This is bad news.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Survey fell from +3.2 to -30.7. A reading that low has always signaled that a recession is coming in the near future.
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment plunged to 54.9. Again, a reading that low has always signaled that a recession is coming in the near future.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) surveys indicate contraction. That signals a recession is coming in the near future.
The stock market is taking a pounding.
The evidence points to another US recessionary hit. Its going to get worse.
~~~~~~~~
Is government the answer?
This recession is homegrown. When I talk to people about this, they say the world is going through hard times, so the US will too. This view forgets the US is still the dominant world economy. When the US catches cold, the rest of the world gets pneumonia. It started here.
Aggravating the world's economic problems is the unresponsive Obama administration. Obama offered fertilizer in his recent Bus Tour campaign speeches -- he offered the same ideas which got us into this in the first place.
The downturn is being fueled by Obama's "Stimulus" package, enacted nearly three years ago. For example, in Washington State, the "Stimulus" gave the Gregoire government $2 billion to dig a tunnel under Seattle. Gregoire had to match the federal funds with a $4 billion increase in taxation. The tax increase is slowing the state economy in awful ways.
~~~~~~~~
The solution still is human freedom
The US must return to a free society and free economy -- Freedom is always a good thing. That will cause the world economy storm to subside and everyone everywhere will be better off.
 | -- either as free people or as slaves. Unchecked, ever-expanding government power -- destroys lives. Government panacea is a defective idea. | Email our servants: President Representative Senator |
Showing posts with label central planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label central planning. Show all posts
Friday, August 19, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
All “Non-Millionaires” Need to Know About Obama’s Tax Plan
By Sean Hyman
Last Wednesday, my CPA finally sent me my tax forms so I could sign them and send them in by today. Man, I couldn’t believe how much I owed Uncle Sam this year.
Also, my CPA’s timing couldn’t have been worse.
My paperwork arrived just hours after President Obama revealed his new tax plan to the world - a plan that includes less tax breaks and higher taxation to come.
The president announced a $4 trillion deficit reduction plan, which on the surface sounds like a good thing. But this plan will force the Bush tax cuts to expire, and it calls for an ADDITIONAL $1 trillion to be taken (I mean taxed) from the top two income brackets.
I’m by no means a millionaire. But this new tax plan is going to affect me and you - and 300 million or so other Americans - whether they realize it or not.
In fact, it could nudge our still-fragile economy off a cliff. Let me explain...
Why Do They Think the Government Can Manage This Trillion Better than Other Trillions They’ve Wasted?
If you had $1 trillion to “fix” the economy, would you rather give it to savvy businessmen who would use it to expand and create countless jobs, or our “efficient” government to use at their discretion?
Personally, I’d choose the businessmen every time.
So that’s mistake #1. Obama is increasing the taxes for the wealthiest people in the country... a.k.a the businessmen who create jobs for the rest of us. He’s also going after businesses with his proposal to remove some business tax breaks. He’s cutting industry off at the knees. Take more of that money away and you create unemployment (more on that in a moment).
Mistake #2: Obama mentioned he wants to make the tax system fairer. That sounds great in theory, but here’s his thinking on what’s “fair.”
Obama proposes taking away all the tax breaks you get on your mortgage interest. He also wants to remove all the tax benefits you receive when you give some money away to churches and other charities.
Sound fair to you? In my world, that’s not fair.
Mistake #3 lies in the IRS’s definition of “rich.” It’s simply not rational. Obama wants to raise taxes for the top two tax brackets. That includes any single person making over $200,000 a year, or any married couple making $250,000 a year.
While that may be decent money in the great state of Texas where I live, nobody in California or New York making $200,000 a year would consider themselves “rich.” The cost of housing alone in those areas is so outrageous. That $200,000 may just be enough to consider themselves “middle-class.”
The Rich Create the Jobs...
Over-Tax Them & It Creates Unemployment
When you put it all together, it’s hard to disagree with the Congressman from Ohio who remarked, “Any plan that starts with job-destroying tax hikes is a non-starter.”
This sounds like a man who has his head screwed on straight. In fact, if “sound economics” could talk, I’m guessing it would say that too.
You see, most everyone works for a rich person. How many poor people employ others? None that I know of.
So if you over-tax the rich, you eat away at the heart of the job-creating system. Tax rich people more, and they have to make up for that somewhere. Where is the easiest place to make up for the additional loss of tax money? It’s cutting payrolls.
In the end, tax increases take money away from businessmen and hand it over to the government. Sadly, the government hasn’t been good at managing money in years (case in point: the $14 trillion in debt that this $4 trillion plan is not even likely to help).
Why Obama Could Learn a Few Things from Reagan
Former president Reagan knew how money traveled around in the economy.
Give the rich tax breaks and what do they do? They use the extra money to expand their businesses. They have to hire more people to do this, so more people find jobs. Meanwhile, their current employees get promoted and enjoy higher salaries. In the end, everyone made more money.
When businesses and individuals make more money, you can charge them more in income taxes. So the government makes more money on the back-end. But since everyone is making more money anyway, it’s easier to take.
As a side effect, businesses grow faster. That increases corporate earnings. That gives the stock market a boost - while you’re making more money for the government. Overall, you have a healthier economy.
On the other hand, tax increases are simply transferring wealth from people to the government. The government is one of the most wasteful, inefficient entities around, so that money goes nowhere.
That’s why no matter how high they have ever taxed the people, they still can’t work with that amount of money. If you or I got raise after raise - and we still couldn’t live within our means - our neighbors would think we were idiots. Yet the U.S. government does it and it’s okay? Not in my book!
Obama Reminds Us to Get the Heck out of the Dollar
Think the economy is shaky now?
Take away people’s mortgage interest deductions. Take away the breaks on their charitable contributions. Take away their corporate tax breaks. Then see if we’re on the road to economic expansion and lower unemployment.
Personally I don’t see how that’s possible. If anything I believe it could be a catalyst to send stocks plummeting later this year.
It’s also one more reminder to take some assets and get the heck out of the dollar.
Other nations don’t have these bizarre tax practices - or our dreams of paying off our debts without any kind of fiscal management. That’s why countries like Norway, Sweden, and Australia have some of the soundest currencies to buy and hold over the long-term.
Bottom line: Assuming this tax plan goes through, it could do more harm than good. Make sure you take cover as soon as possible.
Have a Nice Day.
Last Wednesday, my CPA finally sent me my tax forms so I could sign them and send them in by today. Man, I couldn’t believe how much I owed Uncle Sam this year.
Also, my CPA’s timing couldn’t have been worse.
My paperwork arrived just hours after President Obama revealed his new tax plan to the world - a plan that includes less tax breaks and higher taxation to come.
The president announced a $4 trillion deficit reduction plan, which on the surface sounds like a good thing. But this plan will force the Bush tax cuts to expire, and it calls for an ADDITIONAL $1 trillion to be taken (I mean taxed) from the top two income brackets.
I’m by no means a millionaire. But this new tax plan is going to affect me and you - and 300 million or so other Americans - whether they realize it or not.
In fact, it could nudge our still-fragile economy off a cliff. Let me explain...
Why Do They Think the Government Can Manage This Trillion Better than Other Trillions They’ve Wasted?
If you had $1 trillion to “fix” the economy, would you rather give it to savvy businessmen who would use it to expand and create countless jobs, or our “efficient” government to use at their discretion?
Personally, I’d choose the businessmen every time.
So that’s mistake #1. Obama is increasing the taxes for the wealthiest people in the country... a.k.a the businessmen who create jobs for the rest of us. He’s also going after businesses with his proposal to remove some business tax breaks. He’s cutting industry off at the knees. Take more of that money away and you create unemployment (more on that in a moment).
Mistake #2: Obama mentioned he wants to make the tax system fairer. That sounds great in theory, but here’s his thinking on what’s “fair.”
Obama proposes taking away all the tax breaks you get on your mortgage interest. He also wants to remove all the tax benefits you receive when you give some money away to churches and other charities.
Sound fair to you? In my world, that’s not fair.
Mistake #3 lies in the IRS’s definition of “rich.” It’s simply not rational. Obama wants to raise taxes for the top two tax brackets. That includes any single person making over $200,000 a year, or any married couple making $250,000 a year.
While that may be decent money in the great state of Texas where I live, nobody in California or New York making $200,000 a year would consider themselves “rich.” The cost of housing alone in those areas is so outrageous. That $200,000 may just be enough to consider themselves “middle-class.”
The Rich Create the Jobs...
Over-Tax Them & It Creates Unemployment
When you put it all together, it’s hard to disagree with the Congressman from Ohio who remarked, “Any plan that starts with job-destroying tax hikes is a non-starter.”
This sounds like a man who has his head screwed on straight. In fact, if “sound economics” could talk, I’m guessing it would say that too.
You see, most everyone works for a rich person. How many poor people employ others? None that I know of.
So if you over-tax the rich, you eat away at the heart of the job-creating system. Tax rich people more, and they have to make up for that somewhere. Where is the easiest place to make up for the additional loss of tax money? It’s cutting payrolls.
In the end, tax increases take money away from businessmen and hand it over to the government. Sadly, the government hasn’t been good at managing money in years (case in point: the $14 trillion in debt that this $4 trillion plan is not even likely to help).
Why Obama Could Learn a Few Things from Reagan
Former president Reagan knew how money traveled around in the economy.
Give the rich tax breaks and what do they do? They use the extra money to expand their businesses. They have to hire more people to do this, so more people find jobs. Meanwhile, their current employees get promoted and enjoy higher salaries. In the end, everyone made more money.
When businesses and individuals make more money, you can charge them more in income taxes. So the government makes more money on the back-end. But since everyone is making more money anyway, it’s easier to take.
As a side effect, businesses grow faster. That increases corporate earnings. That gives the stock market a boost - while you’re making more money for the government. Overall, you have a healthier economy.
On the other hand, tax increases are simply transferring wealth from people to the government. The government is one of the most wasteful, inefficient entities around, so that money goes nowhere.
That’s why no matter how high they have ever taxed the people, they still can’t work with that amount of money. If you or I got raise after raise - and we still couldn’t live within our means - our neighbors would think we were idiots. Yet the U.S. government does it and it’s okay? Not in my book!
Obama Reminds Us to Get the Heck out of the Dollar
Think the economy is shaky now?
Take away people’s mortgage interest deductions. Take away the breaks on their charitable contributions. Take away their corporate tax breaks. Then see if we’re on the road to economic expansion and lower unemployment.
Personally I don’t see how that’s possible. If anything I believe it could be a catalyst to send stocks plummeting later this year.
It’s also one more reminder to take some assets and get the heck out of the dollar.
Other nations don’t have these bizarre tax practices - or our dreams of paying off our debts without any kind of fiscal management. That’s why countries like Norway, Sweden, and Australia have some of the soundest currencies to buy and hold over the long-term.
Bottom line: Assuming this tax plan goes through, it could do more harm than good. Make sure you take cover as soon as possible.
Have a Nice Day.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Dueling Rallies
Glenn Beck hosted the rally called Restoring Honor on the Mall in Washington DC Saturday. The purpose of the rally was to bring America in line with Beck's vision of a free country characterized by faith in God. Beck indicated America was in trouble today because of lost faithfulness. His guest orators included Sarah Palin and Alveda King.In other words, the Restoring Honor rally was a lightning rod for the Left.
In a CNN interview, the ever ready Rev. Al Sharpton struck at Glenn Beck because Beck didn't "come up the rough side of the mountain." Sharpton insisted government programs are the solution for minority problems in America. He further insisted that Mr Beck ought to pay attention to Abraham Lincoln going to war against slave states since Arizona enacted its state law against illegal alien entry. Rev Sharpton made his argument sound like a threat to invade Arizona.
By the way, Rev Sharpton led a Washington DC rally on Saturday, proposing more government control of blacks and minorities in reply to Mr Beck's proposal of more freedom.
Sharpton's early upbringing was not too rough either. His father was a well-to-do contractor. But the contractor left home when Sharpton was only 10 years old. Sharpton's mother got work as a cleaning lady to make ends meet.
Sharpton's mother made a very intelligent and loving choice by avoiding government programs. Bill Cosby complains the Leftist government programs have sped destruction of an independent black culture in America, as outlined in a the book "Enough" by Juan Williams. Had Mrs. Sharpton not chosen the "rough side of the mountain," Al probably would have been full of cocaine and dead by his early 20s.
~~~~~~~~
Its true there are some inequalities left in America. It is undeniable these inequalities exist exactly because the American Leftist "Democratic" Party desired an underclass to "champion" in order to justify government destruction of the American economic system. But capitalism is exactly a merit based system, congenial with freedom and racial harmony. Capitalism is completely blind to race, skin color, religion, sexual orientation... the list goes on. Capitalism is not perfect, but it is far better than government control.
Capitalism and freedom are the Left's targets. Leftists would centralize economics, destroying the free market a and regiment the people, destroying personal freedom. Clearly, the "Democratic" Party's only goal is total, Stalinist, state power, with themselves in control. Its time to vote them out.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Democratic Party versus....
Democratic Party versus the truth?
Some people, mostly the stupid, or uninformed, or Democrats, think the President makes law. The President makes suggestions, but Congress makes the law of the land, which the President then signs. When George W Bush was President, it was the Republicans in Congress who made us prosper.
Democratic Party members insist George Bush's policies failed. If so, the timing is interesting, because it wasn't until after the Democratic Party took full control of Congress the economy began to wobble. When the Democratic Party took control of the Presidency too the nation's economy collapsed.
The stock market crashed and partly recovered (2 year view).
The dollar dropped 35% against the Yen (2 year view).
And unemployment nearly doubled to 9.5% (Ten year view).
The Democratic Party must believe George Bush has spooky influence now that he is out of office for more than a year and a half.
Clearly the policies of the Democratic Party have failed. And no wonder. Their policies are based on the notion that central planning works. If that were so, the militaristic Soviet Union would still be around. Central planning requires force.
The economy is failing, but not because of the people or the ghost from a past administration. Capitalism did not fail --- freedom is under attack. The Democratic Party is attacking the American way of life. They are doing this out of pure partisan greed. We must stop them any way possible.
It does not need to happen.
Some people, mostly the stupid, or uninformed, or Democrats, think the President makes law. The President makes suggestions, but Congress makes the law of the land, which the President then signs. When George W Bush was President, it was the Republicans in Congress who made us prosper.
Democratic Party members insist George Bush's policies failed. If so, the timing is interesting, because it wasn't until after the Democratic Party took full control of Congress the economy began to wobble. When the Democratic Party took control of the Presidency too the nation's economy collapsed.
The stock market crashed and partly recovered (2 year view).
The dollar dropped 35% against the Yen (2 year view).
And unemployment nearly doubled to 9.5% (Ten year view).
The Democratic Party must believe George Bush has spooky influence now that he is out of office for more than a year and a half.
Clearly the policies of the Democratic Party have failed. And no wonder. Their policies are based on the notion that central planning works. If that were so, the militaristic Soviet Union would still be around. Central planning requires force.
The economy is failing, but not because of the people or the ghost from a past administration. Capitalism did not fail --- freedom is under attack. The Democratic Party is attacking the American way of life. They are doing this out of pure partisan greed. We must stop them any way possible.
It does not need to happen.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Humorless Old News
I have an old observation to offer. By the time the news services pick up on some fact, its old news. CNBC news (owned by NBC, owned by General Electric, CEO-ed by Jeffery Immelt, in a cozy relationship with Mr. Obama) offered a dose of panic this morning about the financial status of state and local governments.
Every investor has known for a while there are a dozen American state and municipal governments fixing to go insolvent July 1, 2010, the same day tons of new public debt will be issued from those government bodies. Public insolvency (bankruptcy to you and me) for governments is handled under Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy laws.
Those governments will offer new bonds to float their bloated debt. There will be few buyers who offer to lose their shirts.
Corrupt elected officials over-committed public wealth to corrupt union bosses to precipitate these state and local problems (witness Washington state). The crooked politicians got massive kickbacks in both cash and free campaign help in exchange.
Mr Obama may insist the feds step in again and print more dollars to buy more toxic assets, this time government assets. This 'print more money' phenomenon may also answer the question why businesses are awash in cash --- No one trusts American dollars to hold value anymore, but a business must take the dollars - its the law. The business have trouble finding ways to get rid of the dollars they have.
So everyone is buying gold. Owning gold works as an alternative to unreliable paper money. And no one should buy state or municipal paper for more than 20 cents on the dollar.
Does anyone think apesnot government spending is the way out of the mess apesnot government spending caused? Even Mr Obama doesn't think so. That is clear - or else he would simply spend the money already committed. But Mr Obama is a unimaginative man who hopes the electorate is stupid.
Its amazing the economic mayhem Mr Obama has done in less than two years. The man is evil. How can you tell? The system he launched is evil and will cause much suffering. But Mr Obama doesn't mind if you suffer: He is an elitist, in his own mind so much better than the people. He should resign now.
~~~~~~~~
Mr Obama and the Left will insist the federal government now has to take over for state an local governments and administer the country 9for the good of the public). This is one method American "liberalism" is attempting overthrow of sound, just and lawful government.
~~~~~~~~
Afternoon Update - See? I told you so.
Mr Obama insists more federal spending is needed to speed up the recovery. According to Mr Obama's own Stimulus results, only $415 billion of $727 billion of already enacted Stimulus from January 2009 has been spent. If Mr Obama is at all correct that more government spending is necessary, how about him finishing up the spending already committed?
C'mon, Mr Obama, you remember all that money for your big government pet big wigs who ne-e-e-eed more office decorating money. Your pet insurance agents and bankers need more insurance and banking money. And whatever else passes for mismanagement of money these days. You know, mismanagement of the Government money, the People's money. Aw - Mr Obama.
Mr Obama, the Doofus in Chief, committed to failure.
~~~~~~~~
The Sovereign Society published a sarcastic little questionnaire.
Will Federal Government Ever Get out of Debt?
A.) Yes - by declaring all their debts null and void.
B.) Yes - they'll print up trillions of dollars and pay it off.
C.) No - the status quo will continue and the rest of the world will keep buying Treasuries.
D.) Not Sure... Who the heck knows?
Every investor has known for a while there are a dozen American state and municipal governments fixing to go insolvent July 1, 2010, the same day tons of new public debt will be issued from those government bodies. Public insolvency (bankruptcy to you and me) for governments is handled under Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy laws.
Those governments will offer new bonds to float their bloated debt. There will be few buyers who offer to lose their shirts.
Corrupt elected officials over-committed public wealth to corrupt union bosses to precipitate these state and local problems (witness Washington state). The crooked politicians got massive kickbacks in both cash and free campaign help in exchange.
Mr Obama may insist the feds step in again and print more dollars to buy more toxic assets, this time government assets. This 'print more money' phenomenon may also answer the question why businesses are awash in cash --- No one trusts American dollars to hold value anymore, but a business must take the dollars - its the law. The business have trouble finding ways to get rid of the dollars they have.
So everyone is buying gold. Owning gold works as an alternative to unreliable paper money. And no one should buy state or municipal paper for more than 20 cents on the dollar.
Does anyone think apesnot government spending is the way out of the mess apesnot government spending caused? Even Mr Obama doesn't think so. That is clear - or else he would simply spend the money already committed. But Mr Obama is a unimaginative man who hopes the electorate is stupid.
Its amazing the economic mayhem Mr Obama has done in less than two years. The man is evil. How can you tell? The system he launched is evil and will cause much suffering. But Mr Obama doesn't mind if you suffer: He is an elitist, in his own mind so much better than the people. He should resign now.
~~~~~~~~
Mr Obama and the Left will insist the federal government now has to take over for state an local governments and administer the country 9for the good of the public). This is one method American "liberalism" is attempting overthrow of sound, just and lawful government.
~~~~~~~~
Afternoon Update - See? I told you so.
Mr Obama insists more federal spending is needed to speed up the recovery. According to Mr Obama's own Stimulus results, only $415 billion of $727 billion of already enacted Stimulus from January 2009 has been spent. If Mr Obama is at all correct that more government spending is necessary, how about him finishing up the spending already committed?
C'mon, Mr Obama, you remember all that money for your big government pet big wigs who ne-e-e-eed more office decorating money. Your pet insurance agents and bankers need more insurance and banking money. And whatever else passes for mismanagement of money these days. You know, mismanagement of the Government money, the People's money. Aw - Mr Obama.
Mr Obama, the Doofus in Chief, committed to failure.
~~~~~~~~
The Sovereign Society published a sarcastic little questionnaire.
Will Federal Government Ever Get out of Debt?
A.) Yes - by declaring all their debts null and void.
B.) Yes - they'll print up trillions of dollars and pay it off.
C.) No - the status quo will continue and the rest of the world will keep buying Treasuries.
D.) Not Sure... Who the heck knows?
Friday, June 25, 2010
Defective Meglomania & FinReg
Getting up-to-date information isn't the only problem the government will have if it tries to micromanage our daily live. Even given the best of intentions, there is a psychological problem as well. I should note the present administration has less than "best of intentions"
Tammy Bruce puts it well in her recent article:
"In the world of private life and private industry, there are limits to the power of incompetents. If you screw up, your failure will be obvious to anyone that cares to look at it. If you can’t learn from your own mistakes, at least others will know not to rely upon you. If you run a business, it won’t be around for long.Washington state is represented by two of the farthest left of the Senate, Murray and Cantwell. These two used to respond to my emails about leaving us alone with preachy garbage about how government was always right and we needed micromanagement. More recently they haven't even bother with their usual, pouting replies. Both Senators exceed the limits of their incompetence and they don't like it when others point it out.
"As our government becomes more invasive about controlling our private lives, I worry about creeping, aggressive incompetence. It’s painfully obvious to so many of us that the lawyers in Washington know nothing about economics or medicine or manufacturing or mining or business operations or any of the other stuff created and managed by others that they grasp at. When confronted with their ignorance, our political leaders assert their moral supremacy and assume that any challenge to their authority must be of a nefarious nature. These people know they’re right, and anyone that opposes or even questions them must therefore be evil."
~~~~~~~~
The 18th century American Revolution was a return to the original state of government; people were left alone to mind their own lives and brought together to address social problems which required an act of government. That is, there must be no private way to address a social problem before that problem becomes a government problem. The alternative is government inexorably becomes the problem.
The social ills the American government addressed for 50 years (and perhaps longer) all have been ills the private sector used to address. Poverty was handled by charities and churches; health care, also treated by charity and churches, notably the Red Cross and Roman Catholic operations. The rate of poverty is assessed by the government to be the same now as since those rates were first calculated. At best government run poverty eradication and health care programs are a nice fraud.
Americans all learned to read and do arithmetic long before education was inserted into the private sector. Many American are poor readers now and unable even to do sums. But young Americans are nearly narcissistic about their ability to reason and express themselves, even though they can hardly think or phrase a clear statement.
With Mr Obama, fans of big government have taken the final refuge. No other way is allowed -- By law only government may provide social service. Incompetence is masked by force of law. The institution trap is sprung. You see, it isn't the fact that Democrats think Mr Obama is their pet --- Its the fact that his politics are counter revolutionary.
~~~~~~~~
FinReg
Why do authoritarians love bizarre abbreviations? "FinReg" only makes it clear they don't know what they are doing.
With the passage of the new restrictions on banking in America, Mr Obama sinks his fangs more deeply into the economy. The bill will heavily restrict banks from equities operations. Aha! The falling stock market is easy to understand! The most significant investor, the American banking system, is being forced out of the market. Wise investors are getting out before the banks are forced to dump their shares, which will depress the snot out of the market.
The net result will be a general loss of perceived wealth, expanded government interference in capital formation, and a loss of liquidity for the masses. FinReg is is an attack on the middle class in America. It should be clear to everyone that less vigorous banks will not be able to lend as much to people. This will make major purchases, such as houses, cars and even refrigerators less obtainable. The FinReg action is a follow on to the earlier move which put an effective limit on credit available through credit cards. Credit collections are hampered if the outstanding card balance exceeds $10,000. With the limitation on legal recovery, the bank has no reason to lend more than it can recover. This had the effect of reducing everyone's credit limit to $10,000 for unsecured debt.
Since FinReg allows government seizure of bank assets, your own bank account can be seized. Suddenly, you may an account at UncleSam. The banking industry will suffer for this one, and its gonna hurt 'We the People' as much as it expands Mr Obama's power.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Leftist Imperialism
The Left makes moral equivalence between our nation fighting for its survival, and their attempts at its destruction. We must resist, and our resistance must grow teeth. If we continue to resist in reticence, we only make the struggle longer. And delay is all the Left needs to succeed.
AP Story Link
"Progressive activists who helped elect Barack Obama president complained on Monday that the administration and congressional Democrats have been too timid and too willing to compromise."
"Even though Obama's major first-term achievement — an overhaul of the nation's health care system — passed without a single Republican vote, progressive leaders who gathered in Washington criticized the president for failing to create a government-run insurance option to compete with private industry."
. . .
"'The White House has been an uncertain trumpet,' said Robert Borosage, a co-director of the Campaign for America's Future, a progressive organization. 'The administration's reforms were too often too timid from the start and too readily compromised along the way.'"
~~~~~~~~
Leftists and the so-called "progressives" have an intellectual model of society focused on structure. The structure concept suggests theirs is a rigid, unchanging worldview... a perfect model of a dead society. Plus Leftists think that political power is a mandate to impose their views on everyone who does not share those views. Its no wonder when the Left gets power society begins to die.
Economics, as a dynamic science, is beyond the Left. Most Leftist economists you meet are superb at econometrics, making the measurements, but they have no clear idea of what impels a market to function, and why it can change so quickly.
One change is complete collapse. The Left once again misunderstands that a massive government debt can collapse an economy. People will survive, but nothing will be the same.
Business is what people do when they want to make a living. If massive debt weren't enough, the Obama administration is laying so many burdens on small business that many owners will bag it. The Left will be mystified by how merely doubling the time required to do accounting for the IRS can result in a dramatic increase in business failures (under threat of audit).
You see, the Left has cheerfully added on a massive increase in required 1099 filings. The uptick in small business failures will be very soon. Their punitive attitude is already destroying capital formation. An easy-to-see thermometer of this is the Dow index. Its falling. We're in for a long cold winter.
~~~~~~~~
Group decisions of personal matters are another way the Left intrudes its long nose into people's lives. A motto of the Soviet regime shortly after the October Revolution was, "The personal life in dead in Russia." They weren't kidding. Centralized control of health care access is a perfect example of the Left intruding into the personal life.
~~~~~~~~
No matter that high officials also expect and get away with all kinds of misbehavior. Witness the Sestak bribery case. The Left is so fond of its authoritarian regime they seek to bury this story instead of investigating it. If there is substance to the story, and it leads all the way to Mr Obama, he has committed a felonious crime worthy of removal.
Why would anyone willingly choose to support an authoritarian regime like this one? These Leftists must have completely lost any sense of self-worth to long for a despot to rule over them.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Central Planning Doesn't Work
Lets deal with big government economics on a purely intellectual level. Currently the stuff of big government is carbon taxes, stimuli packages, and centralized medical care.
~~~~~~~~
Why can't an economy be planned by well-meaning federal power? Wouldn't it be possible to assemble the best and brightest minds? Get them who really understand an economy to make things go. Then we can really stimulate the economy from a central plan. Why doesn't that work?
Getting good information is a problem.
Central planning requires excellent theory and excellent information to be successful. Therein lies the rub. The guys doing the planning don't have good information, so the answers they get are always wrong. Policy fails.
So gather better information! Lets get rid of privacy! Still not good enough. By the time the information is gathered, collated and made into a sensible picture, the picture has changed. The target moved.
Central planning will always suffer from poor information. A brilliant theory with garbage information gives garbage answers.
What is frustrating to central-planning bugs is poor theory, even bad theory, if applied at the lowest local level, has superior, up-to-date information and will give superior results. Nothing is more local than the individual. The atomistic practice of free enterprise results in better economic justice for the people.
~~~~~~~~
Mr Obama and the Democreeps seem too stuck up to get out of the way. We are in for a long period of malaise. Big government itself is the problem. As long as this government continues to try to centralize economic power in Washington DC, this economy will wobble on.
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Why can't an economy be planned by well-meaning federal power? Wouldn't it be possible to assemble the best and brightest minds? Get them who really understand an economy to make things go. Then we can really stimulate the economy from a central plan. Why doesn't that work?
Getting good information is a problem.
Central planning requires excellent theory and excellent information to be successful. Therein lies the rub. The guys doing the planning don't have good information, so the answers they get are always wrong. Policy fails.
So gather better information! Lets get rid of privacy! Still not good enough. By the time the information is gathered, collated and made into a sensible picture, the picture has changed. The target moved.
Central planning will always suffer from poor information. A brilliant theory with garbage information gives garbage answers.
What is frustrating to central-planning bugs is poor theory, even bad theory, if applied at the lowest local level, has superior, up-to-date information and will give superior results. Nothing is more local than the individual. The atomistic practice of free enterprise results in better economic justice for the people.
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Mr Obama and the Democreeps seem too stuck up to get out of the way. We are in for a long period of malaise. Big government itself is the problem. As long as this government continues to try to centralize economic power in Washington DC, this economy will wobble on.
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