying to strip us of more of our freedoms all in the name of their “government knows best” philosophy.

Your generous support of the RNC is critical to laying the foundation Republicans need to defeat the Democrats and stop their leftward push to control every facet and detail of our lives.

No matter how the President and his liberal allies try to spin it, they cannot escape the fact that his government-run health care plan would increase costs, increase taxes, increase the deficit and reduce health care choice and quality.

Friend, we can win this fight and stop the Democrats from another government takeover.Sincerely,

Michael Steele
Chairman, Republican National Committee

jMint virtual town hall meeting

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Senator Jim DeMint is currently touring South Carolina to talk with voters about the wrong direction a Democrat-controlled Washington is taking our nation and the conservative ideas that can restore our freedoms.

For those of you who can’t make it out to one of these town halls to share your opinions, Senator DeMint is hosting a virtual town hall tomorrow night from 6:00 to 7:00 pm.

Simply visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/senator-jim-demint

To ask questions you must have a Twitter or UStream account. If you do not have an account yet, we urge you to sign up today atwww.twitter.com or www.ustream.tv. It’s absolutely free!

WHAT: Senator Jim DeMint’s Virtual Town Hall

WHERE: Your computer. Just visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/senator-jim-demint

WHEN: Tomorrow – Thursday, August 20th, 6:00 – 7:00 PM

my response to op/ed critical of Jim DeMint on Healthcare

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Bryant: DeMint fighting for commonsense health reform, By KEVIN BRYANT, Guest Columnist The State, Powdersville Post

Frank Knapp, president and CEO of the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce, recently penned an column that lavishes praise upon the health care plan supported by President Obama and Congressional Democrats and criticizes the conservative opposition led by our own Sen. Jim DeMint (“DeMint putting small businesses at further risk,” July 29).

Mr. Knapp declares that opposition to the legislation will “harm every small business in our state.” According to Mr. Knapp, if Sen. DeMint is able to block the legislation, it will result in higher premiums, fewer businesses offering insurance, fewer entrepreneurs, sicker workers, more bankruptcies and an overall rise in the cost of health care. As a small business owner and pharmacist myself, I strongly disagree with this assessment and applaud Sen. DeMint’s opposition.

The author, in a move straight from the Obama playbook, ignores the issue itself and attempts to isolate and demonize Sen. DeMint.

The Obama health care plan will destroy the best health care system in the world. Details among the various Democratic plans now circulating in Congress include a government audit of all employers that self-insure, an automatic tax increase on all employers without health coverage, an automatic tax increase on all individuals without health coverage, a government committee to decide what benefits must be included in insurance plans. Some proposals even allow direct government access to your bank account and provide full coverage for illegal aliens.

The centerpiece of the plan is the “public option,” i.e. government plan. The public option would “compete” with private insurers and theoretically reduce costs and increase efficiency — probably like the postal service “competes” with FedEx. The post office expects to lose $7 billion this year. FedEx earned $98 million.

Obama’s plan is nothing short of socialized health care. Even those who do not receive it pay for it. President Obama, moreover, has been clear about his goal. He said in 2003 that “I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program. A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately.”

Canada currently forces its citizens into national health care, and the results speak for themselves. A July 28 US News and World Report article reports that “the median clinically reasonable wait time before receiving neurosurgery is 5.8 weeks. In Canada in 2008 it was 31.7 weeks. For gynecology it’s 5.6 weeks v. 16.1 weeks. And for internal medicine is 3.3 weeks v. 12.5 weeks.”

John Stossel, an investigative journalist, also reported that, “More than a million and a half Canadians say they can’t find a family doctor. Some towns hold lotteries to determine who gets a doctor. In Norwood, Ontario, 20/20 videotaped a town clerk pulling the names of the lucky winners out of a lottery box. The losers must wait to see a doctor.” Canadians who can afford it come to America. Do you know of anyone that travels to Canada for health care?

Mr. Knapp finally claims that Sen. DeMint “does not now support health care reform.”

Perhaps Mr. Knapp should review the record of Sen. DeMint because, again, the facts tell an entirely different story. In June, Sen. DeMint introduced a bill that proposes a health care voucher for individual choice, interstate shopping for coverage to open up the market to more competition, greater flexibility for health savings accounts, further tort reform, more transparency by providers and block-grant funding for states to issue policies for high-risk patients. Mr. Knapp may quibble with any or all of these proposals, but he may not claim that Sen. DeMint, “does not now support health care reform.”

I applaud Sen. DeMint not only for proposing sensible reforms but also for opposing a government system proven around the world to have failed miserably. Thank you Sen. DeMint; we know you will stand strong regardless of those who distort your record.

Mr. Bryant, a pharmacist and small business owner, represents Anderson County in the S.C. Senate.