41 Comments

1. Larry J:

You want to stimulate the economy? Quit doing stupid things that drive up the cost of employees and thus make job creation harder. For example, this morning, the news was discussing plans to not only tax existing health care plans but to tax businesses that can’t afford to offer health insurance to their employees. Both of these ideas drive up the cost of labor during a recession (as does raising the minimum wage). Supply and demand works for labor, too. Drive up the cost of labor and the demand for it drops.

Crony “stimulus” spending is buying votes but not creating many jobs. Today, they’re reporting that “stimulus” spending is far higher per capita to those counties that voted for Obama last November than to those that went for McCain. “Stimulus” spending is even worse when it comes from borrowed money. You can’t borrow your want to prosperity.

There is a proven method to stimulate the economy and that is to lower tax rates.

Jul 9, 2009 - 12:28 pm 2. David Thomson:

“Not that Obama seemed to have had a real plan in the first place – not one any of us could discern anyway.”

I have no problem whatsoever understanding the economic thinking of Barack Obama. He is existentially committed to the concept that the American economy must be brought to its knees so that it can be rebuilt into a utopian place of pure wonderfulness. By the way, I suspect that Obama is not consciously aware of his real objective. Never forget that he is also a graduate of Harvard University. This is of utmost importance. Obama takes it for granted that Ivy League elites will always find a way to make it work out fine at the end. They merely need to grab as much power as possible—to save the unwashed masses from themselves. An actual plan is not really required. The elites can wing it.

Jul 9, 2009 - 1:06 pm 3. Larry J:

Obama is following the same economic policies that made Zimbabwae the economic powerhouse it is today: massive government regulation, massive spending, borrow and print money like there’s no tomorrow, and mix in massive corruption to pay off your political cronies. What could possibly go wrong?

Jul 9, 2009 - 1:27 pm 4. EdSki:

I agree with the above posts. The President has been working his dedicated plan since day one in office.

He doesn’t appear to have the slightest concept of modern economics, and views wealth, not as something that can be grown to help lift others out of poverty, but as a zero sum game. That means the solution is to re-slice the economic pie so that those who’ve been historically hurt by evil “wealthy” people stealing the fair share of others, get what they deserve.

If I could make one recommendation to the President, that would be to take this supposed superior intellect and direct it to read Dr. Thomas Sowell’s excellent book “Basic Economics: A Citizen’s Guide to the Economy.”

Fantastic book, explaining many of the terms tossed around by those in power who have no idea what economics are, and why they are devastatingly wrong. I could barely put it down.

Jul 9, 2009 - 1:41 pm 5. Silhouette:

It’s so cute when liberals find out they’re “the rich.”

Jul 9, 2009 - 1:51 pm 6. Roderick Reilly:

“”"”"”"what’s your plan? Well, I don’t have one.”"”"”"

And why should you? You’re a private citizen. Same here.

Having said that, though, I can offer the most basic philosophy to underpin a plan: The government should buy only what it can afford. You know, like regular folks. As a country, we can afford $2.5 trillion/year’s worth of federal government — roughly the amount we spent in the Clinton years, when we sorta, kinda, maybe balanced the budget. As I recall, $2.5 trillion bought a whole lot of government, including a whole bunch of money for the states to supplement their budgets.

The $2.5 trillion is the amount we are able to raise in revenue with current tax, tariff and fees laws. That should be our benchmark.

Please stop laughing . . . you’re hurting my feelings.

Jul 9, 2009 - 2:32 pm 7. Victor Erimita:

I might be cheered by this if I thought Obama really cared about what people think of him. Sure, he seems like a grandiose narcissist, but I think that is not at the top of his agenda. Is he driven by fundamenalist leftist convictions. Yes, but his idea of “fixing” the country really is “fundamental change.” He didn’t grow up in America, to speak of. He doesn’t know Aemrica. he knows the International Left’s caricature of America. therefore he truly believes America must be funadamentally changed, because it is fundamentally—not flawed, but bad, evil even, maybe. He hates the America of his imagination. He really thinks, like all contemporary leftists, that America really is the cause of most of the world’s problems. It’s racist, and its capitalism is malignant, not mostly benign. America is an embodiment of a list of grievances.

So, his idea of “transformation,’ of “change,” is to destroy what is left of every American institution, from capitalism, to freedom of speech for his opposition, all of it. He thinks this is doing good, because he is killing the source of the world’s problems.

Jul 9, 2009 - 2:39 pm 8. David Thomson:

We also don’t need “plans.” The American people merely need the freedom to invest and spend as they so desire. The so-called Stimulus Package has actually caused far more harm than good. We don’t require elites to decide what’s best for the common folk. These arrogant and egotistical folks folks should essentially shut up and stay out of the way.

The economic doctrines of Milton Friedman, Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich Hayek were not found intellectually wanting by the elites. No, they rejected them because Keynesianism provides them with enormous power—and sometimes even great wealth. Tax breaks and the controlling of government spending are of little use to those who want to run everything.

Jul 9, 2009 - 2:57 pm 9. Andrew X:

From the first eight comments –

“There is a proven method to stimulate the economy and that is to lower tax rates.”

“read Dr. Thomas Sowell’s excellent book ‘Basic Economics: A Citizen’s Guide to the Economy’.”

“The government should buy only what it can afford.”

“The American people merely need the freedom to invest and spend as they so desire.”

Now…. you people DO realize that it is BARACK OBAMA that is running the government, right?

Just a friendly reminder.

Jul 9, 2009 - 4:30 pm 10. Andrew X:

BTW, if you haven’t watched that John Stewart clip above, do so. By the numbers of course, it has to have one gratuitous swipe at George Bush (who?), but his target is definitely Obama, and, in some weird way, you can hear the ice cracking as you watch it.

I’m reminded of LBJ saying “if I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost America.” That John Stewart would hold Cronkite’s role today (i.e. “the most trusted man in America”) is perfectly in tune with virtually everything we have all been lamenting forever it seems, but it is probably the case.

And if Alpha Dog Stewart decides to start going after him, that’s the cue to rest of lemmings (cultural if not necessarily journalists) then, isn’t it?

The One is not happy with this. Wonder if any calls were made to Comedy Central or Viacom. Wouldn’t surprise me.

Jul 9, 2009 - 4:42 pm 11. Barry Dauphin:

what’s your plan?

Cut taxes. Cut Federal spending. Wait.

Jul 9, 2009 - 5:04 pm 12. Crusader:

Stimulus = vote buying plan for 2012.

Jul 9, 2009 - 5:36 pm 13. Andrew X:

Barry -

That’s way too confusing for the Ivy League.

Jul 9, 2009 - 6:16 pm 14. Steve:

John Stewart’s sneer is too tepid. He should title his bit “It’s the economy stupid.”

Jul 9, 2009 - 6:34 pm 15. Barry Dauphin:

Although Stewart mocked the Urdu poetry claim, he actually believed it. Does Obama really read Urdu poetry or has he been hanging around Biden too much?

Jul 9, 2009 - 7:09 pm 16. Barry Dauphin:

The hopes (and expectations) for this administration have been sky high among most of its supporters. The fall from grace might become a crash. Independents are moving away from Obama already. What exactly will lure them back? Nothing on the horizon.

Jul 9, 2009 - 7:59 pm 17. Who IS John Galt?:

Since all wealth has to be produced, the only true “economic stimulus” is freedom — the freedom to engage in production (or trade one’s labor for a wage offered by someone else who is engaged in production). Thus, the way to “stimulate” the economy is to begin repealing the vast array of government regulations, laws, controls, interventions, taxes, etc. that currently impede, obstruct and punish those that have the brains to produce.

But fundamentally Obama is a looter — and like all looters, he doesn’t care how the goods got here or who produced them or what is required to produce more — he only cares about seizing the goods and redistributing them to his political allies and cronies.

And while he is looting the American taxpayers on an unprecedented scale, he is pushing for additional legislation that will make production even harder and increase the punishment already meted out to our most productive, most creative and most entrepreneurial citizens.

Whether or not the American people will wake up in time to understand what this Looter-in-Chief is doing to our nation — and to run him and his fellow power-lusting looters in Congress out of office in disgrace — remains to be seen.

Jul 10, 2009 - 5:37 am 18. Class Clown:

The problem with wealth redistribution is that you can only do it once. After that, there is nothing left to redistribute.

Jul 10, 2009 - 6:26 am 19. J. Rockford:

Obama doesn’t have a plan, and doesn’t need a plan. He’s done; he made it. He got the golden ring. He’s a world celebrity, ala Michael Jackson or Michael Jordon. He lives in the White House with all its servants, catering to his every need. Short commute. He has his own personal 747 jet, with another as backup. Helos over to his personal resort at Camp David with its 70 full time servants on weekends. His kids go to an elite private school. His wife carries $6,000 purses and wears $500 tennis shoes. He can go anywhere in the world, and expense it. When he’s done in eight years, he’ll become superrich giving speeches and selling a book written by a ghostwriter. Why would he waste time learning economics? It would interfere with his lavish lifestyle.

Jul 10, 2009 - 6:53 am 20. Increase Mather:

OT: Go over to Drudge and check out Barry checking out the behind of a 16 year old girl (at least it is a girl).

ABC has already put out the story explaining away your lying eyes.

Is there nothing the media will not do for The One?

Jul 10, 2009 - 7:17 am 21. Harry:

Victor Ermita,

The communist strategy is to destroy or coopt every institution between the individual and the state. That’s why he attacks charitable deduction, for one instance, to defund the churches or other source of charity and use those funds to make people dependent on the government. They will continue the assault on the family as well, interfering with how parents raise their children.

Jul 10, 2009 - 7:17 am 22. Войска ПВО:

Whether The Boy King is a “one-term wonder” or David Thompson’s assertions that he will not finish out his initial term (from David’s keyboard to God’s CRT), it will be wonderful to read the pathetic, clueless liberal scum trying to rehabilitate Obumble in the future like they still try to do with the hapless, misguided Carter.

It will be aces to read the posts of the then-pock-marked-faced sheesh (still dwelling in his mom’s basement) as he trots out his banal, trivial un-spin.

Jul 10, 2009 - 7:18 am 23. Gary Ogletree:

The plan is to milk lenders and run the greenback printers until the system cracks. Then the plan is default on US debt. Start all over. Tobacco seeds will become the new money.

Jul 10, 2009 - 7:30 am 24. Strawman:

Everything felt and feels ad hoc, policies swerving almost daily just as they did under Roosevelt in the Thirties – and we all know how that went.

Yeah. Four terms. And if he hadn’t died in office, it might have been five or six.

I said this last summer. He’s not trying to emulate JFK, he’s trying to emulate FDR, disastrous economics and all. This economic mess is a feature, not a bug.

Jul 10, 2009 - 9:07 am 25. Pops in Vienna:

Well Roger, like you said, they are lemmings. I doubt if dropping over a steep financial cliff is going to stop them from singing the Messiah’s praises.

This article from Bloomberg confirms that the end is near

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aKLGZEc7qoqA

Pops

Jul 10, 2009 - 9:46 am 26. WestWright:

The vast Productive Middle class is in various stages of Going Galt, note the State/Fed tax revenues as well as retail and total driving milage. This economy will not recover until BO and his minions are driven out and this may be sooner than we think. The fall in BO’s poll #’s are very telling and I think that the cliff is up ahead. The July Unemployment #s are very important and will be 10%+ on record and 20%+ total and BO’s poll #s will go to -15 or -20 soon thereafter!
Looks like no soup for the Obama!

Jul 10, 2009 - 10:10 am 27. Ruebacca:

Only a Democratic voter could be told spending 3 trillion dollars is needed to save money.

Jul 10, 2009 - 11:46 am 28. Marc Malone:

The economy won’t recover until they quit messing with the rules. No businessman can make plans until he knows the rules of the game. Once the rules are determined, be they however bad, the game can go forward.

As for O leaving office, ain’t gonna happen. No, we’ll see him saved by the 2010 election, just like Clinton was saved by the ‘94 midterms. Pubs will again control the House and the economy will begin to recover. Obama will then get credit for the recovery, like Clinton got credit for the boom of the 90’s caused by Gingrich.

The only bright spot is that there are 36 Governor races in 2010! The Dem blood will flow. We’re talking Constitutional Convention numbers, folks!

Jul 10, 2009 - 12:52 pm 29. JKB:

The plan is to get Pelosi-Obama-Reid to stop helping. They’re killing us. Really they need to get fiscal. Positive signs of the ending of their meddling and the market will come out of the bunker.

Of course, right now it requires some convincing of them to stop. So we may be in for a hard year. But next year, we can start making some changes. Yes, we’ll still have Obama around maybe he’ll get religion. He’s never struck me as being able to go it alone.

Jul 10, 2009 - 1:05 pm 30. EdSki:

For a great explanation of just how government steals from us by printing money, I recommend ‘The Mystery of Banking’ by Murray Rothbard. It was recommended by a libertarian, and while it does have more graphs and formulas than I like, its still pretty readable.

The inherent value of commodities and services don’t really change that much, regardless of actual prices. For example, the cost of a six pack is roughly equivalent to the cost of two loaves of bread. So if the six pack costs $5, the bread costs $2.50, if a six pack costs $50, a loaf would be around $25.00.

When government prints tons of money, and it works its way into the economy, it forces a rise in prices and a corresponding rise in salary, so over the long run, it really doesn’t cause a lot of problems, because value of goods is relatively stable to other goods.

How ever, when the government printing press starts on fast forward, the price of beer is still $5 a six pack. They make a killing in the process of spending non-backed money by spending it first. By the time we get around to spending the extra capital, the prices have risen, so we get to pay $50 for it.

(Numbers are purely an example.)

Jul 10, 2009 - 1:09 pm 31. Strawman:

From Megan McArdle:

http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/07/so_what_about_that_surtax.php

Obama is going to have to push much farther down the income ladder to pay for it all, taking money out of the pockets of ordinary folks–people who thought that by electing a Democrat, they were going to get relief, not more bills. He may end up far enough down the income ladder to scoop money out of the pockets of the journalists and wonks who have been enthusiastically pushing his plans.

D’oh!

Jul 10, 2009 - 4:05 pm 32. merdad javadi:

I must coagulate all those that voted for the Bamster. So far, President Obama has been a successful failure. Two lost wars- Iraq is in edge of collapse, and Afghanistan no telling. He is doing exactly what he did in his first term in 1976. Hopefully, American people will wake up in 2010 and vote out the tax and spend Dems. We are broke and no longer can afford his waste. Over 1.6 million jobs has lost since he signed the 750 billion dollars stimulate plan. $$ is losing its value, gas price is high. Where is the left wing media showing those fellow citizens that are a step away from being homeless? Can you imagine what the CNN, ABC, and NBC would have done to Bush presidency with the terrible daily economic news. Shame on CNN, ABC, MSNBC and NBC.

Jul 10, 2009 - 5:54 pm 33. merdad javadi:

Anyone know when journalism died in USA?

Jul 10, 2009 - 5:57 pm 34. AtheistConservative:

As cheering as it is to see some backlash start, you have to always take it with a grain of salt.

Take for example the Jon Stewart clip. Not only did he spend a big chunk of it ridiculing “the other guy”, for no reason than to get a cheap laugh … he then had to – HAD TO – marvel at Obama’s supposed intellect and worldliness.

Here’s the thing: BS. BS on Obama casually reading Urdu poetry. Oh he might have glanced at a poem or two so he could back up his claim if called, but nonsense. He doesn’t read Urdu. He isn’t a gourmet chef. He’s a narcissist. He truly believes he knows everything. And he spins so many convenient lies people buy without question that he can’t even remember when he actually met his wife.

Obama is our Cliff Clavin president. “Errraaahh, it’s a little known fact …”

Jul 10, 2009 - 6:56 pm 35. HSR0601:

In regard to the stimulus investment, my understanding is as follows:

1. The current surging fuel cost (World oil prices doubled during the last 6 months) is overwhelming the market rally.
And the pending clean energy bill might serve as a second stimulus package world-wide boosting private investments.

2. People are so worried about losing their job, coverage, denial of treatment, which seems to increase bank deposit latetly. That means stimulus funding mainly goes toward bank deposit for a rainy day increasing jobless rate. It proves again that a healthy society yields better productivity, prosperity.
It is time to ‘Change’ the notion of the public health as a fundamental human right and install ‘a safety system for all’ like all of the other industrialized nations, I think.

3. The stimulus funding begins to mobilize just 11%, meanwhile, the auto industry has undergone its restructuring with the massive job-related impact.

4. The pandemic swine flu has been hurting the global economy seriously.

Thank You !

Jul 10, 2009 - 10:11 pm 36. stuart Williamson:

The Supreme Czar of All Czars has never had a plan. He thinks he “leads” by responding to whatever Axelrod and his henchmen tell him to do. The fatal flaw in the socialist take-over of the Democrats is that they have no plan beyond “tear down the capitalist system”. They pass legislation as quickly as possible that follows the European, or even the banana republic communist, precedent. Allow no time for study. Stifle all debate. Pile up Czars on top of Specialists, on top of Advisors, on top of Cabinet Members, just as long as they are servile. All, of course,reporting directly to the revered, brilliantly intelligent, Supreme Czar of Czars.

There are no Alinsky Rules for Running an administration. The Axelrod cadre did not include any skilled managers or executives. It just handed supporters a title. What even the press starting to note, aside from recognition of the suicidal expenditures, is the evidence of internal chaos, conflict of authority, riding off rapidly in all directions, confusion of an out of control, planless egomania. The rats will soon be jumping ship as panic sets in.

I believe the GOP has he elements of a plan in the minds of a few reliable thinkers. Unfortunately the RNC is a hopeless, sclerotic, mess of witless, classless, swampy-bottomed elitists. They are as mistrusted as the Democrats, and rightly so. Anyone who would turn to Carl Rove for strategic counsel, the genius who kept Geo. W. from having regular, frequent “fireside chats” and press appearances after 9/11, who let hit him fly over Katrina, peering compassionately out the window on his way to a dinner in DC, instead of putting his feet on the ground in New Orleans, deserves to lose – again. Any GOP that thinksit can gain ground in ‘010 by nuanced persuasion on “issues” is terminally self-delusional.

The movement exemplified by the Tea Parties is not simply anti-Obama, anti-socialist; it is anti-same-old GOP/RNC politicians.

Put your money on Palin. She’ll have a simple plan and lead the Exceptionalists to a balance of power that will force the dead-asses out of the Republican party next year.

Jul 11, 2009 - 1:16 am 37. Frank Logan:

Right on Stuart Williamson. To add: The RNC is no better than the DNC. They’re both full of power seekers, who put self interest before country. They all hate Palin, because she’s just the opposite. The Tea Party Movement is awaiting a leader, a national voice, who espouses their values of individual freedom, limited govt., reduced taxes, energy independence, and individual responsibility. Sound familiar?

Jul 11, 2009 - 8:30 am 38. Reaganite Republican:

Obama’s “stimulus” is a train-wreck- these jobs figures are far worse than the ones the White House warned us about if we DIDN’T pass the bill- so it was passed, and then unemployment soars anyway?

Instead of creating jobs, interest rates were bumped up, the dollar slid… and it didn’t help anybody get any work. Much of this is due to the fact that Obama’s agenda has mortified almost every machine of job-and-growth creation in the country.

The One couldn’t deliver the type of “temporary, targeted, and timely” bill that he promised repeatedly, and regardless of his image in the press, Obama simply lacks the the political stature to control Pelosi and Reid… who hit the trough hard, while bickering like siblings.

And the lack of GOP co-conspirators exposed Obama politically… this legislation now looks to be a HUGE gamble. And when all this pork-n-welfare fails to generate any real economic gains, the Democrats will face a bloodbath in 2010.

Jul 11, 2009 - 9:54 am 39. Andrew_M_Garland:

What Caused Unemployment in the Great Depression?
By economist Thomas Sowell:

The rise in unemployment after the crash of 1929 was a blip compared to soaring unemployment reached after a series of unprecedented government interventions by Hoover and Roosevelt. From February 1932 to December 1934 (almost 3 years), the unemployment rate was at least 20%, and was 19.3% in January 1935.

The evidence suggests that it was not the financial crisis in 1929 that caused massive unemployment, but politicians’ attempted “solutions”. Are we repeating that history now?

And, what is causing it now (CNBC):

Small business owners are standing by the fence and watching, paralyzed by regulatory uncertainty. They aren’t hiring precisely because of government intervention in the economy. So-called stimulus won’t change that.

Jul 11, 2009 - 5:15 pm 40. John Samford:

Socialists don’t understand Owners Equity. They believe in “surplus profit” (yes, those are sneer quotes) which has to be the silliest concept to ever come down the pike.
Profit is profit. It is the reason why people INVEST their money. It is the reason why workers have jobs.
If those workers are not creating a profit, nothing works. Government workers create NO PROFITS. There is where the economic expression ‘Workers pretend to work, the state pretends to pay them’ comes from.
So every person that the Usurper’s programs has pretending to work is one more person that isn’t creating a profit for an employer. That profit isn’t getting taxed, it isn’t doing research for new products, it isn’t creating more jobs. So this administration is printing money to cover the shortage. That leads to inflation, Hyper-inflation if it goes on long enough. That is someplace we don’t want to go.
Simple solution, albeit a Mencken one. A payroll tax holiday and limit the Federal bureaucracy to one regulation per industry per agency. If this had been done in February, the Depression would be almost over now. Most people will pay bills with the extra money. Then they will create bills ( buy stuff) now that their old ones are reasonable and they feel they can handle new bills. So about 4 to 6 months before business start having to think about ramping up to supply the increased demand. Now things are bad enough so that it will take a yera or more to work. The Usurpers plan will never work. I can say that with confidence, since stopping a depression by printing money has NEVER worked. It’s been tried many times, since Socialists don’t understand Owners Equity and it’s place in creating wealth.
Socialists think printing money IS creating wealth. They don’t conceptualize well enough to get past the symbol to the reality.

Jul 12, 2009 - 11:24 pm 41. labar:

I took over the construction of a home in the Hollywood hills this past January for my boss/friend (who took a major hit in the stock market) on the agreement that he would pay all the other workers each week and I’d get paid after he secured a loan from the bank, which he thought would be in a couple of months.

Well, to this date he’s been unable to get a loan even though he’s got other real estate property to use as collateral.

The property which the house being built on is worth 3/4 of a mil by itself, yet the banks won’t lend on it until the house has (at a minimum) an occupancy permit.

He’s been funding the construction with proceeds from a small restaurant and an Architectural salvage business that he’s owned for the past 4 years.

But since business at both of those have slowed down he has now reached the point where he can’t guarantee the construction crew that he can pay them in full each week so whether any of them (besides me) show up for work tomorrow remains to be seen.

And yes, he’s a self described die-hard liberal who voted for Obama, (I didn’t) and gets his news from CNN and the LATimes, so of course he blames Bush for the banks not lending him money.

He won’t even watch the video of the senate hearings regarding Fanny and Freddy, (where the regulator was getting hammered by the dems for having the nerve to suggest that there was a problem with either of them).

Recently though, he has stated that he’s not sure Obama knows what he’s doing on the economy!

Regardless, there are another 15 small business employees out of work in Los Angeles today.

Jul 12, 2009 - 11:37 pm

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