Quote of the Day
One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention.
Jim Rohn
Obama Escalates Dangerous Campaign Battle With Romney With Irresponsible Who's Tougher on China Ad: Once Again Reinforcing his Illiteracy on Basic Economics
I'm at least grateful the reelection campaign seems to have retired the President Zipper ad which I debunked some time back. It's interesting to see how much lipstick they can put on Obama's face. I think they've been coasting as the mainstream media has gone after Romney on the 9/11 north Africa attack memo release and 47% non-income taxpayer worker gaffes.
Most China critics have focused on the fact that China has pegged its currency to the US dollar which they believe is unfair. They feel a floating yuan would rise against the dollar which would make our goods more competitive and our imports more expensive. They feel we are losing jobs because of pegging. Mark Perry of blog host shifting Carpe Diem routinely publishes positive blurbs on the thriving manufacturing sector (including higher-value products recovery, growth, employment, etc.) One of my favorite libertarian economists Don Boudreaux had an excellent discussion of the China issue on Russ Roberts' EconTalk here; Americans forget we have the world's reserve currency and have benefited from its stability (e.g., the euro crisis) Bordeaux points out among other things, foreigners buying our debt have lowered our interest rates a percent point which benefits economic growth. It's hard to argue the point that the Fed isn't at fault for the declining purchasing power of the dollar.
Regular readers know that my favorite Bastiat quote is: "Treat all economic questions from the viewpoint of the consumer, for the interests of the consumer are the interests of the human race." I have been a frequent critic of Romney for his rhetoric on China, at odds with free market/trade principles, something Boudreaux also pointed out in one of his trademark pithy letters published at Cafe Hayek. Obama can't make this argument because he wants to punitively tax companies which invest overseas, has maintained the highest business income tax rate among developed economies, and he has done little to open foreign markets beyond finally ratifying 3 Bush-era trade pacts. no, Obama is less subtle; he eagerly points out he raised protectionist tire tariffs. Tariffs are anti-consumer; like inflation, this is a more hidden way of taxing the lower and middle class. Obama never learned the law of comparative advantage.
ANOTHER NEW MISLEADING OBAMA CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL
Obama has finally tried to respond to Romney's neo-Reaganite "are you better off than 4 years ago". for the vast number of people, no--whether it's net worth, salary increases... We have had the worst, most jobless recovery since the Depression. they talked about a string of job gains that starts at the bottom well into Obama's tenure, what they don't say is they are still at a net deficit since Obama took office , and we have the lowest labor force participation rate in decades. From memory, Obama is taking credit for rebounds in manufacturing, housing, and the stock market. let me point out almost none of that had nothing to do with Obama's counterproductive policies; the economy usually rebounds after a recession. a far bigger reason is Fed manipulation of interest rates, the real test of a recovery is when you get growth without fiscal and monetary interventions.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Commodores, "Still"
