Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of April 7, 2014. Give me your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am. Remember, you can listen online at KFYO.com or on your iPhone/Android with the radioPup App.

Alex Wong, Getty Images
Alex Wong, Getty Images
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Pelosi Defends Obamacare

Nancy Pelosi took to CNN on Sunday do defend Obamacare and the employer mandate. According to POLITICO, Pelosi said most Democrats embrace Obamacare.

 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Sunday is dismissing reports of the suggestion by former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs that the employer mandate of Obamacare might not take effect.

Pelosi's comments came in an interview aired Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," several days after the Obama administration met its target of 7 million enrollees in the health care law.

"Of all the things I want to say about the Affordable Care Act, Robert Gibbs' opinion, I don't know who his clients are or what his perspective is, but we are celebrating the fact that we have over 7 million who have signed up," she said.

The various provisions of the law, she said, are "all integral."

"This is an initiative that has strong pillars in it that relate to each other," Pelosi said.

Pelosi, who noted that the Democrats will be introducing a budget on Monday, also charged that most in her party "embrace" Obamacare, remarks that come as some Democrats in the process of re-election bids walk a fine line in determining how to talk about the law, which is highly controversial in some corners of the country

Growth in Lubbock

Is Lubbock suffering from the anti-tax crowd? I don't think so and on Sunday I wrote about this issue for KFYO.com. You can read part of the article below and the full piece here.

I arrived in Lubbock in 2001 as a freshman at Texas Tech University. At that time, North Overton was a bunch of empty lots, Slide Road stopped at 4th street and if you went drove west of Frankford there was dirt. Driving past 98th Street for many meant that you were going out to that golf course south of town.

Lubbock has grown.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up here and my time in Lubbock has been relatively short but I can see the tremendous growth our city has seen even in the last ten years. I can see the growth, but it seems as though many in Lubbock can’t. Either that or they just aren’t impressed with it.

Last week Texas Tech hosted the Innovation & Economic Prosperity Forum. According to the Lubbock AJ, around 60 people attended the forum to discuss how Texas Tech could increase economic development in Lubbock and on the South Plains. They key for many was communication. Whether it be for partnering up with local or regional businesses, leaders said that Texas Tech should establish a person to handle it. It was also suggested that Tech architecture students come up with ideas to redevelop downtown Lubbock.

Sounds great right? Tech students can get more involved in the community and even leave their fingerprints on downtown. Doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all really.

The only problem I had with what came out of the forum was a quote from the President of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. According to the report, Eddie McBride said there was one other obstacle remaining.

Eddie McBride, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said another obstacle is anti-tax sentiment and an attitude of “no growth” among residents.

Really? How is an anti-tax sentiment hurting growth in Lubbock? Since I have lived in Lubbock there has been an anti-tax sentiment and so far it seems to be working well. In fact, I’d say it has helped growth in Lubbock. Governor Rick Perry has bragged about low-taxes in Texas for years and the state has been leading in job creation. Seems like anti-tax works.

Honestly though, Lubbock citizens aren’t anti-tax. Lubbock citizens have approved bond issues numerous times which have raised taxes. Poll after poll has shown that citizens overall support raising taxes if, and only if, it is needed. Citizens aren’t anti-tax when it comes to police, fire, water, infrastructure. Now, if citizens are asked about raising taxes for splash pads, they tend to say no.

What do you think? Do you think growth in Lubbock has been hurt by the "anti-tax" crowd?

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These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.

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