Presidential Action, October 4, 2004

President Bush signed into law H.R. 1308, the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, which extends key parts of his tax relief plan set to expire next year. Due to President Bush's actions, a family of four with an income of $40,000 will save more than $900 on their taxes next year. Overall, 94 million Americans will have a lower tax bill next year, including 70 million women and 38 million families with children. This legislation:

*Extends the full marriage penalty relief to couples who are unfairly taxed just because they are married;

*Lessens the tax burden of lower-income Americans by ensuring the full benefits of the 10% percent tax bracket;

*Helps working moms and dads by ensuring that the full $1,000 per child tax credit is available through 2010;

*Supports military men and women living in combat zones by providing nearly $200 million of assistance in the form of higher child credit refunds and earned income tax credits;

*Protects middle-class taxpayers from the Alternative Minimum Tax by exempting from it the first $58,000 of a married couple's income. Without this AMT relief, taxpayers would be saddled with an extra $23 billion AMT levy through 2005; and

*Simplifies the tax code for families who qualify for the child tax credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the dependent care credit, the dependent exemption for children, and those who file as the head-of-household.

If Congress had not acted when it did, failure to extend these tax cuts permanently would have raised taxes on American taxpayers in future years:

#In 2005, the $1,000 child credit would have fallen to $700;

#A family of four earning $40,000 would have seen their tax burden increase by $913 next year; and

#In 2005, 94 million taxpayers would have faced, on average, a tax increase of $538;

President's Bush's tax relief was the right action at the right time for our economy. His tax relief has helped millions of families and businesses and continues to drive job creation.

#Job creation is accelerating, with nearly 1.7 million jobs created since last August and 12 straight months of job gains. At 5.4% the unemployment rate is below its average for the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

#America's standard of living is on the rise. Real after-tax income is up by more than 10% since December 2000 - substantially better than the comparable time period in the previous business cycle. President Bush’s tax relief is an important component of that increase.

#The national homeownership rate, in the second quarter of 2004, was at an all time high of 69.2 percent. Minority homeownership set a new record of 51% in the second quarter and is up 2.1 percentage points from a year ago.

More to Do: President Bush's Plan to Create More Jobs, Security, and Opportunity in a Growing Economy

While President Bush’s tax cuts are creating jobs and continuing to strengthen the economy, there is still more to do so that every American who wants a job can find one. To create jobs, America must remain the best place in the world to do business. President Bush’s six-point plan:

*Allows families to plan for the future by making tax relief permanent.

*Encourages investment and expansion by restraining Federal spending and reducing regulation.

*Makes our country less dependent on foreign sources of energy through a comprehensive national energy policy.

*Expands trade and levels the playing field to sell American goods and services across the globe.

*Protects small business owners and workers from the explosion of frivolous lawsuits that threaten jobs across America.

*Lowers the cost of health care for small businesses and working families through Association Health Plans, tax-free Health Savings Accounts, tax credits for employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts, and Medical Liability Reform.

To keep our economy growing, we must reform the tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and more pro-growth. President Bush will lead a bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the tax code.

To help workers find better, higher-paying jobs, President Bush has proposed to double the number of people served by our principal job training program and increase funding for community colleges.

To stand with workers in poor communities and those that have lost manufacturing, textile, and other jobs, President Bush proposes the creation of opportunity zones. To assist these communities in helping themselves, we will provide tax relief, and other incentives to attract new business, and improve housing, job training, and high-tech infrastructure.

I am a Republican … I am none of those things… and I don’t know any Republicans who are.

WHAT I AM … first and foremost, is a loving husband of some 52 plus years, the father of four and an American who’s proud of his country… and his country’s heritage.

WHAT I AM … is the grandson of immigrants who risked everything, including their lives and those of their children, to escape tyranny in search of freedom.

WHAT I AM … is a man who grew up during the Depression and witnessed, first hand, the effects of the Stock Market crash and the soup lines that followed. I watched as both my parents and grand parents, who had very little themselves, share what food they had with a half dozen other families, who had even less.

WHAT I AM … is someone who worked his way through college by holding down three and four jobs at a time and then used that education to build a better life.

WHAT I AM … is a husband who, at age 24, started his own business for the “privilege” of working 60, 70 and 80 hours a week, risking everything I had, including my health, in search of a better life for myself and my loved ones.

WHAT I AM … is a businessman whose blood, sweat and tears…. and plenty of them…, made it possible for me to provide a secure living, not only for my family and myself, but also for literally hundreds of my employees throughout the years. Employees, who in turn, were able to buy their own homes, raise their own families and give back to their communities and their country.

WHAT I AM … is a man who believes in God; a God who has blessed this country… and all for which it stands.

WHAT I AM … is someone who knows, if you doubt miracles exist in today’s world, you need only to look into the face of those who received them … and the eyes of those who give them.

WHAT I AM … is an American who’s proud that his President embraces a belief in God; proud of a President who understands, as “politically incorrect” as it may be, there is evil in this world and for the security and safety of all freedom loving people everywhere, it must be confronted… and it must be defeated.

WHAT I AM … is an American who takes comfort in the knowledge that our President refuses to allow decisions concerning the very safety and security of this nation, to be governed by the political whims of foreign governments.

WHAT I AM … is tired of hearing from leading Democrats who see only negativity in America; racism in her people; class warfare in her society and “political incorrectness” in her character.

WHAT I AM … is a former democrat who now understands that it is the soldier and not the reporter that guarantees us our freedoms of press, speech and dissent.

WHAT I AM … is a man who believes in the sanctity of life. A man who is repulsed by the pandering of the political left for votes, at the expense of the unborn.

WHAT I AM … is a husband and father who believes in the sanctity of marriage and the preservation of the family unit.

WHAT I AM … is a movie go-er who is repulsed by those insecure, socially inept, elementary thinking, ego-inflated “entertainers” who have appointed themselves “experts” in the fields of national security and geo-politics and then use their forum to attack this nation, its leaders and its actions…. much to the delight and encouragement of our enemies.

WHAT I AM … is an American who understands the difference between “censorship” and “choice”. Evidently, these individuals do not, because when these same “celebrities” receive public ridicule for their offensive actions, the first thing they yell is “Censorship!”. What they seem incapable of understanding is… the right of free speech and dissent is shared equally by those offended… as well as those who offend. I support and will continue to support those films and performers whom I choose to … and refuse to support those I don’t. It is my right as an American … a right I will continue to enthusiastically exercise.

WHAT I AM … is a voter, tired of politicians, who, every time their voting records are subjected to public scrutiny, try to divert attention from their political and legislative failures by accusing their opponents of “attack ads” and “negative campaigning”…. and the news media who allow them to get away with it.

WHAT I AM … is a Catholic who loves his God and his Faith… and who’s been taught to respect all religions whose teachings are based in love, peace and charity. As such, I am embarrassed and ashamed of those individuals, in both private and public life, whose decisions and actions are devoid of any sense of character or morals; individuals who are only driven by what’s best for them … rather than what’s right … often times at the expense of many …. including our national security.

WHAT I AM … is a realist who understands that the terrorist attack that murdered hundreds of innocent Russian children could have occurred here, in our heartland. That’s why I sincerely believe America needs now, more than ever, a President who sees with a clear and focused vision and who speaks with a voice when heard by both friend and foe alike, is understood, respected and believed.

WHAT I AM … is eternally grateful to Ronald Reagan for having the bravery to speak out against Communism and the courage of his convictions in leading the fight to defeat it; and George W. Bush for the vision, courage, conviction and leadership he has shown in America’s war on terrorism amidst both the constant and vicious, personal and political attacks both he and his family are made to endure.

WHAT I AM … is a human being, full of numerous faults and failures, but a man nonetheless, who, though not always successful, has continually strived to do “what’s right” instead of “what’s easy”. A man who is challenging the religious leaders of all faiths, to not only preach to their congregations the fundamentals of “what’s right” and “what’s wrong”, but to also then hold them accountable for their actions in both the public and private sectors.

WHAT I AM … is disgusted with the Courts who, on one hand, call the murder of a pregnant woman a “double homicide” but then refer to the abortion of her baby as, “pro-choice”.

WHAT I AM … is someone deeply troubled by a political party which embraces a candidate whose primary “leadership” qualities center around his protesting of the Vietnam war and his labeling the honorable men and women who fought in it, (50,000 of whom gave their lives in that action), as rapists, and war criminals. That same political party then stepped forward this year to block the appearance of a true Vietnam war hero, retired Admiral and former United States Senator, Jeremiah Denton, (a man who spent seven years and seven torturous months in a North Vietnam prison), from speaking before an open session of the California legislature as part of that state’s 4th of July celebration. The reason Democrats gave for refusing to allow this American hero to speak before their state legislature was because of the “conservative” nature of his views. As an American, that troubles me deeply ….as well it should you.

WHAT I AM … is a man who feels the need to spend, $104, 655.60,(tax paid) of his own money, to purchase this advertisement, in order to set the story straight. Some may say this money would have been better spent feeding the world’s poor. At the risk of sounding self-serving, as an American and as a Republican, for the last six decades of my life, I have done exactly that… and more. Following the examples of my parents and grand parents, I have used my earnings to feed the poor, shelter the homeless, provide housing for the elderly and medical care for the sick….. and continue to do so… and I’m not alone in that work.

WHAT I AM … is someone who is paying for this announcement, at my sole expense, in hopes of opening the eyes of those led blindly by ill-informed elements of our great nation, who, through either ignorance, or malicious intent, repeatedly attack and belittle those of us who belong to a political party that holds true to the belief, “… the rights of the governed, exceed the power of the government”. For those interested, I am speaking only as a tax-paying individual who is in no way associated with The Republican National Committee, nor with any of its directors, or delegates.

WHAT I AM … is a man who understands, “the American way of life” is a message of self-empowerment for all.

WHAT I AM … is an American who is grateful that our nation gives each of us the opportunity of self-determination and the right to benefit from the fruits of self achievement.

WHAT I AM … is an American who wants to preserve that way of life for all who seek it.

WHAT I AM … is blessed to be an American…. and proud to be Republican.

george@esseff-foundation.org

Like all of us, the former 49th Ward alderman has faults, but I count that day lucky when we first met at Manny's, Chicago's finest delicatessen, where a spark was kindled that led him to give me the first in-depth interview of his career.

Wigoda is the last living link to the late era of the Gray Wolves aldermen (where the slogan was ''What will you do for Big Jim McDermott [14th] after all he did for you?'') and saw the transformation to modern times. May he live beyond 100 -- and may I be around as long to record his observations.

Two veterans of Chicago's golden years under Richard J. Daley still thrive: Leon Despres and Paul Wigoda. But Despres was a reformer, producing no results beyond adulatory TV and ink. Wigoda was a workhorse, a law partner and deputy to the man who single-handedly ran the City Council: the Finance chairman, Tom Keane (31st). I didn't know him when he was a dark-haired, spectacled majority whip working closely with Keane and Daley -- but now, as a relaxed senior who relies on a walker, he is willing to talk to me about what he says was a glorious past: when he would walk up to the mayoral rostrum and whisper behind a cupped hand to Daley; when he would good-naturedly chide Keane, a gruff master of city budget and finance, to say good morning to more people.

At this point, I'm more interested in Keane and Wigoda than Daley. Daley took the bows, but it was Keane who ran the council like a symphony orchestra. First came rehearsal in his committee, where he dictated the minutes to his secretary, saying Alderman A moved such and so, that Alderman B seconded and the full committee voted aye unanimously -- all as the members listened obediently. On the council floor, the full orchestration bloomed: Daley would call on Keane, who emphasized the administration's position, followed by a struggle with outnumbered reformers; then, with a nod from Keane, Daley would call the vote and there would come the crashing bassoon finale.

In this rendition, Wigoda was the concertmaster. Keane and Daley were not close, didn't talk except on business.

Both Keane and Wigoda paid a price with conviction by a politically ambitious U.S. attorney, Jim Thompson, who used unprecedented powers to grant immunity to those who testified volubly to save their own necks: the device that sent to jail a noble Otto Kerner. Wigoda survived the politics of prosecution and came up smiling. Keane, he says, was far different from the man the media falsely characterized.

For example, there was the time a black man was denied a job at a blue-chip corporation because of his race. ''I'm sorry to say,'' said the scowling Keane one morning to the CEO, ''that our relationship is over, kaput.'' Before lunch, the corporation was integrated at the top level; the man is a prominent business leader today.

Asked to write a brief for his boss, Wigoda did so in many pages, which Keane scanned quickly, set aside and delivered with stunning memorization. Wigoda, exhausted from duties as alderman and lawyer, once fell asleep on his office couch and awoke to find that Keane had tenderly covered him with an afghan.

Wigoda is a man who was on hand when the perspiring Despres orated about the Alamo, and concluded with the admonition from philosopher George Santayana: Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. Which prompted Ald. Vito Marzullo (25th), he of fourth-grade education and former Harvard lecturer, to shout: ''We don't need no advice from no Mexican general!''

==>George Washington