Feb 22 2009

President Obama Is Economically Insane – Updated!

Published by at 2:24 pm under All General Discussions

 

I have come to realize that one requirement needed to join the political fringe of the left (and at times the right) is a serious lack of basic mathematical skills. With a rising wave of voter revolt appearing from his spendulus bill debacle, President Obama is now introducing an even more bizarre economic proposal for a recession – tax hikes on businesses. Apparently this is so businesses cannot afford to add any new jobs and end the economic slowdown:

President Obama is putting the finishing touches on an ambitious first budget that seeks to cut the federal deficit in half over the next four years, primarily by raising taxes on businesses and the wealthy and by slashing spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, administration officials said.

In addition to tackling a deficit swollen by the $787 billion stimulus package and other efforts to ease the nation’s economic crisis, the budget blueprint will press aggressively for progress on the domestic agenda Obama outlined during the presidential campaign. This would include key changes to environmental policies and a major expansion of health coverage that he hopes to enact later this year.

A summary of Obama’s budget request for the fiscal year that begins in October will be delivered to Congress on Thursday, with the complete, multi-hundred-page document to follow in April. But Obama plans to unveil his goals for scaling back record deficits and rebuilding the nation’s costly and inefficient health care system tomorrow, when he addresses lawmakers and budget experts at a White House summit on restoring “fiscal responsibility” to Washington.

Yesterday in his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said he is determined to “get exploding deficits under control” and said his budget request is “sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting what we don’t, and restoring fiscal discipline.”

Reducing the deficit, he said, is critical: “We can’t generate sustained growth without getting our deficits under control.”

The man has never had to manage a budget – that is now absolutely clear. You cannot deal with ‘deficits’ without revenues to offset the costs. The problem is the recession is tanking the tax revenues as people lose jobs and businesses tighten up or fail. There have been reports of massive drops in state and federal revenues, which have not even yet begun to really be assessed as to their impact. Raising taxes is not going to replace those revenue losses, losses now made all the worst by the spendulus bill.

When the liberal DC democrats passed that massive spendulus bill, they made the problem even worse. They begin with tax handouts to non tax-payers, which will further deplete the revenue stream, what little is left of it. Then they added massive spending programs that will not produce a single new job for at least a year, digging the hole between revenues and outlays even wider.

Now comes the truly naive part – we shall raise taxes on businesses to offset the spending! While this may replenish some of the revenue being thrown down the drain on useless spending programs, it will also halt the engine of economic recovery. More taxes means fewer new jobs. More taxes means less investing in new ideas, products, etc. More business taxes will take the 12 month delay in job creation, already an unavoidable element of the spendulus bill, and make it even deeper and longer.

President Obama plans to increase the troops in Afghanistan, yet reduce the cost? What kind of ‘new math’ is that equation coming from? President Obama wants to bail out all the bad mortgages by stealing money from the 90+% who pay their mortgages – where’s that money coming from? President Obama wants to tax CO2 because some old, screwed up data from lousy and unvalidated models once said the Earth was experiencing Global Warming. Models which never predicted the last 10 years of cooing – where is that money coming from? President Obama wants to nationalize health care – even though it works for 90% of us! That will cost big bucks.

Obama really can’t add, can he? Here is my list of debt I see I am being asked to take on by the Feds, in addition to what I have already:

  1. Loans to TARP recipients (I get nothing back because the Feds pocket any interest or profit)
  2. The Spendulous bill (I get nothing from this because I am already employed, and I would rather design space missions than use a shovel to dig ditch – been there, done that)
  3. Mortgage Bailout (I have paid my mortgage payments for years, and for that I will now have the honor of paying mortgage payments for all those who failed to meet their contractual responsibilities, thanks to liberal policies who pushed houses on people unprepared for the responsibilities)
  4. Global Warming (I need to cover Al Gore’s wasteful energy use since my house is already highly energy efficient, the only way to do that is raise energy costs – let’s welcome back $4/gallon gas)
  5. Health Care (I have to pay for my family’s health care and now that of all those who decided not to spend their money on health care, and all those illegal aliens who come here to get better health care. What a deal for me!)

All this in only a few months time in office. I knew the guy was going to be a liberal problem, but this is a disaster of epoch proportions. The Dems are borrowing money in our name which we could never pay off in two lifetimes.

How is Obama going to get money out of Iraq? We are going to be pulling back soon anyway, the equipment is ordered and paid for, which leaves the size of the military as the only option. Is he going to dump those who risked all to protect this country into this jobless economy he is establishing? 

The reason this is insane is the very reason I mentioned yesterday. All this generational theft has to turn into real jobs soon, or else the President and Democrats will feel the anger of 300 million pissed off Americans. The problem for them is there is nothing in any of this which will be creating jobs for a year at least. Are they on a political suicide bombing run on the treasury or something?

There seems to be a common theme arising across the nation, outside the beltway, regarding a certain Mr Smith and his travels to Washington DC:

More here, here, here and here – just to name a few. America is not buying this BS, and by that I mean the BS the President spewed yesterday as if America was a nation of 1st Graders:

“Earlier this week, I signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – the most sweeping economic recovery plan in history. Because of this plan, three and a half million Americans will now go to work doing the work that America needs done.

Emphasis mine. “Now” they will go to work? Right now? Or in a year? Those of us who know the federal government know it is at least a year before job 1 shows up. We will post the job numbers every month to show how this rhetoric is pure BS. But seriously – ‘now’?

Because of what we did together, there will now be shovels in the ground, cranes in the air, and workers rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, and repairing our faulty levees and dams. 

Note: “we” means dems, not conservatives.  And this is becoming a badge of honor to many of us more conservative types.

Our roads are not crumbling, and we sent money to New Orleans for decades to build and maintain their levees – they just used the money some place else (like dog runs). We are repairing roads as fast as the traffic will allow. You can’t do more or you will shut down the transportation through too many road projects running at the same time.

I feel like someone is reading the old Mike Mulligan steam shovel and the bird book to me. Maybe if I just turn into Walter Mitty I can pretend the current economic disaster isn’t real.

Because of what we did, companies – large and small – that produce renewable energy can now apply for loan guarantees and tax credits and find ways to grow, instead of laying people off; and families can lower their energy bills by weatherizing their homes. 

Dude – you need money to do this. We have lost our equity and our 401ks. We don’t have money to buy the new technology get a tax credit. And once you raise taxes on businesses neither will they. Why are you trying to sell me a fairy tale view of reality? Is this how you think Mr President? Is this the depth of your economic insight to the modern US economy?

Because of what we did, our children can now graduate from 21st century schools and millions more can do what was unaffordable just last week – and get their college degree. 

Well, since all operating schools are, by definition, 21st century schools I guess this is an easy one to achieve. So, where specifically did college educations become more affordable from last week to this week? Sounds like TV cartoon reality to me. You still need the job to send the kids or yourself through college dude, haven’t seen anything but downward progress on that front. 

Because of what we did, lives will be saved and health costs will be cut with new computerized medical records. 

Is the man serious? Computerized records (which will take years to implement, and I do mean years) will save lives!  Wow, The Jetsons Age is coming, finally! Now all we have to do is push the button and we get what we want! Why didn’t I think of that?

Because of what we did, there will now be police on the beat, firefighters on the job, and teachers preparing lesson plans who thought they would not be able to continue pursuing their critical missions. 

You know, I was wondering why there were no police or firefighters around last week before the bill and the President met in Denver. And wasn’t it weird how no teachers were teaching until the President waved his magic pen? The guy is TOTALLY awesome.

Because of what we did, 95% of all working families will get a tax cut – in keeping with a promise I made on the campaign.

Yeah, the Strata clan is looking forward to spending that $10 dollars on a night out at McDonald’s. Happy meals all around!

I mean who is this guy kidding?

Update: The Anchoress links to some real math – to close the deficit gap we are looking at 90% marginal rates on the top earners (which include small businesses). This is math that works, and should frighten everyone to death. And make sure to read the prescient article on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from 10 years ago.

Update: Even Democrat Governors know the spendulus bill is fiction.

Update: Real America speaks out, joins the Santelli Tea Party:

Rick Santelli simply vented the frustration of millions of Americans who are working, continue to pay their bills and are very angry at being forced to reward the “Bad boys”(Wall street greed and homeowner greed) or the world comes to an end.  Perhaps the focus should be on rewarding the prudent.  The economy has slowed to a trickle because prudent people can’t tell who’s honest and who’s isn’t.  

In our household we stopped all discretionary purchases last September when Lehman failed.  Our house value has tanked, and so have our 401k’s. Those values are part of the larger issue  out of our control and affecting the whole world. Our day to day household spending however, continues to be completely within our control. 

Are we all poorer, absolutely!  But it’s time for the government to focus on calming and rewarding the people who continue to work to pay their credit cards and mortgages on time.  Those are the customers that GM and Macy’s and GE etc need to get the economy going.

Absitively Posolutely

Update: Governors and analysts start to come clean – the spendulus is not going to create enough jobs or help states avoid major cuts – duh:

While state aid provided by the $787 billion stimulate bill might help avert draconian budget cuts, governors of both parties said, they did not expect to see signs of an economic recovery until late this year or early 2010.

And given the rose colored glasses they were wearing when they created this monster, I still say it will be at least a year from now. More belated honesty regarding New Jersey:

Yet it is unlikely that the money will be enough to prevent deep cuts in state services or generate enough jobs in the private sector over the long term.

Robert A. Briant Jr., chief executive of the Utility and Transportation Contractors Association, whose members stand to benefit directly from the billions of dollars in new federal spending, said he feared the infusion would offer only short-term relief for the construction industry.

“We have some hope for the next two years, two and a half years,” Mr. Briant said. “We just don’t know where it’s going after that.”

Pork for the pork addicted with DC connections. For the rest of us – nothing but mounting debt.

35 responses so far

35 Responses to “President Obama Is Economically Insane – Updated!”

  1. Frogg says:

    Chicago Tea Party… Join Us!

    Welcome! This is NOT the “official” website for all Nationwide Chicago Tea Party activity. This IS the official planning website for the sponsoring groups involved.

    http://www.officialchicagoteaparty.com/

  2. Frogg says:

    Obama Cap & Trade Policy will cost the US four million jobs
    http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/02/obama-to-announce-cap-n-trade-policy.html

    Obama is slowly choking the life out of our economy.

  3. AJStrata says:

    Frogg,

    What do you mean ‘slowly’ – he is doing it at record speed.

  4. kathie says:

    He will stop when he has no more of our money to spend. Gibbs says that Obama doesn’t keep an eye on the stock market, not much interested I guess, or doesn’t have a clue. To bad! I wonder what Monday morning will look like. The future looks rather bleak.

  5. penguin2 says:

    We just started reading Strata-sphere last fall; you got us through the election and the gloomy aftermath. Your posts of yesterday and today are superb, thank you. AJ, is this much worse than any of us could have imagined? And what do we do?
    Where is the competence, let alone, common sense?

    Is any of this unconstitutional? Will the Supreme Court get involved? I realize, that we have one party rule right now, but how did we get a dictatorship? Are there legal beagles out there monitoring this?

  6. OLDPUPPYMAX says:

    Far too many continue to make the same mistake….that is, believe that Hussein and his minions actually WANT the economy to get better, actually WANT the nation to do well, actually WANT the American people to become secure. Well WAKE UP, folks. Hussein and the rest of the left are in the process of deliberately creating the greatest economic disaster in history. Why? So the federal government–that is, they…the Marxist left–can take over. It began over a decade ago with the left threatening banks and forcing the loaning of money to those with no intention of paying it back. It came to a head with a remarkably timely financial collapse just two months before a presidential election. And now Big Brother has his fingers in everyones’ business, destroying free enterprise, nationalizing banks, poised to own GM and Chrysler, dictating what people are permitted to earn, and so on. The left is knowingly, deliberately engineering the total collapse of capitalism and the free market system. And the US government, which that Marxist left now “owns” will be there to “rescue” the frightened, frantic, despairing masses. Stick around and don’t be shocked when it happens in just this way.

  7. Terrye says:

    I don’t doubt that the government can give jobs to people, but at what cost? How many jobs will be lost?

  8. VA Voter says:

    Could you possibly make your posts even longer? Political junkies really love long tomes.

  9. VA Voter says:

    Watch out below on Monday when the markets open!

  10. kathie says:

    OLDPUPPYMAX……….You sound very scared for your country and all of us. Just remember Obama was elected and can dismissed with another election. It wasn’t that long ago when a soothing orator, an actor, talked the talk of all Americans and swept us off our feet. It can happen again, not soon enough for my liking, but have faith, it will.

  11. […] Strata-sphere takes a look at Obama’s tax-and-spend plans, and accurately asses the level of his sanity in: President Obama is Economically Insane. […]

  12. crosspatch says:

    A major source of unemployment in California is the increase in the state minimum wage.

    Unemployment in California was 6.75/hour from 2002 until January of 2007. In January 2007 it rose to $7.50 per hour, an increase of 11.1%. This means that every employer in 2007 was forced by the government to give all their minimum wage employees a raise of 11.1%. It also means that any employees that had been promoted from the $6.75 minimum to anything at or less than $7.50 would be getting a raise as well.

    Then this January it went up again another 6.7 percent to $8.00 … which means that in a period of 12 months, California employers were required to raise the amount they paid the lowest rung of workers by 18.5 percent. This in the face of a general economic downturn.

    As a result, California companies have been laying these people off in droves. At the end of 2006 California had an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent. At the end of 2007 it was 8.4 percent.

    In addition to the increases in minimum wage, the state unemployment premiums that employers must pay to the states have also been rising. The state is simply making it impossible to hire unskilled workers. They aren’t providing more people with better wages, they are providing more people with unemployment checks.

  13. WWS says:

    My target for the DJIA by the end of this year is 3500. That would be about a 75% drop from the high (yes, that’s a rough average)

    If Obama doesn’t pull his head out soon, we could easily end up at a 90% drop off the high, just like in the 30’s. Of course, we will also be at 25% unemployment by then as well.

    Try to stay out of the major cities when the riots start. And stock up on ammunition while you still can.

    Oldpuppy, I think I agree with you completely. I don’t think there’s much point in worrying about the 2012 elections, because I don’t think they’re going to happen.

  14. Terrye says:

    WWS:

    Oh come on. We had elections during the Civil War in which 627,000 Americans lost their lives.

    It seems to me that there is way too much hysteria on both the left and right these days.

    The world is not coming to an end.

  15. WWS says:

    During the Civil War we had a President who loved the Constitution in power, and one who dedicated his life to preserving it. (yes, I know he suspended habeus corpus, blah blah blah.)

    Now we have a president who hates it. When it becomes clear that it is going to interfere with his desire to stay in power, he will destroy it. He believes in nothing but his own invincibility – the most dangerous kind of leader at any time. He is leading us to an almost unimaginable national disaster.

    And our world, as we knew it, has already come to an end. You, I, none of us will ever again in our lives see times as free and easy as the last 25 years have been.

  16. OLDPUPPY right ON, he wants to destroy the USA and he is succeeding because we are letting him.

    This horseshit of how stupid he is only happens because folks are too cowardly to accept reality as it really is not what they wish it to be.

    I am waiting till we implement the last paragraph of the Declaration.

    What we need now is the Benevolent dictator not a marxist.

  17. It gets tiresome listening to the most heavily armed populace in the world with the greatest constitution and Declaration talk like a bunch of cowardly failures.

    This is the greatest opportunity this nation has ever had wake up and see it.

  18. Redteam says:

    I saw a movie where this very charismatic, messianic leader comes along and runs for president. Enough were convinced that he was the nations savior that he was elected President of the swooning masses. It took the slobbering lovesick masses a while before they woke up to the reality that he was the devil leading them straight to hell.
    I’m sure glad it was just a movie script, nothing like that could REALLY happen…….no, wait……..

  19. dave m says:

    If you look at Obama’s actions from the starting postulate that
    he is trying to destroy the country and capitalism in general,
    then what he is doing is not insane. A growing bunch have begun
    to realize what Obama is really doing.

    Senator Richard Shelby made this statement at a public meeting,

    Another local resident asked Shelby if there was any truth to a rumor that appeared during the presidential campaign concerning Obama’s U.S. citizenship, or lack thereof.

    “Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate,” Shelby said. “You have to be born in America to be president.”

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Shot across the bow, perhaps?
    That was in a local newspaper, I can provide a link if required,

    Let’s dig out the old trusty tin-foil hat.
    A few years ago, reporters on the bilderberg group, commented that
    the adoption of a single currency throughout europe, was only to be
    a first step, and that a single currency across the USA and europe
    was desired next – and that a financial catastrophe would be the
    method used to setup the conditions where such a move could
    happen.

    So is “Obama” insane, or just doing what he has been told to do?
    I don’t know, but it’s a valid question.

  20. gwood says:

    The “rich” are our nation’s employers, entrepreneurs, and investors. Make them the declared enemy of tax policy at your peril, Mr. President.

    That’s what Rick Santelli meant when he said stimulus should be applied to “those who can carry the water” versus those “who can only drink it”.