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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Obama delays signing 'urgent' stimulus
After telling the nation it was so urgent to pass the stimulus bill there was no time to even read it, President Obama took off for Chicago with wife Michelle, to dine at a fancy Chicago restaurant and spend the night at home in Hyde Park for Valentine's Day. The Bill will just have to wait for him to sign it next Tuesday.
Obama and his advisors are no doubt counting on the press to avoid noticing the contradiction between the alleged urgency and taking time off. This neglect is a necessary precondition for all that follows...
[My favorite; 'Alt 3: PSYOPS' - the title, anyway]
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Obama dodges transparency pledge
If President Obama signs the $787 billion economic stimulus legislation Monday, he’ll again be dodging a campaign pledge he made on transparency. During the campaign, Obama pledged to post legislation online for five days before signing it.
But administration officials have said they don’t have to do that for the stimulus because the pledge applied only to non-emergency legislation...
[And they say it with a straight face. And the MSM?]
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Subject: image toon 1st mny crpt vals reps bddbdd - OB = spending bill has no pork
60% Say Stimulus Plan Is What Democrats Want, Not Bipartisan
Sixty percent (60%) of U.S. voters say the economic stimulus plan that is emerging from Congress is mostly what Democrats want rather than a truly bipartisan product.
Eighty percent (80%) of Republicans say the stimulus is mostly a Democratic plan, while Democrats themselves are evenly divided on the question.
Sixty-two percent (62%) of unaffiliated voters say it’s mostly what Democrats want, while 22% characterize the plan as bipartisan.
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TRUTH-O-METER re: Stimulus 'Consensus'
"There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jump-start the economy."Barack Obama on Friday, January 9th, 2009 in a news conference
The Cato Institute got weary of this line of argument and took out a newspaper ad in the New York Times on Jan. 28, 2009.
"With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true,"
"More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. More government spending did not solve Japan's 'lost decade' in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today," the ad says. "Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth."The Cato ad has 203 signatories, including three recent Nobel Prize winners.
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TRUTH-O-METER Re: Loaves and Fishes
To give the proposed economic stimulus plan some perspective, "if you started the day Jesus Christ was born and spent $1 million every day since then, you still wouldn’t have spent $1 trillion."
Mitch McConnell
It is a lot of loaves and fishes
President Obama and the Politics of Fear
In an unprecedented campaign to sell his trillion-dollar taxpayer spending plan, President Obama has gone beyond talking down the economy. During his first nationally televised news conference, President Obama warned of a pending economic "catastrophe" if Congress doesn't immediately pass and implement his $800 billion-plus economic "stimulus" plan. [snip]
Though the current recession's "misery index" is half of what it was during the recession of the Carter years, President Obama, according to Fact Check, continues to falsely say that:"We also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression."
One doesn't have to go back to the Great Depression to find a higher unemployment rate. It is currently 7.6 percent. In June of 1992 it was 7.8 percent. In 1982 it reached 10.2 percent. [Yet somehow the country survived. [snip]
With the exception of the housing and mortgage industries (which were corrupted by government intervention for social "reinvestment") the aggregate economy was not at crisis level in 2008. Not only was John McCain correct in saying that the fundamentals of the total economy were sound during the campaign; he was also being responsible with his words and with his expression of faith.
Yes, faith. Any economist will tell you that a large component of the free market economy is purely psychological and unscientific. The market goes up and down based on a society's level of confidence. An unshakable confidence will send the market through the roof, whereas fear and insecurity will drive it down into miserly despair. [snip]
If Obama keeps talking down the economy with fear mongering and false assertions, things really could get to the misery level of the 1930s...
[But if your true goal is the expansion of government above all else, his tactics make perfect sense. Recommended > ]
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Doomsday scenario doesn't add up
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"We have inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression."
Claims Mr. Obama. But the historical figures for the gross domestic product (GDP), calculated by the U.S. Bureau Economic Analysis, say something else.
After growing by 0.9 percent and 2.8 percent in the first two quarters of 2008, GDP declined by 0.5 percent and 3.5 percent in the third and fourth quarters of the year. Is that "an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression"?
No. But we need not go back that far for favorable comparison.
1949 was far worse. GDP declined by 5.8 percent in the first quarter of that year and 1.2 percent in the second, then dropped 4 percent in the fourth. Did America did start an irreversible decline that year?
1953-54, there was also a downturn worse than the one Mr. Obama "inherited." GDP declined by 2.4 percent in the third quarter of 1953, by 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter and by 2 percent in the first quarter of 1954.
Did "Leave-it-to-Beaver" America spiral into a Steinbeckian Dust Bowl? No. The economy headed back to double-digit growth, expanding by 0.4 percent in the second quarter of 1954, 4.5 percent in the third and 8.2 percent in the fourth. In the first quarter of 1955, it jumped 12 percent.
1957-58; Something even more dramatic happened: In the fourth quarter of 1957, GDP declined by 4.2 percent, and in the first quarter of 1958, it declined by 10.4 percent. After the 10.4 percent GDP drop of early 1958, of course, Americans started growing their economy again.
1974-75; GDP declined by 3.8 percent, 1.6 percent and 4.7 percent. In the next four quarters, it grew by 3 percent, 6.9 percent, 5.4 percent and 9.3 percent.
1981-82; GDP declined by 4.9 percent and 6.4 percent - but then rebounded by 0.4 percent, 5 percent and 9.3 percent - and it kept growing all the way through the second quarter of 1990... [snip]
It is a historical fact that America's free market economy goes through cycles of growth and contraction that run on a consistently long-term upward track. [snip]
In fact, talking down the economy serves Mr. Obama's purposes. It helps sell his agenda for massively increasing government.
And it could be a self-fulfilling prophecy: America's economy has grown in the past because our people have not been overburdened by government. Mr. Obama could cause irreversible decline by creating an unsustainable government.
Do we really face the possibility of an irreversible crisis? Well, yes. Not the one Mr. Obama describes, but the one he may cause.
[Note the 2-year dip cycles - consistent except for those periods of government intervention 'fixing' the problem. How many times must we see it to learn? I think we have - it's just that reviving the economy is not the true purpose behind this massive government expansion...]
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The Cloward/Piven Strategy of Economic Recovery
The assumption that Obama will need the nation to prosper in order to protect the 2010 mid-term election incorrectly assumes that he esteems free market capitalism. He does not. Rather than win through superior ideas and policies, the Democrat plan for success in the mid-term elections is to win by destroying political opposition.
Obama adheres to the Saul Alinksy Rules for Radicals method of politics, which teaches the dark art of destroying political adversaries. However, that text reveals only one front in the radical left's war against America. The Cloward/Piven Strategy is another method employed by the radical Left to create and manage crisis. This strategy explains Rahm Emanuel's ominous statement, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."
The Cloward/Piven Strategy is named after Columbia University sociologists Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven. Their goal is to overthrow capitalism by overwhelming the government bureaucracy with entitlement demands.
The created crisis provides the impetus to bring about radical political change...
[Accurate or likely? Who the hell knows. But given the consequences if right, it pays to be aware so we might recognize matching patterns should they emerge - and so far {consistent disinformation, insane spending, talking down the economy}....
Highly Recommended > ]
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[UPDATE 2:
The Stimulus Bill Smells of Turpentine
I suspect that Obama has in mind a definite ulterior plan, for the sake of which he wants the current stimulus bill to fail to revive the economy. The porcinity of the stimulus bill is beyond any question and well documented.
But mingled with the bacony aroma that so inflames the appetites of politicians and lobbyists, there lies another odor -- the reek of turpentine...
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China is Considering Ways to Diversify Out of the Dollar
."We hate you guys..."
Mr. Luo Ping, director general at China's Banking Regulatory Commission, speaking in New York on Wednesday, shared his opinion of U.S. bailout policies:
"Once you start issuing $1 trillion-$2 trillion ...we know the dollar is going to depreciate, so we hate you guys..." [snip]
Reports in the press this week say that China is considering ways to diversify out of the dollar. The Chinese are no fools. They see what is coming. And they know what it will do to them - the holders of the largest pile of dollars ever assembled.
The Financial Times made it perfectly clear to them in a cartoon yesterday. It shows Barack Obama in front of a huge smoking trashcan filled with dollars. The president is pouring on gasoline.
Yes, dear reader, Mr. Ping has caught on. And the rest of the world is catching on too. The feds are printing trillions of dollars...and dumping them in banks and zombie corporations. They've got out their Zippo lighters...their firestarters...their kindling and crumpled paper....
[I.e., Washington is doing all the wrong things, and the world knows it {but good luck hearing about it on our TV news}.
Correction: 'wrong' if you're worried about the economy. But if your goal's the expansion of government power...]
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Following Passage of Stimulus Bill, Consumer Confidence Falls to Record Low
Following Congressional passage of the economic stimulus bill, consumer confidence has fallen to another record low.(Snip)Now, 66% of Democrats say the economy is getting worse along with 75% of Republicans and 73% of those not affiliated with either major party. (Snip)
The Rasmussen Consumer Index reached its highest level ever at 127.0 on January 6, 2004. The all-time low was reached on February 16, 2009 at 55.7.
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Our Professional Media
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CBS: ‘Obstructionist’ Republicans 
On Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez asked Republican Congressman Eric Cantor about President Obama’s proposed housing bill:"Unlike the stimulus, will you urge your fellow Republicans in the House to support this?"
Cantor began to explain that Republicans supported some aspects of the "stimulus," but Rodriguez quickly interrupted him:"But everyone opposed it. Why? Where's the bipartisanship?"
Before Cantor could respond, she added:"Are you afraid of being seen as obstructionist?"
An on-screen graphic read: "Economic Crisis, Party Politics & Recovery Roadblocks."
[what bias?]
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ABC: Resistance to 'Stimulus' Bill 'Irresponsible,' Stephanopoulos Pushes Bank Nationalization
ABC's Cookie Roberts denounced as “irresponsible” conservative opposition to the “stimulus” bill and suggested those who voted against it should be punished, declaring on Sunday's This Week:
“I just think that when you're in a situation like this, to do nothing is so irresponsible that you can't, you can't get away with it.”
Earlier on the show, host George Stephanopoulos pressed Congresswoman Maxine Waters to agree banks must be nationalized:
“A lot of economists now saying that what is really -- could be needed is bite the bullet nationalization.”
When the far-left House member resisted -- “I don't think that we're ready to move to the point of a formalized, nationalized banking program yet” -- Stephanopoulos pleaded:
“Even if it's the only thing that would work?” [??]
[what bias?]
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[Meanwhile, in the real world...
75% Oppose Nationalization of U.S. Banks
All sorts of big government solutions are being proposed to combat the country’s economic troubles, but Americans are clear on one thing: 75% say the federal government should not take over the U.S. banking system.
Only nine percent (9%) think nationalization of America’s banks is a good idea, and 16% are undecided in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Investors are even more emphatic. Seventy-eight percent (78%) oppose government control of the banks, compared to 71% of non-investors.READ MORE
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About that 'mandate'...
Had a subscriber comment on one of my 'disappointment' postings re: how our new President and congress just passed the spendulus bill which parroted a mantra I heard several times over the weekend re: the mandate implied in Obama's having been elected.
To date myself, I can remember clearly the media repeatedly opining after Reagan's election in 1980 that his 'single digit' margin of victory over Carter of 9.7% most certainly didn't constitute a mandate.
Nor do I recall claims of 'mandate' when Bush-41 defeated Dukakis with an m.o.v. of 7.8% in 1988. (BTW: Clinton defeated Bush-41 in '92 by 5.3%)
Yet here we are, consistently hearing of 'mandate' for President Obama who won with a m.o.v. of 7.2% (52.9% vs. 45.7% for McCain/Palin).
Double standard? Media bias? Surely not.
BTW2: If you're wondering what constitutes a legitimate 'mandate', might I nominate Reagan's re-election in '84 - after four years on the job and having successfully resuscitated an economy in worse shape than is ours now - in 2.5 years - with economic policies since dubbed "spectacularly successful" {and exactly opposite of what's being done now} -
His m.o.v. was 18.2% :
Red denotes states won by Reagan/Bush,
Blue denotes those won by Mondale/Ferraro.
Blue denotes those won by Mondale/Ferraro.
And if you didn't catch it last Friday, please consider reading REAGANOMICS VS. OBAMANOMICS to see why those of us who believe that we're on the wrong track point to history as evidence.
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Caution: Zombie Economy Ahead
"Zombie banks" was the term for Japanese financial institutions propped up by government in the 1990s despite their basic insolvency after a real-estate bubble. These unprofitable banks, in a financial revenge of the living dead, cast a decade-long pall over Japan.
At the time, American officials like Pres. Barack Obama's economic guru Larry Summers urged the Japanese to give up on failed institutions. Instead, Japan pumped 12 percent of its gross domestic product into saving the banks and got a "lost decade" of economic stagnation in return. Economic analysts across the board agree that the Japanese example must not be repeated, even as our lawmakers stumble into repeating it. [snip]
The awful truth is that the financial system has at least another $1 trillion hole in it. Either the U.S. government has to continue to try to patch it over with massive--and perhaps ever-escalating--injections of money à lá the Japanese in the 1990s, or it has to take the painful, risky step of letting some of the big, irreparably wounded financial players go down.
As it stands now, the U.S. government is keeping alive banks that would otherwise go bust at the same time it is hectoring them about lending more money--in other words, Japan redux. During the stimulus debate, Obama often cited Japan's cautionary example. But Japan tried a big stimulus, too, even as it left in place its zombie banks. Will Obama heed his own admonitions?
[Given history Obama's policies don't seem sane when speaking of resuscitating an economy. Now if the goal were to expand the size and power of government control...
Highly Recommended > ]
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History's Cesspool of Bad Ideas: Socialism and Corporate Social Responsibility
From what I can tell from news reports about the contents of the final bill, it is clear that what really got stimulated over the past several weeks were the bowels of the Democratic Party. Seems like every cockamamie socialist program that didn’t see the light of day during the past eight years has suddenly been disgorged into this massive trillion-dollar legislative receptacle. I suggest that we call this monumental monstrosity the Ex-Lax Act of 2009.
So, is there a silver lining in this piece of congressional crapola? Yes there is. American voters will now get a whiff of big government socialism and I believe that those who actually pay taxes, and invest their savings, may once again appreciate the attributes inherent in the system envisioned by our founding fathers—limited government, private property, personal freedom and open markets.
When the pendulum finally swings back toward the economic and political values that made this nation great, I hope that Americans will recognize the absolute truth in Winston Churchill’s observation that,“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
If that alone is the silver lining in the dark cloud we face today, then our current suffering will have been worth the reward. If we fail as a people to experience this epiphany, then it will take more than some messianic spin-doctor to save our national soul.
[The problem with this silver-lining plan is that once the Democrats establish a 'permanent majority' {as California has done}, as I believe their actions prove {census control, 'Fairness' Doctrine, Acorn funding et al} is their intent, their grip on power will be final. Consider: with the passage of this bill Americans who pay federal income taxes have now become the minority - less than half. What do we expect such an 'electorate' to say when next it's proposed to cut government programs from which they receive but don't pay into?]
[Highly Recommended > ]
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Film world has capitalism and crisis in its sights
Communism and terrorism have long vied for the title of cinema's favorite bad guy. Now, it seems, capitalism looks set to challenge them, with globalization as its evil sidekick.
At least 11 dramas and documentaries at this year's Berlin film festival cast a mostly critical eye on the world of banking and big business. Economic migration is portrayed less as an opportunity to make dreams come true and more as a necessary evil requiring people to take huge risks only to end up in a kind of modern-day slavery away from their families. [snip]
Critics believe that by tackling the economic crisis, directors are continuing the kind of political cinema popular toward the end of George W. Bush's presidency, when movies tackled issues ranging from the Iraq war to health care."I'd say cinema was already fairly political, I think particularly starting with the late Bush years,"
said Jay Weissberg of trade publication Variety.
The German film maker, like others in Berlin, was aware of the 'irony' that his movie was made with money from a financing powerhouse...
[Evidently the 'evils' of capitalism {wealth & profit} are ok when put to acceptable ends. Typical. Let's remember we're being spoon fed the political beliefs of those who's entire existence has revolved around fantasy...]
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