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They Are Who We Thought They Were

They are indeed who we thought they were – the Obama Administration.   One bad idea after another.   Spending our money like drunken sailors (however, as one columnist was reminded, sailors spend their own money, so he offered apologies to drunken sailors everywhere).  While they propose and back lousier and lousier ideas on a daily basis and intrude routinely on our personal freedoms, the Obama administration marches on.

But here’s the rub.   An addict needs enablers – other people who make destructive or insane choices possible.   Our current enablers are in Congress – the Pelosi, Reid, Waxman, Frank, Hoyer, Murtha, Boxer, Feinstein cabal.   Only with a level of collective ignorance (or malice) that is absolutely stunning in its breadth and depth, could a body charged with the responsibility of appropriating funds for the federal budget decide that we were in dire enough straits to justify borrowing 100% more money for this fiscal year than are scheduled to bring in.    That’s right.   We’re getting a little less than $2 trillion in projected revenue for this year and are borrowing over $1.8 trillion.   Try that at your house. Then try to do it again next year.

IT WAS NECESSARY! WE HAD JUST HAD 8 YEARS OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION!  WE WERE FIGHTING UNNECESSARY WARS! THE HOUSING MARKET WAS COLLAPSING!  THE AUTO COMPANIES ARE COLLAPSING!  THE BANKS ARE COLLAPSING!   WE HAD TO BORROW THE MONEY TO WASH THE STENCH OF A REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION OUT OF THE COUNTRY! WE HAD TO PROP UP STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SO TEACHERS, FIREFIGHTERS, AND OTHER GOVERNMENT WORKERS DON’T HAVE TO SUFFER CUTBACKS LIKE THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAS TO!

It’s all HOGWASH.   You’ve just had your sky is falling moment and most of us survived. To those of you who have lost jobs you have my sympathies, but your only help is an economic recovery. 

I’ve got news. You won’t get that recovery with this administration and this congress. They’re not done spending yet. They want to take over Health Care under some idea that the takeover will save the economy.  WHAT????     Health Care reform will save the economy???? How’s that?   There’s some convoluted logic somewhere about this (that I don’t believe) that starts with getting those poor 40 million uninsured people covered.  

Now, I don’t know how you do your math, but my math tells me that insuring 40 million more people costs more.   There’s no logical stretch, no credible business model, and no amount of stupid Democratic rhetoric that will convince me that having 40 million Americans outside the health insurance system has caused all of our economic problems, and that putting those same 40 million people in a health insurance program will balance our budget.  The notion that this is how we solve our economic problems is illogical on its face and no amount of twisted rationale will convince me otherwise.   I am convinced, however, that this is a ploy to get an edge in the number of loyal Democratic voters -- possibly even 40 million new grateful ones.  

Back to my original point – The Addicted Obama Administration and The Enablers in Congress need a remedy.  Step One is to Take the Enablers out in 2010. We can unelect every Democrat in the House of Representatives and roughly one third of he Democrats in the Senate in 2010. This first step in the effort requires that everybody vote. Those of you who had no enthusiasm for the 2008 election have to get out and vote.   Disaffected Democrats have to get out and vote. Libertarians have to get out and vote.   Young people who have taken and passed real math classes have to get out and vote.   And people who voted last time have to get out and vote.  

Vote ‘em out or shut up.   

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This Stimulus Is Not Stimulating

For some reason we’ve been slow to fully criticize the implementation of the Stimulus Package (over $750B in supplemental spending approved by a Congress that didn't read the bill).    My side, the conservative side, argued (ineffectively, in my opinion) that the bill shouldn’t have been passed, but my side has been relatively mute (or disorganized, or weak, or just ineffective) about how the distribution of the money is so poorly done that it really does not amount to a stimulus.

Here’s my take on the whole thing.   The money that got out the fastest is for the preservation of jobs for public worker union members – teachers, state and local workers, firefighters, etc.  (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124227027965718333.html).  

 In San Diego,  where the county reportedly received over $120M for “the schools” it is being reported that it isn’t enough  (http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/may/14/1mi14oteach182153-district-trustees-stick-73-teach/?education&zIndex=98935).

 My main point on this is that the Stimulus Package is not stimulating anything.  It is being used to prop up state and local government budgets that otherwise would have been faced with some of the same layoff decisions that the private sector is grappling with.

 We’re not building anything new (like nuclear power plants, or desalination plants).   We’re not investing in business.   We’re not loaning money to startups who might hire people.

So far, all we are really doing is preserving some selected government jobs!   I realize that government employees have mortgages and buy things too, but preserving some of their jobs won’t create an upswing in consumer spending or heat up a sluggish economy.   To put a more cynical spin on it, we're preserving the jobs of largely democratic voter bases - public union members.  

The borrowing and taxation that is being levied on us few remaining net-tax contributors will dampen our abilities to help restart the economic engine. Is this “STIMULUS”?   I don’t see how it can possibly be considered any kind of economic stimulus.   It’s more like a weird form of internalized consumption.  What we are doing is the equivalent of burning the remaining furniture, superstructure, and decking on a ship to generate some steam and delay the inevitable "all stop" condition.

But, guess what.  It will all crash relatively soon.   Even President Obama admits that our current rate of deficit accumulation is unsustainable (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJsSb4qtILhg&refer=worldwide).  That's an encouraging admission until you realize that he's using it to sell his approach to nationalizing health care.  Somehow nationalized health care will bring things in balance.  

Oh, and if you buy that one don't forget that the oceans are no longer rising, the polar icecaps have stopped melting, and the Taliban and Al Quaeda are much more willing to sit down and negotiate with us now that Mr. Obama is president. 

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