People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy.
Anton Chekhov
Loser Quote of the Day: Harry Reid on Obama Jobs Bill
“Republicans think that if the economy improves, it might help President Obama,” Mr. Reid said. “So they root for the economy to fail and oppose every effort to improve it.”The Stimulus Bill V. 1 in 2009 was very expensive and generally regarded as ineffective. This bill is roughly 50% the size of the last stimulus. We've been there, done that. We people who will work to unseat Obama next fall don't need any further evidence. We disagree with pushing-on-a-string Keynesian economics. The fact of the matter is that Majority Reid has been part of the problem, not the solution, with his contemptible efforts to pass legislation like Dodd N Frankenstein, ObamaCare, and other counterproductive federal meddling in the economy, muddying up the water for entrepreneurs and other job creators, adding on more floors of unmanageable federal bureaucracy. What will improve the economy is doing things like serious tax, budgetary, and regulatory reform, at a time when Majority Leader Reid can't even draft a budget and continues to sit on serious passed House bills (e.g., Congressman Ryan's legislation) that take more of a much-needed longer-term perspective.
US Senate Votes 63-35 in Favor of Chinese Currency Manipulation Bill:
Thumbs DOWN!
I have mixed feelings about writing about this irresponsible vote. I would be more upset if I thought it would be taken up by the US House or even President Obama, despite his sympathetic rhetoric; there are serious drawbacks to trade warfare and relevant issues with international trade agreements. I consider the vote to be sort of a political "free play" (i.e., in football, if the defense goes offside foul--the defense is on the offense's side of the line at the time the ball is snapped--the play continues. The offense is guaranteed at minimum 5 yards forward. If the play makes more than 5 yards, you can opt to accept any net gain on the free play beyond 5 yards.) In this case, demagogues like the Senate bill sponsor, Sherrod Brown (D-OH), get a chance to "prove" to their constituencies before next year's general election that they did everything in their power to thwart irresponsible "currency manipulation" without having to accept moral responsibility for the lose-lose inevitable job-killing trade war.
There are legitimate issues to arbitrate with the Chinese, primarily involving intellectual property, fair access to the market, etc. But as I've discussed before, the yuan has gained in strength roughly 24% since 2005, but similarly the trade imbalance widened. The prediction would be a stronger yuan implies cheaper exports and more expensive inports--and a narrowing of a trade imbalance, which simply is not confirmed.
Obama Jobs Bill Setback in Senate: 49-50 Cloture Fails:
Thumbs UP!
Two Democratic Senators up for reelection next year (Nebraska and Montana) joined with the GOP, meaning the likely next step will be subdividing the original legislation into components, e.g., infrastructure, payroll tax cut, etc.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Moody Blues, "The Story in Your Eyes"
