Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economy. Show all posts

Friday, July 15, 2011

'Two Pictures that Perfectly Capture the Rise and Fall of the Welfare State'

Sheer brilliance:

In my speeches, especially when talking about the fiscal crisis in Europe (or the future fiscal crisis in America), I often warn that the welfare state reaches a point-of-no-return when the number of people riding in the wagon begins to outnumber the number of people pulling the wagon.

To be more specific, if more than 50 percent of the population is dependent on government (employed in the bureaucracy, living off welfare, receiving pensions, etc), it becomes rather difficult to form a coalition to fix the mess. This may explain why Greek politicians have resisted significant reforms, even though the nation faces a fiscal death spiral.

But you don’t need me to explain this relationship. One of our Cato interns, Silvia Morandotti, used her artistic skills to create two images... that show what a welfare state looks like when it first begins and what it eventually becomes.


...The welfare state starts with small programs targeted at a handful of genuinely needy people. But as  politicians figure out the electoral benefits of expanding programs and people figure out the that they can let others work on their behalf, the ratio of producers to consumers begins to worsen.

Eventually, even though the moochers and looters should realize that it is not in their interest to over-burden the people pulling the wagon, the entire system breaks down.

Then things get really interesting. Small nations such as Greece can rely on permanent bailouts from bigger countries and the IMF, but sooner or later, as larger nations begin to go bankrupt, that approach won’t be feasible...

It is more than past time to end the Democrats' failed 'war on poverty'.

They lost the war --- and made everyone poorer in the process.


Hat tip: TrendingRight.

Harry Reid: Idiot or Liar?

Because it must be one or the other:

Harry Reid has decided to ratchet up the scare tactics a notch. We’ve already been told that if the debt ceiling isn’t raised and taxes increased, government checks might not go out, but now the schools will close:

...Call the bluff, Republicans!

As August 2nd approaches, Democrats will be sweating like John Kerry during a luxury tax audit. Not because they fear default, but because they know a Y2K moment for the general population is approaching — that morning when everyone wakes up, looks around, realizes the world didn’t end and exclaims, “that’s what we were freaked out about?”

A few days ago, Biff Spackle grabbed a screen-shot of Tim Geithner's tippity-top secret spreadsheet tracking revenue and expenditures.

As others have confirmed, there's no chance that Grandma ain't gettin' her Social Security check. Because the only way that happens is if Barack Obama is more interested in funding ACORN and his other cadres of Leftist hacks. Let's see how that works for him politically.

Once again, courtesy of the Examiner’s Mark Tapscott, here are the hard numbers, in monthly amounts, for anyone foolish enough to buy into Democrat scare tactics:

• Federal revenue: $200 billion per month
• Interest on the national debt: $29 billion
• Social Security: $49.2 billion
• Medicare and Medicaid: $50 billion
• Active duty military pay: $2.9 billion
• Veterans affairs programs: $2.9 billion
• Education funding: $11 billion

All of that core spending adds up to $145 billion, which means that in the event of a debt limit, the government can pay it all and still have $55 billion a month left over.

Note also that this Tweet absolutely confirms Harry Reid is a liar, rather than simply an idiot, since he has previously insisted that Social Security “is in great shape for many decades… Today it is not a problem.”

So we could furlough:

Eric Holder? The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is waging war on Boeing and other private sector companies? The EPA, which is trying to run an end-around on Congress with its own version of cap-and-trade? HHS, the blunt instrument of Obamacare? The Department of Education, also known as the stealth AFT and NEA funding agency? And HUD, progenitor of the Fannie Mae Housing Crisis?

Wow. Tough decision. Let me think for a minute...

Furlough 'em. Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.


Linked by: Ace o' Spades. Thanks!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

'A Good, Solid B+' -- Jobless Claims Top 400,000 For 14th Straight Week; Businesses Increasingly Glum About the Future Under Obama

What is this: our third annual 'summer of recovery'? Perhaps a more accurate term is 'recovery-less recovery':

Hey, Nancy: how's that "government creates jobs" theory working out? "[Unemployment] applications have now topped 400,000 for 14 weeks, evidence that the job market has weakened since earlier this year."

Country shocked to find that inexperienced community organizer makes surprisingly lousy president: "Americans' satisfaction with the way things are going in the country fell to 16% in July, the lowest in more than two years."

Casey Anthony could run against Obama and win at this point: "Registered voters by a significant margin now say they are more likely to vote for the 'Republican Party's candidate for president' than for President Barack Obama in the 2012 election, 47% to 39%."

With the government actively sabotaging businesses through excessive and oppressive regulations, this comes as quite the surprise: "Small and medium-sized companies are increasingly glum about the chances of a pickup in growth in the U.S. economy over the next year... The percentage of chief executives of small companies who expect the economy to improve over the next 12 months dropped sharply to 31 percent from 50 percent last quarter..."

But maybe our Demagogue-in-Chief can blame all of this bad news on James Henry Harrison, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Charo.


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Destroyer-in-Chief Gets Testy

The GOP has President Obama's shoulders pinned against the wall. He will have to make a choice between making Social Security payments to seniors... or funding his bloated legions of $150,000/year paper-pushers. And because he realizes that his back is against the wall, tempers are running high:

President Obama abruptly walks out of talks: "President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of a stormy debt-limit meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday, a dramatic setback to the already shaky negotiations, according to GOP sources... 'He shoved back and said ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’ and walked out,' House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters... On a day when the Moody’s rating agency warned that American debt could be downgraded, the White House talks blew up amid a new round of sniping between Obama and Cantor, who are fast becoming bitter enemies."

Much Needed Straight Talk from Rep. Walsh: Quit Lying, Mr. President: "Congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL)... reminds Obama and fellow Republicans why people like himself were elected to Congress. While everyone is focused on the fight over tax increases, many Republicans are forgetting that the $2, $3, or even $4 trillion in supposed spending cuts are nothing but unverifiable accounting gimmicks that are based upon some contrived baseline. Even if they would represent real cuts, the $4 trillion in deficit reduction would only extirpate $400 billion annually from a $1.4-1.6 trillion yearly deficit."

DNC chairwoman: Republicans acting almost like 'spoiled children' on debt ceiling: "The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee said Republicans have been acting like 'spoiled children' in negotiations to raise the debt ceiling... 'We demonstrated that we're willing to put all our sacred cows on the table and the Republicans are simply not willing to do anything but sit on their hands and cross their arms like spoiled children almost. That's just not responsible,' Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said Wednesday on MSNBC... [she] also rejected the idea that some Democrats were 'rebelling' against President Obama for wanting to include cuts to Social Security and Medicare as part of a possible debt ceiling increase deal."

Obama warns Cantor: 'Don't call my bluff' in debt-limit talks: "Republicans said tense negotiations over raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit at the White House ended when President Obama stormed out of the meeting with a stern warning to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.): 'Don’t call my bluff.'"

Call his bluff.

After all: how do you negotiate with a charismatic demagogue who simply can't tell the truth?

Answer: you can't.

Don't fold, Republicans. Let Obama make the choice. Everyone knows that if he willfully stiffs Social Security recipients it will be to keep his public sector union bureaucrats fat and happy.

Let's see how the electorate reacts to that maneuver.


Hat tip: Memeorandum.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Reversion to mean: Mitch McConnell reportedly spouts RINO insanity

If this story is even partially accurate, then Mitch McConnell should be removed from his position in the Senate immediately. I don't care what the rules are for the GOP caucus. He needs to be removed, post-haste.

Here’s the AP newsflash: “WASHINGTON (AP) _ GOP Leader McConnell proposes giving Obama new power for automatic debt limit increase.”

Here’s Rich Lowry: “It’s beginning to get out on the Hill. It’s complicated, but here is the gist as I understand it: Congress authorizes in legislation the president to submit a request for an increase in the debt limit in three tranches over the next year or so, with corresponding proposals for spending cuts; when the president submits his request, Congress immediately considers a resolution of disapproval; if the resolution passes, the president can veto it and–assuming his veto is subsequently upheld–he gets the increase in the debt limit. Got it? More later…"

Granted, McConnell cuts quite the handsome figure on the Beltway cocktail circuit. And he's so eloquent, debonair and articulate.

Sarc off. Enough is enough. If this story is legit, McConnell must go. Now.


Monday, July 11, 2011

Tim Geithner's Tippity-Top Secret Debt Ceiling Spreadsheet

Biff Spackle lands another exclusive: our beloved, TurboTax-challenged Treasury Secretary's secret spreadsheet that specifies who gets paid and who gets bounced if the debt ceiling ain't raised:

As the Bipartisan Policy Center confirms:

The BPC study found that the United States is likely to hit the debt limit sometime between August 2 and August 9. “It’s a 44 percent overnight cut in federal spending” if Congress hits the debt limit, Powell said. The BPC study projects there will be $172 billion in federal revenues in August and $307 billion in authorized expenditures. That means there's enough money to pay for, say, interest on the debt ($29 billion), Social Security ($49.2 billion), Medicare and Medicaid ($50 billion), active duty troop pay ($2.9 billion), veterans affairs programs ($2.9 billion).

That leaves you with about $39 billion to fund (or not fund) the following:

Defense vendors ($31.7 billion)
IRS refunds ($3.9 billion)
Food stamps and welfare ($9.3 billion) -
Unemployment insurance benefits ($12.8 billion)
Department of Education ($20.2 billion)
Housing and Urban Development ($6.7 billion)
Other spending, such as Departments of Justice, Labor, Commerce, EPA, HHS ($73.6 billion)

Gee, let's see.

You mean we'd have to furlough:

Eric Holder? The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is waging war on Boeing and other private sector companies? The EPA, which is trying to run an end-around on Congress with its own version of cap-and-trade? HHS, the blunt instrument of Obamacare? The Department of Education, also known as the stealth AFT and NEA funding agency? And HUD, progenitor of the Fannie Mae Housing Crisis, thanks to Andrew "The Architect of Ruin" Cuomo?

Wow. Tough decision. Let me think for a minute...

Furlough 'em. Nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Make Obama lead for a change. Force him to make the tough decisions.

I'm sure he'll do spectacularly well. After all, he had so much executive experience prior to taking the job. And he's maintained that stellar performance ever since.

PRESENT!


Sunday, July 10, 2011

Look to the Future, Comrades!

The Statist can never look at history, or at human experience, or their own record of failure. Thus, the Statist must paint a Utopian vision of the future.

Delivered on March 1, 1920 at the First All-Russia Congress of Workers, Vladimir Lenin concluded his keynote speech with the following promise.

We have now concentrated all our forces on the restoration of industry and are steadfastly waging this new war, in which we shall be as victorious as we have been hitherto. We have instructed a commission of scientists and engineers to draw up a plan for the electrification of Russia. The plan will be ready in two months and will enable us to got a full and clear picture of how, in a few years, the whole of Russia will be covered by a network of electric transmission lines, will be restored in a new way, not the old way, and how she will achieve that culture which [we] saw in Germany.

That is the way we must restore our industry, and that is the way we shall return a hundredfold the loan of grain we are taking from the peasants. We know that this cannot be done in a year or two; the minimum programme of electrification is calculated for a period of not less than three years, and the complete success of this advanced industry will require not less than ten years ... We have gained that experience in leading the masses with the help of urban workers which will carry us through all difficulties on this bloodless front of struggle against economic chaos and will lead to greater victories than those we gained in the war against international imperialism. (Applause.)

71 years later, when the Soviet Union collapsed, huge swaths of the country had no electric power.

In a speech delivered on January 8, 2009, President-Elect Barack Obama urged Congress to pass a Stimulus bill warning that the recession could become “dramatically worse” and last for years otherwise.

That is why we need to act boldly and act now to reverse these cycles. That’s why we need to put money in the pockets of the American people, create new jobs, and invest in our future...

That work begins with this plan – a plan I am confident will save or create at least three million jobs over the next few years... That’s why we’ll invest in priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century. That’s why the overwhelming majority of the jobs created will be in the private sector, while our plan will save the public sector jobs...

To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years. We will modernize more than 75% of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills. In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced – jobs building solar panels and wind turbines; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain.

To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America’s medical records are computerized

This is the hallmark of the Statist.

Ideologically unable to unleash the private sector, the Statist must always paint a picture of a Utopian future hovering just a few years away. If only you can give him more money and more authority, this Utopia can be yours!

And, of course, it always fails to materialize.

We must deconstruct the Statists' policy failures. Look not at the mirage-like vision of the future that he paints; look instead at what he's done.


Linked by: Camp of the Saints. Thanks!

Worst. President. Ever.

For all of the drones out there suffering from Bush Tourette's Syndrome*, I present -- courtesy the Office of Management and Budget -- the only chart you need.

It turns out that the unemployment situation is so dire -- despite trillions in wealth redistribution -- that even the far left Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has launched an organized attack on President Obama.

Black unemployment today continued to hover at a near record high of 16.2 percent, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor... The rate is near the highest rate recorded for blacks during President Obama's tenure... The black unemployment rate for June was 16.2 percent, the same as the May rate. The May rate was up from April's 16.1 percent, which was the largest increase since November's 16 percent.

On Thursday, members of the Congressional Black Caucus assailed Obama for his handling of the rising black unemployment rate.

"Can you imagine a situation where any other group of workers, if 34 percent of white women were out there looking for work and couldn't find it?" asked Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, the Democratic chairman of the caucus. "You would see congressional hearings and community gatherings. There would be rallies and protest marches. There is no way that this would be allowed to stand."

Not to mention what would have happened had there been a Republican President in office. Jesse, Al and a cadre of other crackpots -- possibly consisting of NYT reporters -- would be marching on Washington demanding something or other.


* You know: "It was Bush's fault! Bush! Bush! Bush did it! And Cheney! And Bush! And Lee Harvey Oswald! And Bush!"

Update: The Disappearing Black Middle Class


Hat tip: Gateway Pundit. Linked by: Ace o' Spades. Thanks!

Good grief, didn't anyone go to negotiating school? Feckless Mitch McConnell: "Nobody is talking about not raising the debt ceiling"

Hey, Mitch: if you're not prepared to walk away from the table, it's not negotiating, it's begging.

McConnell discussed the debt ceiling negotiations with Bret Baier on Fox News Sunday. McConnell was in agreement with Speaker John Boehner’s decision not to support a large deficit deal, yet also made a curious assertion that none of his Republican colleagues have ever claimed they will not be in support of raising the debt ceiling.

Baier, filling in for Chris Wallace, pressed McConnell on what would happen if no deal could be worked out and whether he was concerned with the consequences of what might happen if the debt ceiling is not raised. McConnell confidently responded, “nobody is talking about not raising the debt ceiling. I haven’t heard that discussed by anybody.” Yet Baier informed him that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, among others, have explicitly said just that. Baier even quoted Bachmann saying “don’t let them fool you that the economy is going to collapse” if the debt ceiling isn’t raised.

McConnell however apparently didn’t want to address such comments and preferred to stay focused on his opinion of how serious it is to actually raising the debt ceiling...

Really? Why not?

The federal government takes in more than enough money each month to pay its obligations, pensions, military, Social Security recipients, etc. It's the rest of the bloated, useless federal bureaucracy (like the EPA and the NLRB) that would have to be furloughed.

And that's a bad thing?

Also, please consider our TurboTax-challenged Treasury Secretary's track record of predictions:

Geithner first began warning in January of "catastrophic" consequences if the debt limit is not raised by Congress, saying then that the borrowing cap could be hit as early as March 31.

That prediction soon changed to April 5, but it was not until Monday -- May 16 -- that the ceiling was officially reached as the latest government bond sales were settled.

In early April, Geithner also said the drop-dead date for a debt limit rise, when the U.S. would begin to default on its obligations, was July 8. This month he changed that to Aug. 2...

..."There is no certain day," said congressman James Lankford, a member of the fiscally conservative Republican Study Committee. "It's a moving target. Even if Aug. 2 is passed, Treasury has the tools in its back pocket to keep us from defaulting."

Lankford added: "Treasury has done a good job of trying to increase the panic, rather than giving us solutions."

Obama and Geithner are fomenting panic in order to keep spending like drunken liberals. If Boehner and McConnell had one-tenth of Michele Bachmann's guts, they'd walk away from the table now. The minimum annual cuts they must demand should start with the failed "Stimulus package", which is now built into the baseline budget.

In April, Andy McCarthy recapped the reasons not to raise the debt ceiling.

It's Negotiating 101, which our feckless GOP leadership appears to have either skipped or flunked.


Update: Bipartisan Policy Center: U.S. Won't Default on Debt If Congress Fails to Raise Debt Ceiling

Saturday, July 09, 2011

It Would Seem That the Teary-Eyed John Boehner Came Perilously Close to Wimping Out Again With Major Tax Increases in Debt Ceiling 'Deal'

Headline updated based on suggestions from commenters

It's the last straw. I'm guessing this Wall Street Journal report is accurate; and, if so, the American people and the pathetic John Boehner should begin weeping.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said the White House and congressional leaders have stopped pursuing the major deficit-reduction deal tackling entitlement programs and an overhaul of the tax code that he and President Barack Obama had been seeking.

A statement from Mr. Boehner issued late Saturday, after a conversation with Mr. Obama, said efforts by both parties to reach a deal to reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade reached an impasse this weekend over the issue of taxes. Mr. Boehner said negotiators will instead work toward an agreement closer to $2 trillion.

"Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes," Mr. Boehner said. "I believe the best approach may be to focus on producing a smaller measure, based on the cuts identified in the Biden-led negotiations, that still meets our call for spending reforms and cuts greater than the amount of any debt limit increase."

...Messrs. Obama and Boehner had agreed to shoot for a $4 trillion deal that would include up to $1 trillion in tax increases, which Republicans have resisted, and significant savings in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, which drew criticism from Democrats. Their hope was to go beyond the minimum deal necessary to win votes in Congress necessary to raise the federal debt ceiling and to make a landmark strike at deficit spending.

..."The White House would not agree with the core elements of tax reform proposed by the speaker," the Republican familiar with the discussions said. "A gulf also remains between the Speaker and the White House on the issue of medium and long-term structural reforms."

Hey, schmuck: you don't need to do anything. The government isn't going to default; it isn't going to renege on Social Security; and it could run for a year on current revenues.

James Pethokoukis called it earlier tonight: Obama is "snookering Boehner on taxes".

The media accounts of the tax reform deal being cooked up by President Obama and House Speaker Boehner aren’t all that clear. But it is looking like a big tax increase:

– The White House is insisting that as part of any deal the current tax rates on the middle class—the child tax credit, etc.—would be made permanent, while the lower rates on capital gains, dividends and the higher income brackets would expire after 2012. Taken by itself this would be a tax increase pure and simple and violate the GOP’s campaign pledge.

...More troubling than these details is the staggered timing. Republicans would be putting their fingerprints on a tax increase in return for spending cuts as a first order of business, which would raise the dividend and top income tax rates to 39.6% (from 35%), or 41% if you include the phase-out of deductions. (Plus the 3.8% payroll tax hike baked into ObamaCare.) Only then would Mr. Obama and the Democrats negotiate the details of tax reform and lower overall rates...

...as much as $1 trillion would be in revenues: $700 billion from letting the Bush tax cuts for the highest income brackets expire and another $300 billion from increased revenues, from auctioning off frequencies, increased payments to federal pension plans and ending agriculture subsidies in addition to ending tax breaks such as deductions for corporate jets, yachts and race horses...

All very confusing, but the best I can make of it is this: higher taxes now in exchange for a promise of tax cuts later to be “paid for” by reducing tax breaks/deductions/loopholes with perhaps some of that money going toward deficit reduction.

I can tell you this: Democrats need a lot more tax revenue to make their long-term budget plans works. This is why Obama has not offered a long-term budget plan. The need for massive tax increases would then be clear to all. In private, liberal economists all talk about a need for a value-added tax to raise the additional revenue.

But a liberal think with close ties to the White House, the Center for American Progress, recently released a budget plan that goes out to 2035. It shows taxes as a share of the economy rising dramatically to nearly 24% of GDP vs. around 18-19 percent historically. And I am guessing they would go even higher if the table went beyond 2035. If Boehner and the Republicans don’t hold the line now on taxes, this is the American future...

Let me repeat this simple message to Speaker Boehner and Leader McConnell: if you cave on this ridiculous plan, prepare to be removed from your lofty positions on the Beltway cocktail and talk show circuits.

Your timidity is helping to destroy the American economy. Say hello to Speaker West and Leader Rubio.


Sign the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge



Linked by: Protein Wisdom. Thanks!

Friday, July 08, 2011

Quote o' the Month: Messrs. Boehner and McConnell -- Just Say No

John Hinderaker:

Many traditions have gone by the wayside during the last few years of Democratic control, none more important than the legislative process itself. The idea that major legislation affecting the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans and the future prosperity of our children and grandchildren should be rushed through Congress without being read, without being debated, without being amended, without being made known to voters, is an outrage. With respect to the budget, it is an illegal outrage.

Republicans should have nothing to do with such banana republic proceedings. There should be no eleventh-hour cosmic bipartisan deal on the budget. The nation’s fiscal future should be debated and legislated on in an organized, transparent, legal, public manner. First choice: Republicans vote against an increase in the debt limit. Contrary to hysterical pronouncements from the likes of the discredited Tim Geithner, this would not cause the federal government to default on its bonds. Rather, the government would continue to pay principal and interest as it comes due, and would be forced to cut spending in other areas.

As they say on the real blogs, read the whole damn thing.


Hat tip: Verum Serum. Related: An Open Letter to @SpeakerBoehner and Sen. McConnell: You Blow This and You Are Political Toast.

"Millionaires and Billionaires"

The committee calls Thomas Edison to testify. Please swear him in.

Mr. Edison, describe for the committee the nature of your "light bulb" invention.

Distinguished representatives and guests, while the idea of electric lighting is not a new one, neither had it been a practical matter until we produced our new incandescent light bulb.

It uses a lower current of electricity and is both safe and economical.

So this electric light bulb that your firm invented: do you agree that demand for affordable lighting will skyrocket and that more and more electricity will need to be produced? Have you considered the impact on carbon emissions into the atmosphere -- the inevitable result of lighting all of these "bulbs"?

No, sir. We were simply trying to create a useful product for consumers, one that enhances safety and society as a whole.

Have you considered alternative lighting mechanisms that would consume less electricity? How many "green collar" scientists are working in your laboratories? Have you considered the impact of your invention on climate change?

No, sir -- I'll admit we were simply trying to create a functional light bulb.

And this phonograph you've invented, Mr. Edison, have you evaluated how its production could skyrocket due to high demand for musical recordings? Have you produced an assessment for the EPA and state regulators as to its impact on the environment? Production of tin, vinyl and other substances could explode!

Ah, never mind.

The committee calls Henry Ford.

Here.

Please explain this "invention" of yours: this "mass-produced" automobile.

Ladies and gentlemen, one day it struck me. We could produce cheaper goods, without compromising quality, by standardizing designs and assembly processes. We created an "assembly line" that helps us mass-produce vehicles...

These "cars" of yours are reproducing like locusts! Virtually everyone is driving them! And where do you think you'll get the fuel, the gas for these --

Distinguished Representative, America's natural resources are plentiful and there is no shortage of oil. Furthermore, our new processes are a significant improvement because automobiles can be produced more efficiently and consistently.

Mr. Ford. Mr. Edison. The conclusions of this committee are clear. The U.S. government cannot tolerate out-of-control corporate entities run by super-wealthy individuals such as yourselves. We must confiscate your factories and laboratories until they can be unionized; vetted by federal, state and local regulators; and certified as "green".

In short, we must call a halt to your outrageous activities. You and Mr. Edison are dismissed.


An Open Letter to @SpeakerBoehner and Sen. McConnell: You Blow This and You Are Political Toast

You cave on the debt ceiling without meaningful spending cuts -- not Social Security, not Medicare, not some far-off, mystical trillion dollars a decade in the future -- but cuts now in the massive discretionary spending programs that exploded under the 111th Congress, well, then you are both political toast.

President Obama has publicly vilified you, has equated you with terrorists ("holding a gun to the American people's head") and has now gone 800 days without a budget. He spent this money. He knew it would blow past the debt ceiling. This is his fault And now he demands something "balanced"?

This is the real deal, since you or your staffers haven't figured it out yet: Obama is prepared to slash Social Security, Medicare, Defense--in fact, anything except the bloated public sector unions.

As always with Obama, it's about the unions. There can be no negotiation with the ideologues who have blown trillions in borrowed money to no avail.

The bloated government bureaucracies are the Democrat Party and vice versa. One can't exist without the other.

If you -- Senator McConnell -- and you -- Speaker Boehner -- blow your advantage, you can stick the old political forks in you. You're done.

Your starting position -- non-negotiable -- should be the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge.

Period.

No secret, back-room deals. No bullcrap "trillion-dollar spending deals for 2020 with non-tax revenue increases".

This is Obama and the 111th Congress' fault. They didn't pass a budget. They spent like drunken liberals. And, as we speak, they are destroying the full faith and credit of the United States Treasury.

If you are too wedded to your status on the Beltway cocktail and press circuit -- rather than as representatives of a pissed-off electorate -- there will be hell to pay.

Hell.

To.

Pay.


P.S., How's "Speaker West" sound to you?

4 brutal graphs: how President Obama and the Democrats rewarded sloth and unemployment and got... more sloth and unemployment

With the release of the latest horrible jobs report, liberals continue to wonder why the employment situation remains so dire.

To explore the answer, we'll visit the Department of Labor's website, which houses several useful databases. Among the most important measures the agency tracks is Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR). This is the percentage of the working-age population that are either employed or unemployed but seeking a job. The remainder are either not looking for employment, are discouraged workers, or otherwise completely out of the workforce.

Looking over the last 30 years, this is the worst environment for employment since Jimmy Carter's recession. President Ronald Reagan attacked the malaise by slashing tax rates, reducing regulation and -- basically -- getting government out of the way of the private sector. In addition, the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 had a markedly positive effect on the LFPR.

After the dot-com bubble collapsed and the after-effects of the 9/11 attacks rippled through the economy, the LFPR stayed stable for years. From the summer of 2003 until the Fannie Mae housing meltdown of late 2008, the rate hovered around 66%.

Even after the housing meltdown, the LFPR stayed basically the same until the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Why?

Basically, President Obama and his Democrat super-majorities in the 111th Congress incentivized sloth, fraud and unemployment. Why are many Americans out of the workforce?

Consider the major milestones in the Democrats' job-destroying policies:

03-01-2009: SNAP (Food Stamp) Participation Rates Leap
11-06-2009: Unemployment Extension Adds Up to 99 Weeks of Benefits
03-23-2010: Obama Signs Health Care Bill Today as GOP Challenges Constitutionality
04-02-2010: Census hiring expected to reach peak in next several months
05-27-2010: Obama Extends Moratorium; Agency Chief Resigns
09-16-2010: New PPACA [Obamacare] Provisions Take Effect in September – But Do Your Clients Know?
02-03-2011: U.S. in Contempt Over Gulf Drill Ban, Judge Rules
06-11-2011: Utility threat to shutter coal plants fuels EPA battle
07-08-2011: Report: Obama’s oil company tax proposal would jeopardize thousands of jobs

These are but a few of the employment-crushing steps embarked upon by Obama and the Democrats. And, as you can see, more are on the way.

They have yet to figure out that if you reward sloth, you get more sloth. And the worst is yet to come.

Remember in 2012.


Unexpectedly: Unemployment rises to 9.2% and U.S. adds only 18,000 jobs in June -- on predictions of 125,000

Feeling stimulated yet?

U.S. employers added 18,000 workers in June, less than forecast and the fewest in nine months, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed, indicating a struggling labor market.

The increase in payrolls followed a 25,000 gain that was less than half the rise initially estimated, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey called for a June gain of 105,000. The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent, the highest level this year. Hiring by companies, which excludes government agencies, was the weakest since May 2010.

...The jobless rate rose even as the participation rate declined to 64.1 percent, the lowest since March 1984. The household survey showed a 445,000 decrease in employment and a 173,000 increase in unemployment.

Average hourly earnings fell 1 cent to $22.99, today’s report showed. The average work week for all workers dropped to 34.3 hours, from 34.4 hours the prior month...

The so-called underemployment rate -- which includes part- time workers who’d prefer a full-time position and people who want work but have given up looking -- increased to 16.2 percent from 15.8 percent.

Tyler Durden puts it in simple terms -- hopefully sufficiently simple for the liberal drones who might be reading along: "Absolute disaster. ...There is no sugarcoating this report. Absolutely abysmal." and:

This chart needs no commentary. At 64.1%, the Labor Force Paritipcation rate just dropped to a fresh 25 year low: the civilian labor force declined by 272K from 153,693 to 153,421. And tangentially, the employment to population ratio also slumped to a multi decade low of 58.2%.


Gee, this "jobs reports" is pretty much of an epic fail all the way around.

Can we get our trillion dollars back?


Thursday, July 07, 2011

Pass the popcorn, Nahanni: Democrats explode in rage that they weren't consulted on Obama's planned cuts to Social Security

And hold the butter.

Senate Democrats reacted angrily Thursday to a report that President Obama has proposed significant cuts to Medicare and Social Security in closed-door talks with GOP leaders.

Democratic lawmakers said they were dismayed to read about Obama’s offer in the press rather than hearing it from the president himself. Their frustration is exacerbated by Obama’s snub of their invitation to speak to the Senate Democratic caucus Wednesday...

...“We would have preferred to hear it from the president instead of from the press,” said Sen. Barbara Mikulski (Md.), a senior member of the Senate Democratic conference. “We first have to go after tax earmarks.” [Ed: WTF?]...

* * * * * * * * *

The debt-ceiling talks seem to be occurring in “a parallel universe,” Mikulski said. “The base is quite cheerless right now,” she added.

The White House appears to be gambling that Democrats, even if they gripe, will ultimately rally around the deal the president cuts, as they did last year on a tax package and this year on a continuing resolution funding the government through October... But any deal will still need votes from Senate Democrats and likely some House Democrats. And Democrats worked Thursday to suggest limits to what they will accept.

...But Democrats signaled they may not accept a deal that pairs immediate entitlement cuts with the prospect of future revenue increases.

In a statement, David Krone, Reid’s chief of staff, said spending and revenue should be balanced “in terms of timing, specificity and dollars.”

Balanced. Kind of like how the Democrats crammed Obamacare down the throats of the American people. And the Frank-Dodd "financial reform" bill. And the "Stimulus", which was -- of course -- "shovel-ready".

Republicans: hold the line. No hiking the debt ceiling without a balanced budget amendment.

Sign the pledge -- and tell your representatives to sign it too

As an aside, that Barbara Mikulski is quite the hottie.


So this is the deal: Obama prepared to slash Social Security, Medicare, Defense--in fact, anything except the bloated public sector unions

With the nation's Treasury poised to hit its debt ceiling, President Obama has little choice but to pay lip service to spending cuts.

And that is how, today, we find ourselves reading this delightful bit of reporting in The Washington Post:

In debt talks, Obama offers Social Security cuts


President Obama is pressing congressional leaders to consider a far-reaching debt-reduction plan that would force Democrats to accept major changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for Republican support for fresh tax revenue...

...As part of his pitch, Obama is proposing significant reductions in Medicare spending and for the first time is offering to tackle the rising cost of Social Security, according to people in both parties with knowledge of the proposal. The move marks a major shift for the White House and could present a direct challenge to Democratic lawmakers who have vowed to protect health and retirement benefits from the assault on government spending.

Consider what Obama has already committed to -- or is proposing to -- cut:

• The Obamacare takeover of the health care industry slashed $500 billlion from Medicare to help pay for the new entitlement.

• The states will be forced to find about $400 billion in Medicaid funding in 2011, this time without the "shovel-ready Stimulus" package which picked up about $100 billion of the tab.

• And now the President proposes additional cuts for seniors, this time in the form of reductions in Social Security.

Notice who doesn't have to sacrifice: the public sector unions, whose support is crucial to Obama's 2012 relection campaign.

Even though the size and power of the federal bureaucracy has soared under President Obama; even though federal workers earn double their private-sector worker counterparts and even though the number of federal employees making $150,000 (and even over $180,000) salaries has skyrocketed in recent years, President O'Trumka can't find any bureaucracy to cut.

Seniors, beware: Obama is prepared to slash and burn your benefits -- earned by you over your entire working careers -- in order to give your money to the unions. And he does so because much of that money will inevitably find its way back into his campaign coffers.

Unless the GOP stands firm on the Cut, Cap and Balance pledge, the unions will be kept whole while everyone else will be thrown to the wolves.

Sign the pledge -- and tell your representatives to sign it too


Chart: Heritage Foundation.

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Caution: Fecal matter hitting the fan in Europe

Here are a few troubling facts for the drones* to ruminate on:

Greece wants another $173 billion handout; this comes a day after it agreed to faux austerity measures that allowed it to receive a separate $156 billion loan tranche from the IMF.

Portugal's bond rating was just slashed to 'junk' status with negative outlook. Roughly translated, this means that Portugal has joined Greece in Delta Tau Chi, Europe's worst fraternity.

The "rescues, guarantees and bailouts" of Greece have thus far totaled $394 billion -- 120% of its entire gross domestic product!

Knowledgeable insiders say that the only solution for Greece is to leave the Eurozone.

When Greece inevitably defaults, the impact will, in my opinion, be severe. Its credit default swaps (basically, bets that Greece will fail to pay its debts, abbreviated as "CDS") will suddenly explode in value. The issuers of said CDS contracts must find ways to pay those bets off. Think of AIG, only with pissed-off Arab Sheikhs, Russian mobsters, African ganglords and Mel Gibson in Road Warrior. And who is exposed to such a default? Fact is, no one really knows.

Mark my words: after Greece and Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Italy will be next to fall. French banking exposure will be revealed along the way. And Germany -- the financial powerhouse of the Eurozone -- will be left gasping because its banks hold much of this toxic waste.

In the mean time, President Obama and the Democrat Party are busy pursuing the same failed, socialist welfare state policies that are about to topple Europe. Endless wealth redistribution, socialized medicine, powerful unions, massive deficit spending, and corrupt, power-hungry politicians -- these are the characteristics that define the modern Democrat Party and President Obama, specifically.

Tell me: what do you call the pursuit of policies that are today failing, have in fact never worked, can never work, and are always guaranteed to fail?

"Change".

Remember in 2012.


* "Drones" - a term coined by Mark Levin to denote zombie-like Obama supporters for whom facts, logic, reason, history and experience mean nothing.

Ruh Roh: GM's unsold inventory right back to where it was in late 2008

More awesome economic news courtesy of the central planners in Washington: GM's dealer channel is now stuffed with so much unsold inventory that we're right back to where we were in the dark, pre-rescue days of late 2008.

Perhaps Jeff Immelt will add to General Electric's Volt order and rescue the remainder of GM's product line.

...point blank evidence that the second leg of the economic recovery is now completely debunked, after GM, whose June car sales were up 10.2%, broadly missing expectations of an 18% pick up, but far more importantly, and as we have been pointing out for a year now, the bulk of GM production does not ultimately lead to any sales, but merely more and more channel stuffing in the form of month end dealer inventory which in June just hit 605,000...

[There is no] actual demand which to the chagrin of the Koolaid drinkers is a critical component in determining clearing prices, and which is simply non-existent despite the government's eagerness to provide subprime loans to everyone (or no one as the case may be) who wishes to buy a GM vehicle... Expect the broader media and Wall Street economists (and Joe LaVorgna) to completely ignore this data point as it roundly negates everything the propaganda machine has been spouting for months.

The pain for dealers is real as this report from Bloomberg (the news service, not the idiot mayor) explains.

General Motors Co. (GM) stocked Jim Ellis Chevrolet in Atlanta with plenty of Silverado full-size pickups in early 2011, part of a wager on a strong economic recovery. The strategy is backfiring.

“We thought that this year would bring back the kind of economic activity that would translate into us selling more trucks,” Mark Frost, the dealership’s general manager, said in a phone interview. “It’s not happening.”

Supply of Silverado has ballooned to 6 1/2 months worth at the dealership, a figure Frost, 52, calls “a little scary.” The Detroit-based automaker, 33 percent owned by the U.S. after its 2009 bankruptcy, has 280,000 Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups on dealers’ lots around the country. If sales continue at June’s rate, that would be enough to last until November.

After GM’s truck inventory swelled to 122 days worth of average sales, the company said 100 to 110 will be normal going forward for such a large and complex line of vehicles, compared with 60 to 70 days for most models. Peter Nesvold, a Jefferies & Co. analyst, isn’t convinced. Ford Motor Co. (F), which makes similar trucks, is running at 79 days, and Nesvold says GM averaged 78 days on hand at year end from 2002 to 2010.

It’s unbelievable that after this huge taxpayer bailout and the bankruptcy that we’re right back to where we were,” Nesvold, who has a “hold” rating on the stock, said in a telephone interview. “There’s no credibility.” In a research note he asked: “Is GM falling into old, bad habits?”

You mean that abrogating bankruptcy law, screwing over secured creditors and rewarding Democrats' union supporters with billions in equity, tax breaks and subsidies didn't really fix GM?

Gee, that was hard to predict.

From my vantage point, President Obama may be the biggest crony capitalist ever.


Linked by: Hot Air, Protein Wisdom and Labor Union Report. Thanks!