Shadow Boxing

Yesterday President Obama told us that growing the economy and creating jobs are his top two priorities.  "That's our urgent mission," said Obama, "That's what I'm fighting for every single day."  Great!  Swell.  So who's he fighting against?  Who's not in favor of growing the economy and creating millions of jobs?  He has blamed the Japanese tsunami, the Arab Spring, Greece, the debt ceiling fiasco, and now Hurricane Irene for creating "headwinds", bad karma in general really, for his weak economy and joblessness.  Has he identified a particular person or group that is working behind the scenes to destroy all that he images.  Republicans perhaps?  The Tea Party?

What the president supposedly fights against on a daily basis, when he's not golfing, raising campaign cash, or lounging with other millionaires and billionaires on Martha's Vineyard, are his own reckless policies.  Runaway spending, exploding debt, unrestrained entitlements, the constant threat of tax increases, and the ceaseless writing of new job killing regulations, are all hallmarks of his administration.  Singularly, each one of these can be a catalyst for economic doom.  In combination, they've combined to make a toxic elixir that has left or economy in tatters and is the true enemy of growth, economic solvency and shared prosperity.  Enough with the BS Mr. President.  The enemy you fight is yourself and your  stupid policies.  

The Only Thing You Need To Remember About School Reform

In a school building in Harlem in New York City, two schools share the same building.  Both schools draw from the same community and population of students.  PS 149 is a traditional unionized public school.  The other, Harlem Success Academy, is a non-union public charter school.  PS 149 spends $1,000 more per student, yet their students are only 29% proficient in English and only 34% in math.  Meanwhile at Harlem Success Academy, the students are 86% proficient in English and 94% in math.  The next time you hear the teacher's union bark about the need for more money, or more teachers, or more of anything, just remember PS 149 and the Harlem Success Academy.  

It's Our Fault

Lately, President Obama has blamed practically everything and everyone (but himself) for our lackluster economy even though he's been in charge for almost three years.  This week we were told "Over the last six months we've had a string of bad luck."  Bad luck, huh?  Was it bad luck that spent a trillion dollars on a "stimulus" that stimulated nothing but bigger debt?  Did someone in his administration walk under a ladder or break a window that led to the passage of Obamacare?  Did a black cat cross the path of Obama's dog Bo which in turn caused the first credit downgrade in America's history?  We all know the answer to these questions.  And we all know when we are being taken for a ride.  The truth of the matter is that America cannot recover while this man is in office, and for that we have only ourselves to blame, particularly those who voted for him in the first place.  Let's not repeat the mistakes of the past even though we have a president and a Democrat party who are determined to do so themselves.  Let's not get bogged down in their malaise, but instead try and rise above it, at least, and until we get the kind of real leadership necessary for growth and a return to prosperity.