Obviously a majority of Americans live ideologically, rhetorically, and economically between, as Rush Limbaugh calls them, "environmentalist whackos", those primarily made up of Hollywood and liberal elites rich enough to eschew the griminess of carbon based energy, and those whose lifestyle is supported primarily by the government. Yet oddly, if not deliberately, President Obama has chosen to side with both of those extremes in almost every decision he makes. Thursday's edition of the Wall Street Journal had three successive editorials which demonstrate such pandering: The Anti-Jobs President, Heavy Metal Politics, and Food Stamp Nation.
In all three of these articles, there can be no more defense or rationalization from Obama or his supporters that he is at all concerned with remedying our nation's high unemployment levels. Anyone who says otherwise is full of sh**. The President's actions with regard to the Keystone XL Pipeline have always been evasive and disingenuous but his latest denunciation exposes him, with no cover mind you, as a complete fraud. Permitting for the project began in 2008, with subsequent sign-offs from Obama's own Interior and State departments. Study after study concluded that "no significant (negative) impacts" to the environment would be effected by the project. Not just once, but twice. Additionally, the President's own Jobs Council, earlier this week, announced their advice that Obama support "policies that facilitate the safe, thoughtful and timely development of pipeline, transmission and distribution projects", and not to do so "would stall the engine that could become a prime driver of U.S. jobs and growth in the decades ahead." He treated that advice as well, like he treated the advice from his Bowles/Simpson debt commission, in essence saying shove it.
Environmentalists won another round over economic and domestic energy interests when last week Obama's Interior Secretary Ken Salazar banned new uranium mining on a million acres in northern Arizona. Millions of pounds of high grade uranium could have produced enough electrical power to light Los Angeles for 154 years. Once again Obama administration officials from the Bureau of Land Management found after their reviews that additional mining would have "no direct impact" on protected wilderness areas or drinking water from the Colorado River. The decision will cost area residents, already suffering from 17% unemployment, $160 million in annual economic output.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a record 44.7 million people receive food stamps. When Newt Gingrich says that Obama has added more people to the program than any other President in history, it's a fact. Since 2009 11.2 million more people have joined the rolls, including an additional 4.4 million just last year. What started out as a supplemental program for the truly needy has over the years become one more entitlement for millions of Americans.
In the 1983 report A Nation at Risk, a seminal study of our nation's poorly performing K12 education system, the authors proclaimed, "If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war." Given the atrocious and destructive decisions made daily by this president and his administration, it's increasingly hard for me to distinguish the difference.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, December 16, 2011
Motorless City
According to an article I read today in the Wall Street Journal, an estimated 62% of Detroit residents do not own a car. With one in three living in poverty I suppose that's somewhat understandable. However, given that the automobile, for the most part, built Detroit, it's still an astounding number. Sad. Sadder still is the fact that those who remain in Detroit remain wed and deliriously entrenched to the destructive social and economic policies that drove them under in the first place.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
I Wish I'd Said It
The following is reprinted from today's Wall Street Journals' Notable & Quotable. From blogger and law professor Glenn Reynolds writing in the Washington Examiner, Dec.3:
The reason why a bachelor's degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence and capability it that the government decided that as many people as possible should have bachelor's degrees.
There's something of a pattern here. The government decides to try to increase the middle class by subsidizing things that the middle class people have. If middle class people go to college and own homes, then surely if more people go to college and own homes, we'll have more middle class people.
But homeownership and college aren't causes of middle-class status, they're markers for possessing the kinds of traits -- self-discipline, the ability to deter gratification, etc. - that let you enter, and stay in, the middle class.
Subsidizing the markers doesn't produce the traits; if anything, it undermines them. One might as well try to promote basketball skills by distributing expensive sneakers.
The reason why a bachelor's degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence and capability it that the government decided that as many people as possible should have bachelor's degrees.
There's something of a pattern here. The government decides to try to increase the middle class by subsidizing things that the middle class people have. If middle class people go to college and own homes, then surely if more people go to college and own homes, we'll have more middle class people.
But homeownership and college aren't causes of middle-class status, they're markers for possessing the kinds of traits -- self-discipline, the ability to deter gratification, etc. - that let you enter, and stay in, the middle class.
Subsidizing the markers doesn't produce the traits; if anything, it undermines them. One might as well try to promote basketball skills by distributing expensive sneakers.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Obama's Other Revenue Problem
Barack Obama and the Democrats insist we have a revenue problem. They're confident that too few people pay too little in taxes, otherwise there'd be no reason to ever cut spending of any kind. Anyway, that's what they say. I agree that we have a revenue problem, it's just not that one. In 2008, before Barack Obama became President, our nation raised $9.5 billion in offshore oil leases. This year we sold only $36 million. That's a revenue problem. So, not only does President Obama spend massive amounts of our tax dollars chasing his green energy dreams, he does so at the expense of very real income from the sale of oil and gas leases. This isn't just an ideological shift folks, this is malfeasance on a grand scale. This is brain-dead, job-killing economics we just can't afford. When people ask me if I think Obama will win reelection I tell them in no uncertain terms, "No, absolutely not." I tell them that I do not fear another Obama term. What I do fear however is that we may all lose everything we have before he's done.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
No Thanks for Giving
In Governor Mitch Daniel's new book, Keeping the Republic, he talks about how government expansion "shrinks" the citizenry by crowding them out of the production of goods and services that were once the purview and responsibility of the private sector. Job training, charity, automobile manufacturing, and college loans for example. Repeated often enough, the citizen learns to cower under threats of new pressures, and more often then not gives up without a fight. In the opinion section of today's Wall Street Journal, William McGurn sites a perfect example in Morristown, New Jersey.
For 26 years, the Morristown Community Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center has supplied a free Thanksgiving meal to anyone who needs it. Churches, community groups, restaurants, corporate sponsors, and scores of volunteers have all pitched in to make this a special day of giving. Until now. Recently, the Morristown Division of Health ruled that the Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center will be officially designated a "retail" food establishment and thereby fall under the auspices and rules of the State of New Jersey. What does this mean? It means that homemade pies, breads, meals, anything that isn't prepared according to state code will be prohibited from being served. Furthermore, the sterility of latex gloves will replace the warm comfort of Mom's apron, food service volunteers will be kept out of the kitchen, and anything that isn't sanitarily wrapped in corporate plastic will be verboten. Mind you, this offering has never had a history of food poisoning or any instance of uncleanliness. And the real kicker - estimates for compliance will cost an additional $150,000! Happy Holidays from your friendly bureaucrats down at city hall.
Getting back to Governor Daniel's message. Many in Morristown will just ask the volunteers to comply and pony up, but each dollar that goes to cover these new costs will be taken away from some other worthy area of need. For those whose only way to participate may have been to donate a home-cooked meal, well they'll just have to find another way to support their fellow human beings. And the government, they'll eventually take over responsibility for this endeavor because they really don't want us mortals doing the work for ourselves anyway. Or, the Morristown Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center and the scads of volunteers who help put on this annual event can just say no. No to overreaching government meddlers and do-gooders. No to compromising their own standards of humanity and compassion. No to bureaucratic edicts meted without reason or facts. No, no, no. No more.
For 26 years, the Morristown Community Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center has supplied a free Thanksgiving meal to anyone who needs it. Churches, community groups, restaurants, corporate sponsors, and scores of volunteers have all pitched in to make this a special day of giving. Until now. Recently, the Morristown Division of Health ruled that the Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center will be officially designated a "retail" food establishment and thereby fall under the auspices and rules of the State of New Jersey. What does this mean? It means that homemade pies, breads, meals, anything that isn't prepared according to state code will be prohibited from being served. Furthermore, the sterility of latex gloves will replace the warm comfort of Mom's apron, food service volunteers will be kept out of the kitchen, and anything that isn't sanitarily wrapped in corporate plastic will be verboten. Mind you, this offering has never had a history of food poisoning or any instance of uncleanliness. And the real kicker - estimates for compliance will cost an additional $150,000! Happy Holidays from your friendly bureaucrats down at city hall.
Getting back to Governor Daniel's message. Many in Morristown will just ask the volunteers to comply and pony up, but each dollar that goes to cover these new costs will be taken away from some other worthy area of need. For those whose only way to participate may have been to donate a home-cooked meal, well they'll just have to find another way to support their fellow human beings. And the government, they'll eventually take over responsibility for this endeavor because they really don't want us mortals doing the work for ourselves anyway. Or, the Morristown Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center and the scads of volunteers who help put on this annual event can just say no. No to overreaching government meddlers and do-gooders. No to compromising their own standards of humanity and compassion. No to bureaucratic edicts meted without reason or facts. No, no, no. No more.
Monday, November 14, 2011
People, Pride, Prosperity
I delivered these remarks last Monday night to kick-off my campaign for MI's 94th State House seat.
"Six years ago I ran for state representative on the platform of Jobs!, Jobs!, Jobs! Unfortunately, six years later, those three words are still our state’s number one priority. Although a Republican Governor and solid Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate will continue to reinvent Michigan, we cannot rest here in Saginaw County. We have been blessed with leaders like Roger Kahn, Ken Horn and Jim Stamas, able legislators who continue to ensure that our common values are defended and who support our shared belief in a limited but effective government. But this fight has not yet been won. Efforts to cut spending, eliminate waste, or to reign in government bureaucracy are fought daily in Saginaw, Lansing, and beyond. For the Saginaw Valley and Michigan to flourish, that fight must continue, unabated, without compromise, equivocation, or indecisiveness. We cannot fall back when bold action and strong leadership are still necessary and required. I have been a consistent voice against government expansion, higher taxes, and business as usual on the Board of Commissioners, but I also believe that those views may carry more weight in our state’s capitol. Therefore, I am announcing my campaign to serve you, the people of the 94th District, as your next state representative.
While too many of us remain unemployed, underemployed, or just plain unhappy with the status quo, we can all agree that we live in a special place. What makes Michigan and Saginaw County so special? People. Our people make our state and our community a place worth fighting for. Look about you. While our natural resources, abundant water, hearty forests, and fertile soil, led early explorers and immigrants to this peninsula, and still today drives agriculture, commerce and tourism, it’s our collection of hard working individuals, families, and institutions that make Michigan and Saginaw County a desirable place in which to work and raise a family. In pursuit of our own bit of liberty and happiness, we look for leaders who will work toward the preservation of personal freedom, responsibility and respect. We are troubled by the selfish efforts of politicians that pander to special interests, pit one side against another, or repeat worn-out habits that always, always, end in negative results.
Whether you are a farmer, physician, salesman, a teacher, administrator, carpenter or electrician. A storeowner, grocer, plumber, lawyer or laborer, a soccer mom, a devoted dad, an accountant or professor, you take pride in your work and feel better when others do to. You play by the rules and expect the same from those around you. You don’t ask for special favors, you don’t expect them, yet quietly, sometimes demonstrably, feel taken advantage when others do. You seek equal treatment for equal results. Year after year, precious resources for education, infrastructure, the things that will help to ensure our growth and long-term prosperity, are squeezed by increased federal mandates, or the maintenance and expansion of poorly performing programs pushed by politicians who succumb to fear and threats of reprisal.
Everyone talks about saving the middle-class but they often don’t see that every expansion of government, every dollar that goes into additional services, in reality, squeezes the middle by draining precious personal resources that otherwise would have been better directed at enriching their own lives and those around them. The people are better stewards of their own money, not government. In any case, government assistance too often results in the persistence of a problem, not its elimination.
I wish to represent you in Lansing, not to increase my own fortunes but to help increase yours - to ensure that your businesses, your livelihoods are kept free from government interference, free from burdensome job killing regulations, and free from the consequences of governments’ good intentions. I want to ensure that your support for government, both locally and in Lansing, is more wisely and judiciously spent - ensuring the very best, most efficient government possible, without waste, without excuses, and without continued assistance for those who no longer need or deserve it. In other words lets start making sense with our taxes, not friends, dependents, or allies.
Six years ago I touted myself as “Uniquely Prepared and Lansing Ready”. Let me tell you that hasn’t changed! I still am, only more so. I’m fired up, and I’m more than ready to go to work for you - as your next state representative!"
"Six years ago I ran for state representative on the platform of Jobs!, Jobs!, Jobs! Unfortunately, six years later, those three words are still our state’s number one priority. Although a Republican Governor and solid Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate will continue to reinvent Michigan, we cannot rest here in Saginaw County. We have been blessed with leaders like Roger Kahn, Ken Horn and Jim Stamas, able legislators who continue to ensure that our common values are defended and who support our shared belief in a limited but effective government. But this fight has not yet been won. Efforts to cut spending, eliminate waste, or to reign in government bureaucracy are fought daily in Saginaw, Lansing, and beyond. For the Saginaw Valley and Michigan to flourish, that fight must continue, unabated, without compromise, equivocation, or indecisiveness. We cannot fall back when bold action and strong leadership are still necessary and required. I have been a consistent voice against government expansion, higher taxes, and business as usual on the Board of Commissioners, but I also believe that those views may carry more weight in our state’s capitol. Therefore, I am announcing my campaign to serve you, the people of the 94th District, as your next state representative.
While too many of us remain unemployed, underemployed, or just plain unhappy with the status quo, we can all agree that we live in a special place. What makes Michigan and Saginaw County so special? People. Our people make our state and our community a place worth fighting for. Look about you. While our natural resources, abundant water, hearty forests, and fertile soil, led early explorers and immigrants to this peninsula, and still today drives agriculture, commerce and tourism, it’s our collection of hard working individuals, families, and institutions that make Michigan and Saginaw County a desirable place in which to work and raise a family. In pursuit of our own bit of liberty and happiness, we look for leaders who will work toward the preservation of personal freedom, responsibility and respect. We are troubled by the selfish efforts of politicians that pander to special interests, pit one side against another, or repeat worn-out habits that always, always, end in negative results.
Whether you are a farmer, physician, salesman, a teacher, administrator, carpenter or electrician. A storeowner, grocer, plumber, lawyer or laborer, a soccer mom, a devoted dad, an accountant or professor, you take pride in your work and feel better when others do to. You play by the rules and expect the same from those around you. You don’t ask for special favors, you don’t expect them, yet quietly, sometimes demonstrably, feel taken advantage when others do. You seek equal treatment for equal results. Year after year, precious resources for education, infrastructure, the things that will help to ensure our growth and long-term prosperity, are squeezed by increased federal mandates, or the maintenance and expansion of poorly performing programs pushed by politicians who succumb to fear and threats of reprisal.
Everyone talks about saving the middle-class but they often don’t see that every expansion of government, every dollar that goes into additional services, in reality, squeezes the middle by draining precious personal resources that otherwise would have been better directed at enriching their own lives and those around them. The people are better stewards of their own money, not government. In any case, government assistance too often results in the persistence of a problem, not its elimination.
I wish to represent you in Lansing, not to increase my own fortunes but to help increase yours - to ensure that your businesses, your livelihoods are kept free from government interference, free from burdensome job killing regulations, and free from the consequences of governments’ good intentions. I want to ensure that your support for government, both locally and in Lansing, is more wisely and judiciously spent - ensuring the very best, most efficient government possible, without waste, without excuses, and without continued assistance for those who no longer need or deserve it. In other words lets start making sense with our taxes, not friends, dependents, or allies.
Six years ago I touted myself as “Uniquely Prepared and Lansing Ready”. Let me tell you that hasn’t changed! I still am, only more so. I’m fired up, and I’m more than ready to go to work for you - as your next state representative!"
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe
Apparently our government runs a lottery every year that normally attempts to issue 50,000 green-cards to people seeking residency here. I say "normally" because this year the computer program that randomly selects the winners messed up. To make matters worse the U. S. State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, which runs the program through something called the Diversity Visa Program, didn't properly test the program before 22,000 would be citizens had already been notified. So 22,000 people who thought they were getting a chance to come to our shores may not have a chance after all. Additionally, the computer mistakenly picked the first list of winners from applications taken in just the first week of the program rather than over the course of the entire 30-day period. So to fix things, government officials have decided to rerun the computer lottery from a record 15 million applications.
Thus far the Obama Administration doesn't have a very good record in picking winners and losers. Witness Solyndra, the "shovel ready" stimulus, Cash for Clunkers, Recovery Summer, the Ground Zero mosque, and its close cousin, the attempt to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Manhattan. The Diversity Visa Program might just be another plan gone horribly awry. In any case, why question a computer program that randomly selected its first 22,000 winners from early applications. Does it really matter? It's still random, right? Good grief!
Thus far the Obama Administration doesn't have a very good record in picking winners and losers. Witness Solyndra, the "shovel ready" stimulus, Cash for Clunkers, Recovery Summer, the Ground Zero mosque, and its close cousin, the attempt to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Manhattan. The Diversity Visa Program might just be another plan gone horribly awry. In any case, why question a computer program that randomly selected its first 22,000 winners from early applications. Does it really matter? It's still random, right? Good grief!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Biased Numbers
During last night's Republican presidential debate on Bloomberg Television, a screen shot, right before a commercial, informed us that the national debt has increased $4 trillion under President Obama, but that it had gone up $5 trillion under President George W. Bush. I'm not about to defend W for starting what would become a decade of out-of-control spending, but a little math does shed some light on this factoid. It has taken Obama only a third of the time (34 months) to effectively achieve what Bush did in 96 months.
How Green Was His Valley
Right before our eyes, Obama's green jobs initiative has all but withered away, dried up in the harsh light of reality. Candidate Barack Hussein Obama promised he would invest $150 billion in solar, wind, geothermal, and other green technologies, that would create 5 million new jobs by the end of the decade. To date, about $90 billion has been frittered away to the likes of Solyndra, Evergreen Solar, and SpectraWatt, with little but red faces to show for it. Why? Economics.
According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the Energy Information Administration estimates that the cost of electricity generated by natural gas is $63.10 per megawatt hour. Conversely, electricity generated by wind costs $243.20 per megawatt hour. A whopping $311.80 for solar generated power. Get the picture? But Obama and his bureaucrats know better. They just dumped another $1.1 billion in new loan guarantees to green firms in Nevada and Arizona two weeks ago. What's more unbelievable is that between them, Tonopah Solar and Sempra Energy, the two companies that will share those loan guarantees, promise only 45 permanent jobs! Meanwhile, the Obama administration and leftist environmentalists continue to fight the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. This project promises 13,000 union jobs and 118,000 "spin-off" jobs at no cost to taxpayers.
Speaking of misguided policies and priorities, the U. S. Attorney for North Dakota has charged seven oil and gas companies in federal court for killing a combined 28 birds. 28 birds. According to the American Bird Conservancy, from data derived from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 440,00 birds are killed annually by wind turbine operations.
According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the Energy Information Administration estimates that the cost of electricity generated by natural gas is $63.10 per megawatt hour. Conversely, electricity generated by wind costs $243.20 per megawatt hour. A whopping $311.80 for solar generated power. Get the picture? But Obama and his bureaucrats know better. They just dumped another $1.1 billion in new loan guarantees to green firms in Nevada and Arizona two weeks ago. What's more unbelievable is that between them, Tonopah Solar and Sempra Energy, the two companies that will share those loan guarantees, promise only 45 permanent jobs! Meanwhile, the Obama administration and leftist environmentalists continue to fight the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. This project promises 13,000 union jobs and 118,000 "spin-off" jobs at no cost to taxpayers.
Speaking of misguided policies and priorities, the U. S. Attorney for North Dakota has charged seven oil and gas companies in federal court for killing a combined 28 birds. 28 birds. According to the American Bird Conservancy, from data derived from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 440,00 birds are killed annually by wind turbine operations.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Code Blue
Obamacare, the gift that keeps on giving, is responsible for a new federal mandate that increases the number of codes used to translate medical information between medical providers and insurance companies. There are currently 18,000 codes used to describe an injury, where it took place, and how it was remedied. Obamacare increases the number of codes to around 140,000. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, "There are codes for injuries in opera houses, art galleries, squash courts and nine locations in and around a mobile home." "It will also have a code for recording that a patient's injury occurred in a chicken coup." Is this really helpful?
The federal agencies charged with developing the new system is collectively known as ICD-10, for International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision. "It's for accuracy of data and quality of care," says an advisor at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Some of the new provisions include coding to describe "bizarre personal appearance", or "very low level of personal hygiene." A W22.02XA for example is code for "walked into lampost, initial encounter." That's to distinguish it from a W22.02XD, "walked into lampost, subsequent encounter." Not dumb enough for you? How about a V91.07XA, code for "burn due to water-skis on fire." I suppose a person who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 could be coded OV.08 or "uninformed." Someone who plans to vote for him again in 2012 should be labeled "mentally challenged."
One of the more upsetting aspects of the article was the fact that there exists in our country a credentialing organization known as the American Academy of Professional Coders. If that isn't a sign that government busybodies have truly run amok then I don't know what is. Honestly, wouldn't you rather tell your wife that you were going to Las Vegas for the Adult Video Awards, then to a convention of coders?
The federal agencies charged with developing the new system is collectively known as ICD-10, for International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision. "It's for accuracy of data and quality of care," says an advisor at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Some of the new provisions include coding to describe "bizarre personal appearance", or "very low level of personal hygiene." A W22.02XA for example is code for "walked into lampost, initial encounter." That's to distinguish it from a W22.02XD, "walked into lampost, subsequent encounter." Not dumb enough for you? How about a V91.07XA, code for "burn due to water-skis on fire." I suppose a person who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 could be coded OV.08 or "uninformed." Someone who plans to vote for him again in 2012 should be labeled "mentally challenged."
One of the more upsetting aspects of the article was the fact that there exists in our country a credentialing organization known as the American Academy of Professional Coders. If that isn't a sign that government busybodies have truly run amok then I don't know what is. Honestly, wouldn't you rather tell your wife that you were going to Las Vegas for the Adult Video Awards, then to a convention of coders?
Friday, September 2, 2011
Obamanomics
Here in the City of Saginaw, $19 million in stimulus funds are being spent on cleaning up blighted neighborhoods by leveling houses and rehabbing others. So far taxpayer funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have rehabbed a dozen homes, raised and additional 250, and acquired a couple of hundred more. Sounds terrific doesn't it? What's even more terrific is the price that some lucky buyer gets to pay for one of these rehabs. $130,000 in stimulus money was used to rehab one particular house and was flipped for $34,900! Another was...wait, what? Yes, that's right. Most of these homes are being fixed up at a cost that is four to five times more than what they will fetch on the open market. Still sound terrific?
In 2009, $3.2 million in stimulus funds was provided to Arlington, VA for energy grants. According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly $300,000 was used to install solar panels on a local library. By doing so city officials hope to save $14,000 annually on their electric bill. Unfortunately the fancy solar panels only last 10 to 15 years, so the $300,000 that was spent will only net a total savings of $150,000. Speaking of solar power what's happened to all those "green" jobs that were promised? In just the past two weeks Evergreen Solar and Solyndra, both prime examples of Obama's green jobs initiative and subsidized taxpayer investments, have gone belly-up throwing thousands out of work and losing hundreds of millions in credits and loans.
Joseph Goebbels, Adolph Hitler's Propaganda Minister, is often attributed (in error perhaps) as saying "A lie repeated often enough will become truth." No matter how many times the Obama administration, the media, Democrats, progressives, liberals, what have you, tell us how necessary and wise their "investments" are, they simply cannot be trusted nor believed. The government cannot replace the free market without great harm to both freedom and commerce. Two plus two will never equal five!
In 2009, $3.2 million in stimulus funds was provided to Arlington, VA for energy grants. According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly $300,000 was used to install solar panels on a local library. By doing so city officials hope to save $14,000 annually on their electric bill. Unfortunately the fancy solar panels only last 10 to 15 years, so the $300,000 that was spent will only net a total savings of $150,000. Speaking of solar power what's happened to all those "green" jobs that were promised? In just the past two weeks Evergreen Solar and Solyndra, both prime examples of Obama's green jobs initiative and subsidized taxpayer investments, have gone belly-up throwing thousands out of work and losing hundreds of millions in credits and loans.
Joseph Goebbels, Adolph Hitler's Propaganda Minister, is often attributed (in error perhaps) as saying "A lie repeated often enough will become truth." No matter how many times the Obama administration, the media, Democrats, progressives, liberals, what have you, tell us how necessary and wise their "investments" are, they simply cannot be trusted nor believed. The government cannot replace the free market without great harm to both freedom and commerce. Two plus two will never equal five!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
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.
Friday, August 19, 2011
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.
Monday, July 25, 2011
The President's Leadership is Missing
If you had a chance to catch Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's interview with Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday yesterday then you heard Mr. Geithner say, not once but twice, that a deal on the debt ceiling had to get done quickly so that "we can get Congress back to business in trying to figure out how to make the economy stronger in the short term and get more Americans back to work." Anyone or anything missing from this statement? How about any mention of the President or the White House? Mr. Obama never fails to remind us that these two items, improving the economy and jobs for Americans, are uppermost on his mind from the time he awakes in the morning to the time he lays down at night. Yet here, his own Treasury Secretary, a most trusted member of his cabinet, on national television, reveals to the world that those problems are not regarded as responsibilities of this president, but are in fact those for Congress to solve. How's that for presidential leadership?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Mid-Summer Dump
If you have been a regular reader of this blog in the past, and I thank you for that, you have obviously noted a discernible fall off in activity in the past several months. As I told my brother earlier in the year, shortly after the Republican sweep last November, it's difficult to keep up the level of rage necessary for daily blogging. On the other hand, given this president and the willingness of his state run media to manipulate the truth, how can anyone not remain consistently agitated. I have listened long enough to the debate on the debt ceiling and can't remain silent any longer. Like it or not, I have to purge. Here are just a few thoughts I have had of late.
1) The debt ceiling deadline. Remember last winter's first prolonged debate on raising the debt ceiling? Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said it had to be raised by May 3rd or else all hell would break loose. May 3rd came and went without a deal, and no fiscal calamity ensued. Our nation officially hit its debt ceiling of $14.29 trillion on May 16th, at which time Mr. Geithner gave the the U. S. and the world economy a three week reprieve. He set a new deadline of July 8th. Remember what happened on July 8th? I think I got my haircut. His second three week reprieve extended doomsday to the current drop dead deadline of August 2nd. While I don't think it's wise to continue to flaunt these deadlines, is there really anyone other than MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Obama, the Democrats, the NY Times, The Washington Post, Time magazine, Newsweek, The Nation, Mother Jones, et al, that really believe fiscal Armageddon on the first Tuesday of next month?
2) The debt ceiling. Would someone please tell me the significance of breaking a barrier that has been broken repeatedly since its inception in 1917. Seventy-four times since 1962 and ten times in just the last ten years. It's a joke. In theory, the ceiling is a mechanism of Congress to keep some semblance of control over our nation's debt. Some theory. In practice, however, the level of debt is a function of the budgets that Congress itself approves. No other country has a debt limit separate from its budget process. According to the General Accountability Office, Congress' own watchdog, credit rating agencies like Moody's and Standard and Poors view this disconnect between fiscal policy decisions (taxes and spending) and debt limit decisions as a "weakness in the U. S. budgetary framework."
3) Obama and the debt ceiling. In 2006, when President Obama was just a lowly U. S. Senator he argued against raising the debt ceiling saying, "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure." He went on, "It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies." "Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally." He concluded that "America deserves better!" You're damn right Mr. President! Senator Obama voted against raising the debt ceiling in 2006. He didn't even bother to cast a vote when the subject came up twice more during his term.
4) Democrats and tax increases. If Obama and the Democrats think it is absolutely critical that we raise additional taxes on the so-called wealthy, then why didn't they raise them during the two years they controlled everything in Washington? Why do we still refer to the tax cuts that President Bush pushed through in 2001 and 2003, and extended by President Obama in 2010 as the "Bush" tax cuts. Mr. Obama has every right of ownership to these as anyone. It is hyper hypocritical of the media or anyone else to continue to describe them as anything other than Obama's tax cuts.
5) Medicare, seniors, and memory loss. What's with all the rhetoric about Republicans trying to eviscerate or kill Medicare. Have we forgotten that not one Republican voted to pass Obamacare, yet the Affordable Care Act passed and signed into law by President Obama steals $500 billion from Medicare to help pay for this disaster? Stop letting the president and his minions in the media rewrite history. PAY ATTENTION!
6) Obamazilla. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is right. I agree that "as long as this president is in the Oval Office, a real solution (to our fiscal problems) is probably unattainable." What evidence exists to the contrary? The unmitigated disaster that is the Obama presidency will continue to destroy any hope of a sustained recovery.
1) The debt ceiling deadline. Remember last winter's first prolonged debate on raising the debt ceiling? Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said it had to be raised by May 3rd or else all hell would break loose. May 3rd came and went without a deal, and no fiscal calamity ensued. Our nation officially hit its debt ceiling of $14.29 trillion on May 16th, at which time Mr. Geithner gave the the U. S. and the world economy a three week reprieve. He set a new deadline of July 8th. Remember what happened on July 8th? I think I got my haircut. His second three week reprieve extended doomsday to the current drop dead deadline of August 2nd. While I don't think it's wise to continue to flaunt these deadlines, is there really anyone other than MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Obama, the Democrats, the NY Times, The Washington Post, Time magazine, Newsweek, The Nation, Mother Jones, et al, that really believe fiscal Armageddon on the first Tuesday of next month?
2) The debt ceiling. Would someone please tell me the significance of breaking a barrier that has been broken repeatedly since its inception in 1917. Seventy-four times since 1962 and ten times in just the last ten years. It's a joke. In theory, the ceiling is a mechanism of Congress to keep some semblance of control over our nation's debt. Some theory. In practice, however, the level of debt is a function of the budgets that Congress itself approves. No other country has a debt limit separate from its budget process. According to the General Accountability Office, Congress' own watchdog, credit rating agencies like Moody's and Standard and Poors view this disconnect between fiscal policy decisions (taxes and spending) and debt limit decisions as a "weakness in the U. S. budgetary framework."
3) Obama and the debt ceiling. In 2006, when President Obama was just a lowly U. S. Senator he argued against raising the debt ceiling saying, "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure." He went on, "It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies." "Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally." He concluded that "America deserves better!" You're damn right Mr. President! Senator Obama voted against raising the debt ceiling in 2006. He didn't even bother to cast a vote when the subject came up twice more during his term.
4) Democrats and tax increases. If Obama and the Democrats think it is absolutely critical that we raise additional taxes on the so-called wealthy, then why didn't they raise them during the two years they controlled everything in Washington? Why do we still refer to the tax cuts that President Bush pushed through in 2001 and 2003, and extended by President Obama in 2010 as the "Bush" tax cuts. Mr. Obama has every right of ownership to these as anyone. It is hyper hypocritical of the media or anyone else to continue to describe them as anything other than Obama's tax cuts.
5) Medicare, seniors, and memory loss. What's with all the rhetoric about Republicans trying to eviscerate or kill Medicare. Have we forgotten that not one Republican voted to pass Obamacare, yet the Affordable Care Act passed and signed into law by President Obama steals $500 billion from Medicare to help pay for this disaster? Stop letting the president and his minions in the media rewrite history. PAY ATTENTION!
6) Obamazilla. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is right. I agree that "as long as this president is in the Oval Office, a real solution (to our fiscal problems) is probably unattainable." What evidence exists to the contrary? The unmitigated disaster that is the Obama presidency will continue to destroy any hope of a sustained recovery.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Unsafe At Any Speed
Ralph Nader, a progressive political activist and four-time candidate for President of the United States, became famous after publishing Unsafe At Any Speed, a book about the poor design and safety record of the Chevrolet Corvair. A friend of mine just shared an email with me regarding the fiscal record of the Obama administration. Seems that under President Obama's watch, over the last two years, our national debt has increased by more than $4 trillion dollars! This rate of indebtedness is 27 times faster than in anytime in our nation's history. By comparison, if you were happening to drive a car (hopefully not a Corvair) in the right lane going 65 mph, and a car rockets past you on the left 27 times faster, it would be traveling at 7,555 mph. Just as the Chevy Corvair was determined to be unsafe for any American to drive, and subsequently taken off the market, so too should Barack Obama be deemed "unsafe at any speed" and subsequently removed from office.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Any of the Above
I watched the first Republican Presidential Debate on Fox News last Wednesday night. I wasn't disappointed. Despite the fact that some major potential candidates have yet to join the fray, those that did participate gave a good account of themselves. More importantly, while any one of them may never eventually become president, any one of them would make a better president than the one we currently have.
While a great number of people who watched the debate scored businessman Herman Cain as the winner, I had him running a close second to Tim Pawlenty. Governor Pawlenty has become more polished and "presidential" than when I first met him two years ago in Grand Rapids at a Republican state convention. He has a tremendous record of achievement but to me he came off bit too coached and cautious. Herman Cain tossed off some terrific lines, especially in defense of his lack of political experience. When asked if that lack of experience would hinder his chances, he answered that we already have a lot of experienced politicians in Washington and replied, "How's that workin' for you?"
Ron Paul's libertarian message has made me think more about my own political ideology, but I still think his brand of politics is a bit too isolationist. Governor Gary Johnson's brand of libertarianism comes closer to home. I like his cost-benefit analysis approach to government spending and his call to end the failed war on drugs, but I fear he's too flakey for the big stage. Former Senator Rick Santorum professed to be the tip of the spear for many conservatives on several social issues, but again, I don't think he's quite ready for prime time.
This month promises to mark the entrance into the race for perhaps some additional candidates including Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Mitch Daniels. I suspect there will be others as well who eventually get into the race over the course of the next several months. I'm not concerned that the Republicans don't have a favorite thus far, or that it's getting too late to compete against the Obama reelection monolith. Nothing could be more absurd. Whenever I hear on the news how some potential Republican candidates have too much baggage, or pose this problem or that for the electorate, I think are you kidding me? Have you seen who's in the White House?
While a great number of people who watched the debate scored businessman Herman Cain as the winner, I had him running a close second to Tim Pawlenty. Governor Pawlenty has become more polished and "presidential" than when I first met him two years ago in Grand Rapids at a Republican state convention. He has a tremendous record of achievement but to me he came off bit too coached and cautious. Herman Cain tossed off some terrific lines, especially in defense of his lack of political experience. When asked if that lack of experience would hinder his chances, he answered that we already have a lot of experienced politicians in Washington and replied, "How's that workin' for you?"
Ron Paul's libertarian message has made me think more about my own political ideology, but I still think his brand of politics is a bit too isolationist. Governor Gary Johnson's brand of libertarianism comes closer to home. I like his cost-benefit analysis approach to government spending and his call to end the failed war on drugs, but I fear he's too flakey for the big stage. Former Senator Rick Santorum professed to be the tip of the spear for many conservatives on several social issues, but again, I don't think he's quite ready for prime time.
This month promises to mark the entrance into the race for perhaps some additional candidates including Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Mitch Daniels. I suspect there will be others as well who eventually get into the race over the course of the next several months. I'm not concerned that the Republicans don't have a favorite thus far, or that it's getting too late to compete against the Obama reelection monolith. Nothing could be more absurd. Whenever I hear on the news how some potential Republican candidates have too much baggage, or pose this problem or that for the electorate, I think are you kidding me? Have you seen who's in the White House?
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Saginaw County Sheriff's Millage
Now that the voters of Saginaw County, all 16% of them, have passed a 1-mill tax increase to save the sheriff's department and the county jail from deeper cuts, perhaps the addition of an extra $4.4 million will provide a cushion for making real budgetary reforms. Now that eminent threats to cuts in public safety have been suspended, at least temporarily, perhaps thoughtful and serious negotiations with our employee unions could lead to additional and lasting savings down the road. Without fixing our structural deficits, I fear we will only replay this scenario once again in the very near future. As I and so many others have said before, we cannot continue to tax and spend our way to prosperity.
What I am afraid will happen however will be just the opposite. While the $4.4 million have ostensibly been advertised to save 35 jobs and 160 beds in our county jail, I hope the unions don't see this as found money and think it's time to increase their ranks or raise compensation and benefits. Yes I am aware that county employees, for the most part, have not had a raise is some time, but the county will still be spending more than it takes in this year and for the foreseeable future. Our budgets are unsustainable, such as they are, and must be addressed, lest we concede local control and authority to Lansing managers. As I recall, thousands of union protesters recently filled our state's capitol in protest to emergency financial manager legislation. Where will they stand in helping to keep Saginaw County solvent, prosperous, and growing?
What I am afraid will happen however will be just the opposite. While the $4.4 million have ostensibly been advertised to save 35 jobs and 160 beds in our county jail, I hope the unions don't see this as found money and think it's time to increase their ranks or raise compensation and benefits. Yes I am aware that county employees, for the most part, have not had a raise is some time, but the county will still be spending more than it takes in this year and for the foreseeable future. Our budgets are unsustainable, such as they are, and must be addressed, lest we concede local control and authority to Lansing managers. As I recall, thousands of union protesters recently filled our state's capitol in protest to emergency financial manager legislation. Where will they stand in helping to keep Saginaw County solvent, prosperous, and growing?
Closure
The face of Islamic terrorism, Osama bin Laden, is dead. Alluha akbar! Or for us Westerners, Praise the Lord, and God bless America. Congratulations to President Barack Obama for literally putting the nail in the coffin of this most elusive of criminals. Make no mistake though, this outcome was always an eventuality. When America wants something as bad as we wanted this guy to die, time is the only real obstacle. And, for as much as the media would like to beatify Obama for a decision any sitting president would have made, it's indeed serendipitous when fortuity and opportunity finally converge. Nevertheless, the deed is done so perhaps we can all move on.
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