Quote of the Day
Choose thy love. Love thy choice.
German proverb
Obama, Voters, and the Tea Party: Some Comments
When I hear pundits talking about Obama being all but a lock for reelection next year, I get more incredulous: what are they talking about? The voters seem to be blasting the Congress over the bitterly partisan debt ceiling increase debate: when is Obama going to be held responsible for exacerbating the partisan divide given the fact he fraudulently and knowingly promised a post-partisan era? When is Obama going to held responsible for unprecedented federal deficits requiring a need to raise the debt limit? When is Obama going to pay a price for boorish personal, unprofessional conduct, whether we are talking about walking out on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, attacking the Supreme Court to their faces at the State of the Union address, or constantly bashing his predecessor?
When are we going to see Barack Obama going to take responsibility for being President instead of constantly making excuses for his failing performance and whining like a spoiled brat that his job is just too damn hard? When is Obama going to be held responsible for setting abysmal priorities on expanding a new healthcare entitlement while existing entitlements are all but insolvent, some $50T in unfunded liabilities? When is Obama going to pay a price for all his broken campaign promises (e.g., Gitmo, the Bush tax cuts, earmarks, the KSM trial, etc.) and for validating anti-American rhetoric his first year in office?
When did Obama show leadership as national debt approached the size of GDP? Did he back up his own bipartisan deficit reduction committee findings? Did he jawbone Dem House and Senate leaders into submitting budgets in the last Congress? When is Obama going to accept responsibility for losing the S&P's highest rating on government debt? While states and municipalities have been cutting personnel, funding and services to make ends meet as required by law, where was Obama's proactive sense of fiscal responsibility?
Here we have a President whom repeats the same disingenuous claims in favor of ObamaCare: after all, the American people are just not smart enough like he is, that they are irrationally going against their best interests, clinging to their guns, Bibles and ethnic prejudices. Darn, that education system just isn't good enough for people to see the beauty of well-constructed, 2000-page plus Democratic laws--we better put more federal dollars into education; he just has to find the magic combination words so even his stupid fellow American can follow the idea. It's not that American voters have substantive objections to the law, which requires Americans to purchase an insurance product, including third party overhead and profits, for the privilege of living in America (versus, say, pay for medical services as they occur), radically expands Medicaid at a time the program is all but insolvent and refunds providers below cost, and takes away $500B from Medicare funding, which is chronically underfunded just as the largest American generation is starting to retire...
President Obama wants the Congress to pass the debt ceiling, already in his third year of trillion-plus deficits, without a short-term austerity plan, even as the federal debt approaches GDP size, a symbolic threshold of fiscal sustainability, despite the fact that his own economists are baking in trillion dollar deficits over the coming decade, in and of itself doubling the entire federal debt through the Bush Administration. He trumpeted a near trillion dollar stimulus bill, selling it using unrealistic expectations about unemployment (and pushing "shovel-ready projects"). He argues against special interests but acts on behalf of crony union interests and meets with AARP, pharmaceuticals, providers, and others.
Today I was listening to Meet the Press when John Kerry blasted the Tea Party once again, blaming them for the S&P downgrade and fiscal crisis; this is so wrong--raising the nation's credit limit did not occur because of Tea Party fiscal policies: the Democratic Party has been in control of one or both Houses of Congress and the President since the start of the recession in late 2007 and the percentage of public debt relative to GDP has roughly doubled since then. The Democratic President and Democratic-controlled Senate has been spending recklessly: even when revenues fell by 40%, the Democrats pushed through nearly a 25% increase in discretionary spending, far above the cost of living. This is not a tax problem: it is lack of spending discipline while Democrats try to play word games, calling overspending "investments". Well, Democrats have had a free hand to do whatever it takes to stabilize employment, and the proof is in the pudding: despite heavy Fed-based liquidity in the markets to complement reckless Democratic spending, we have an official 9.1% unemployment rate, the largest number of long-term unemployed since the federal government started tracking them (the long-term unemployed are not figured in the unemployment rate as "discouraged workers"), and an anemic growth rate of under 2%, the slowest, least-job creating recession in recent history, despite the best economists available for Obama to work with. How in the world does any American voter really think giving Obama 4 more years on the clock is going to make any difference, if he hasn't already figured it out by now?
The real extremists and traitors in Congress are the Democrats whom have continued to stonewall austerity and feed the Big Government bubble. Haven't we been there and done that?
Political Humor. A periodic reminder you can find digests of daily late-night jokes at newsmax.
"Because of our national debt, every child in this country owes $50,000. China heard this and said, 'We’re hiring.'" - Jay Leno
[The bad news is that given Chinese wages, your kids are going to have to wash dishes at local Chinese restaurants for the rest of their lives...]
"Vice President Joe Biden referred to the tea party as “terrorists.” This is a real slap in the face — to terrorists." - David Letterman
[Vice President Joe Biden referred to Barack Obama as "the President". That is a real slap in the face--to Presidents.]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Life in the Fast Lane". You have got to love a song with the lyric "he was brutally handsome, she was terminally pretty"...
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Miscellany: 8/06/11
Quote of the Day
If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
Oscar Wilde
Forbes/Mariotti, "A Failed Presidency: The American Problem": Thumbs UP!
John Mariotti's column is original but is so completely consistent with my own posts, I'm sorely tempted to reprint it in total: he repeats the same bullet points familiar to my regular readers. In terms of Bush: his feckless management of the Iraq occupation until the appointment of Petraeus, the unfunded expansion of Medicare, the failure to veto spending bills, etc. In terms of Democrats, whose deficits were like Bush's on steroids: the failure of Senate Democrats to come up with a budget, Obama's which was UNANIMOUSLY rejected by the Senate, etc.
Great minds think alike. Here is a quote from my original Tuesday post:
S&P can read the writing on the wall. The parties have no stomach for short-term austerity measures; the Democrats risk insurgent challengers if they rollback funding or make entitlement concessions. If the GOP goes after serious reform in the short term in the House, it has no chance of getting past the Senate or the White House but it will set up populist campaigns next year against the GOP. The American people have no real choice except to elect a new GOP President and new GOP Senate a reality. The Democrats have resided over one or both Houses of Congress since 2007 and the Presidency since 2009. The national debt was roughly $8.6T; it's gone up just over two-thirds in just over 4.5 years spurred on by spendthrift spending. The Democrats twice this year have negotiated budget related agreements that amounted to mere pocket change to austerity. It's hard to pin this on the GOP, because the Democrats control the Presidency and the Senate. The GOP House can't do much more given the legacy of the prior two elections that have allowed Democrats to stonewall against fiscal responsibility.
I understand a populist backlash against the Congress, but it's misplaced. Obama has failed to lead. There has been no attempt to save Medicare and social security; ObamaCare has instituted an investment tax (the last thing a pro-economic growth/job-friendly policy would do), and is utilizing sorely-needed Medicare resources needed to shore up an insolvent benefit. Obama failed to gain a single Senate lawmaker in support of his budget. He failed to support the bipartisan debt reduction committee findings. An objective person would come to the same conclusion: anything Obama has to say about fiscal responsibility is little more than "words, just words".
Glen Campbell Sings the Best Jimmy Webb Song
I first heard this song on a Glenn Campbell greatest hits compilation I bought in the mid-70's, and it became my favorite song on the album the very first time I heard it. I've heard countless other performers do the now classic song, but I want to sing like Glen Campbell when I grow up.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Hotel California". One of the most iconic tunes in the rock era ever. What I most remember about this song was when I was working on a subcontract at an IBM subsidiary on the northern outskirts of Irving, TX in the early 1990's, just after leaving academia. Most of us listened to radio broadcasts on headphones while we worked. One of my colleagues, a pro-abortion choice conservative, used to laugh out loud several times, which is how I first learned about Rush Limbaugh. I used to listen to a classic rock station. One day there was a decision to change station format, and I guess the way the rock format station personnel decided to protest the format change was to put this track on repeat. Just a warning: after the first 15 consecutive plays of the song, it begins to lose its charm, at least in my experience.
If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
Oscar Wilde
Forbes/Mariotti, "A Failed Presidency: The American Problem": Thumbs UP!
John Mariotti's column is original but is so completely consistent with my own posts, I'm sorely tempted to reprint it in total: he repeats the same bullet points familiar to my regular readers. In terms of Bush: his feckless management of the Iraq occupation until the appointment of Petraeus, the unfunded expansion of Medicare, the failure to veto spending bills, etc. In terms of Democrats, whose deficits were like Bush's on steroids: the failure of Senate Democrats to come up with a budget, Obama's which was UNANIMOUSLY rejected by the Senate, etc.
Great minds think alike. Here is a quote from my original Tuesday post:
No, he took the intellectually challenging alternative and innovative standpoint of criticizing legislative sausage making and making it clear his priorities: the next debt ceiling vote must not interrupt the only thing Obama really is good at: campaigning to be President. Being President is a totally different thing...John Mariotti makes a very similar point:
Appearing on TV more than any other sitting president, Barack Obama is constantly “explaining” why things aren’t working, when he should be working on what to do different and better. Instead he is “campaigning,” which is the only thing he knows how to do reasonable well.I need to reproduce the opening paragraph in full because it is brilliantly written, as spot on as anything I have read to date:
Few Americans needed Standard & Poor to confirm the mismanagement of the United States government and its finances. The downgrading of American credit will raise interest rates on America’s huge debt and ultimately on all Americans. Popular polls say that most Americans blame Congress—but that’s too simplistic. As much as Barack Obama would like to shift that blame onto Congress, the fault lies squarely on the shoulders of President. It is first and foremost a leadership problem that is crippling America—and the leader is President Barack Obama—not the many members of Congress. No matter how many speeches he makes, the conclusion is clear: Obama’s greatest failure is spending America into enormous deficits, and being clueless about how to get the economy to recover.And the concluding paragraph is equally brilliant:
Happy Birthday Mr. President. You have accomplished something no other president has done. You’ve spent America into a hole that will take a decade to fix, and kept more Americans out of work longer than anyone in recent history, and you’ve accomplished all this in record time, only 2-1/2 years. Who knows how much harm you can do given still more time.I want to comment particularly on Mariotti's point on the hits the Congress--in particularly, the GOP House--has been taking. Unfortunately, voters in the 2010 elections did not give control of the Senate to the Republicans. In part, that was due to self-inflicted wounds by failing to field competitive candidates like Pataki and Giuliani in the New York Senate races. Then there were the self-inflicted wounds of counterproductive Tea Party affiliate sniping of competitive Republican candidates in the Senate races in Colorado, Nevada and Delaware. But let's acknowledge that even if the GOP had won control of the Senate, the filibuster remains a potent anti-reform weapon against the serious kinds of budget cuts absolutely necessary. What can be done with Senate control? Well, certainly there's the budget reconciliation process, but President Obama can still veto the measure.
S&P can read the writing on the wall. The parties have no stomach for short-term austerity measures; the Democrats risk insurgent challengers if they rollback funding or make entitlement concessions. If the GOP goes after serious reform in the short term in the House, it has no chance of getting past the Senate or the White House but it will set up populist campaigns next year against the GOP. The American people have no real choice except to elect a new GOP President and new GOP Senate a reality. The Democrats have resided over one or both Houses of Congress since 2007 and the Presidency since 2009. The national debt was roughly $8.6T; it's gone up just over two-thirds in just over 4.5 years spurred on by spendthrift spending. The Democrats twice this year have negotiated budget related agreements that amounted to mere pocket change to austerity. It's hard to pin this on the GOP, because the Democrats control the Presidency and the Senate. The GOP House can't do much more given the legacy of the prior two elections that have allowed Democrats to stonewall against fiscal responsibility.
I understand a populist backlash against the Congress, but it's misplaced. Obama has failed to lead. There has been no attempt to save Medicare and social security; ObamaCare has instituted an investment tax (the last thing a pro-economic growth/job-friendly policy would do), and is utilizing sorely-needed Medicare resources needed to shore up an insolvent benefit. Obama failed to gain a single Senate lawmaker in support of his budget. He failed to support the bipartisan debt reduction committee findings. An objective person would come to the same conclusion: anything Obama has to say about fiscal responsibility is little more than "words, just words".
Glen Campbell Sings the Best Jimmy Webb Song
I first heard this song on a Glenn Campbell greatest hits compilation I bought in the mid-70's, and it became my favorite song on the album the very first time I heard it. I've heard countless other performers do the now classic song, but I want to sing like Glen Campbell when I grow up.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Hotel California". One of the most iconic tunes in the rock era ever. What I most remember about this song was when I was working on a subcontract at an IBM subsidiary on the northern outskirts of Irving, TX in the early 1990's, just after leaving academia. Most of us listened to radio broadcasts on headphones while we worked. One of my colleagues, a pro-abortion choice conservative, used to laugh out loud several times, which is how I first learned about Rush Limbaugh. I used to listen to a classic rock station. One day there was a decision to change station format, and I guess the way the rock format station personnel decided to protest the format change was to put this track on repeat. Just a warning: after the first 15 consecutive plays of the song, it begins to lose its charm, at least in my experience.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Miscellany: 8/05/11
Quote of the Day
If there is one thing upon this earth that mankind love and admire better than another, it is a brave man, -- it is the man who dares to look the devil in the face and tell him he is a devil.
James A. Garfield
S&P Downgrades Long-Term US Debt Rating From AAA to AA+
Obama's accomplishments are going to be a topic during the Presidential debates 13 or 14 months from now. If I'm the GOP nominee, there are two major points I'll be making be making. First, over two years into a recovery, we have had the shallowest, most anemic growth, jobless recovery in decades. This is despite massive, unprecedented so-called stimulus spending and unprecedented liquidity via quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve. Second, Obama has now presided over the first S&P downgrade in US history. The Obama Administration has reacted in predictable fashion: the smoke and mirrors department is working overtime, just like it did in the discussion of ObamaCare, fraudulently claiming ObamaCare would actually cut the deficit, this time insisting that S&P made a $2T mistake in its computations.
Let me discuss some relevant S&P statements in today's release:
I think the GOP finds itself boxed in. It knows that 60% of the federal budget is in sacred cow territory of entitlements, with Democrats willing to demagogue, at the drop of a hat, the GOP balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and senior citizens. Military conservatives automatically attack anyone looking at defense's 20% of the budget, even though we spend probably about half of global military spending.
So when the GOP itself essentially gives 80% of the federal budget a pass without any serious spending constraints, you have to ask, how do you pay for it? Note that I'm definitely not giving the Democrats a pass here. They want to lock in huge discretionary funding increases during the previous 2 Congresses, and if they really were interested in deficit reduction, they would call for expiration of ALL the Bush tax cuts for EVERYBODY. I think the primary motive for class warfare tax windfalls is mostly looked at as funding sources for NEW spending proposals for Democratic initiatives, not to pay down massive current deficits. We wouldn't see these disingenuous arguments that the 25% of Bush cuts going to the people whom already pay the most disproportionate amount of the tax burden is "less equal" than the 75% going to the middle class.
I am well aware of the economic effect of lower tax rates, but we need to get rid of convoluted aspects of crony capitalism in the tax code, and we need a more broad-based source of revenues, including the 50% of workers whom effectively don't pay any federal income tax. Of course, the Democrats are being hypocritical in wanting to see a broad-based approach when it comes to business revenues or transactions but not to individuals. I have noticed a bias to consumption in contrast to savings and investment, which are supportive of business growth. Even Republicans back away from deductibility of mortgage interest. At minimum, we need to make the hypocrisy of Obama and his Democratic cronies by offering tax increases coupled with a freeze on domestic spending. Does anyone want to bet that Obama will find 101 excuses not to go along with that?
Bottom line: we need to get the deficit down by at least 80% in the short term. That will require a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases. I'm more concerned about increases to the debt than being firm on a suboptimal revenue mix.
Political Humor
"It’s President Obama’s birthday. I can’t believe it’s been 50 years since his mother forged his birth certificate." - Jimmy Kimmel
[President Obama's 50th birthday. Or as he tells his supporters, the fiftieth anniversary of his first personal involvement with labor.]
"Fox News will host the next Republican primary debate on Aug. 11 in Iowa. Yeah, Fox News will ask some tough questions, like “How much better are you than Obama,” “Why is Obama such a bad president,” and “Man, can you believe we elected that guy?" - Jimmy Fallon
[This GOP celebration of Obama's 50th birthday includes the rousing party game of "Pin the Blame on the Donkey".]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "New Kid in Town"
If there is one thing upon this earth that mankind love and admire better than another, it is a brave man, -- it is the man who dares to look the devil in the face and tell him he is a devil.
James A. Garfield
S&P Downgrades Long-Term US Debt Rating From AAA to AA+
Obama's accomplishments are going to be a topic during the Presidential debates 13 or 14 months from now. If I'm the GOP nominee, there are two major points I'll be making be making. First, over two years into a recovery, we have had the shallowest, most anemic growth, jobless recovery in decades. This is despite massive, unprecedented so-called stimulus spending and unprecedented liquidity via quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve. Second, Obama has now presided over the first S&P downgrade in US history. The Obama Administration has reacted in predictable fashion: the smoke and mirrors department is working overtime, just like it did in the discussion of ObamaCare, fraudulently claiming ObamaCare would actually cut the deficit, this time insisting that S&P made a $2T mistake in its computations.
Let me discuss some relevant S&P statements in today's release:
[The debt-ceiling compromise] envisions only minor policy changes on Medicare and little change in other entitlements, the containment of which we and most other independent observers regard as key to long-term fiscal sustainability.Filling in the gaps: we don't see any serious attempt to address $50T in unfunded liabilities, which are becoming more critical than ever given the retirement tsunami of the Baby Boomers, which has only started to begin. We still don't see any agreement on big ticket items like Medicaid and social security. Whereas some have discussed means testing of certain benefits, making benefit increases more realistic and sustainable, and phasing in more restrictive eligibility criteria, let's point out almost nobody is discussing the fact that Medicare savings are being double-counted for ObamaCare, these savings are LONG TERM (i.e., barely moves the needle on chronic, massive short-term deficits) and are dubious and narrowly focused (essentially the federal government is attempting to cap prices below market rates, which is utterly futile): we need to stop kicking the can down the road and address trillions versus mere billions in short-term budget savings and to look at going towards more of a high deductible, scaled-back benefits business model with increase cost sharing by seniors (e.g., premium increases) and higher payroll contributions in tune with expected lifetime benefits reflecting actuarial factors.
We now project that net general government debt would rise from an estimated 74% of GDP by the end of 2011 to 79% in 2015 and 85% by 2021. Even the projected 2015 ratio of sovereign indebtedness is high in relation to those of peer credits and, as noted, would continue to rise under the act's revised policy settings.Even under the most aggressive $4T plans in cuts over the coming decade, at minimum we are adding hundreds of billions to the national debt each year, with the ratio of debt service continuing to increase relative to federal revenues. Obama and the Democrats continue to fight any and all austerity measures on ideological grounds, clinging to their Saul Alinsky, John Maynard Keynes, and San Francisco values.
It appears that for now, new revenues have dropped down on the menu of policy options.The Democrats simply have no credibility, on least on the federal level, when it comes to fiscal discipline. Remember how Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was discussing pay-as-you-go, while discretionary spending went up by 24% (not counting the massive stimulus bill)? Remember how the Democrats negotiated with Reagan, promising $3 in cuts for every $1 in new taxes? Remember how a Democratic Congress finally got a reluctant GHW Bush to agree to a modest tax increase for a budget deal, then Bill Clinton exploited Bush's violation of his 'no new taxes' pledge and pushed his own tax cut plan during the campaign, only then deciding to push for a tax increase once in office?
I think the GOP finds itself boxed in. It knows that 60% of the federal budget is in sacred cow territory of entitlements, with Democrats willing to demagogue, at the drop of a hat, the GOP balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and senior citizens. Military conservatives automatically attack anyone looking at defense's 20% of the budget, even though we spend probably about half of global military spending.
So when the GOP itself essentially gives 80% of the federal budget a pass without any serious spending constraints, you have to ask, how do you pay for it? Note that I'm definitely not giving the Democrats a pass here. They want to lock in huge discretionary funding increases during the previous 2 Congresses, and if they really were interested in deficit reduction, they would call for expiration of ALL the Bush tax cuts for EVERYBODY. I think the primary motive for class warfare tax windfalls is mostly looked at as funding sources for NEW spending proposals for Democratic initiatives, not to pay down massive current deficits. We wouldn't see these disingenuous arguments that the 25% of Bush cuts going to the people whom already pay the most disproportionate amount of the tax burden is "less equal" than the 75% going to the middle class.
I am well aware of the economic effect of lower tax rates, but we need to get rid of convoluted aspects of crony capitalism in the tax code, and we need a more broad-based source of revenues, including the 50% of workers whom effectively don't pay any federal income tax. Of course, the Democrats are being hypocritical in wanting to see a broad-based approach when it comes to business revenues or transactions but not to individuals. I have noticed a bias to consumption in contrast to savings and investment, which are supportive of business growth. Even Republicans back away from deductibility of mortgage interest. At minimum, we need to make the hypocrisy of Obama and his Democratic cronies by offering tax increases coupled with a freeze on domestic spending. Does anyone want to bet that Obama will find 101 excuses not to go along with that?
Bottom line: we need to get the deficit down by at least 80% in the short term. That will require a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases. I'm more concerned about increases to the debt than being firm on a suboptimal revenue mix.
Political Humor
"It’s President Obama’s birthday. I can’t believe it’s been 50 years since his mother forged his birth certificate." - Jimmy Kimmel
[President Obama's 50th birthday. Or as he tells his supporters, the fiftieth anniversary of his first personal involvement with labor.]
"Fox News will host the next Republican primary debate on Aug. 11 in Iowa. Yeah, Fox News will ask some tough questions, like “How much better are you than Obama,” “Why is Obama such a bad president,” and “Man, can you believe we elected that guy?" - Jimmy Fallon
[This GOP celebration of Obama's 50th birthday includes the rousing party game of "Pin the Blame on the Donkey".]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "New Kid in Town"
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Miscellany: 8/4/11
Quote of the Day
He gains everyone's approval who mixes the pleasant with the useful.
Horace
FAA Partial Shutdown and Kicking the Can Down the Road
Just a brief note about the FAA budget partial shutdown controversy that was shamelessly used by "Republican" Transportation Department Secretary Ray LaHood. Last year the National Mediation Board ruled that relevant union certification only required a net plurality versus majority vote of target membership. The Republican House rolled back this reform, plus stripped out subsidies favoring rural airports. The Senate Democrats refuse to accept these modest reforms to the FAA budget, which I highly favor, and the result is a few thousand FAA employees furloughed, no authority to collect certain taxes, while Senator Schumer and other Democrats once against put their parochial (union) interests above fiscal responsibility on behalf of the American taxpayer. Obama has also vowed to veto any NMB rollback.
Schumer was particularly obnoxious, referring to the controversy to the GOP holding a gun to the heads of Democrats. Schumer has now become yet another nominee to my tongue-in-cheek 2011 Jackass of the Year award. I didn't mention it in past posts, but former Congressman David "Tiger Blood" Wu was also nominated to the already crowded field. Nadler used the term "hijacking".
The announced compromise puts aside the union issue, but a bare-minimum Senate would approve an interim House measure (with stripped rural subsidies) and LaHood would restore certain stripped subsidies using his own effective authority.
Gore Calls For an "Arab Spring in America":
Both Thumbs DOWN!
Apparently Al Gore doesn't note that the real tyranny in America is the leadership in the US Senate and the White House. It's not ObamaCare, one of the largest entitlement programs in the history of the US, pushed through without a single GOP vote and the worst crony deal making in the Senate or Dodd N. Frankenstein "reform".
Al Gore wants you to believe that the Tea Party is little more than a thinly-veiled cover for the billionaire oil brothers, the Koch brothers. Yup, I haven't received a single penny from the Tea Party and the American people voted several Tea Party-supported candidates into office, but Al Gore wants all you lower middle-class workers not paying a dime in federal income taxes to make sure "rich" people pay their fair share...
Apparently global warming has melted down his remaining brain cells....
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Take It To the Limit". One of my favorite song titles of all time, given two math degrees...
He gains everyone's approval who mixes the pleasant with the useful.
Horace
FAA Partial Shutdown and Kicking the Can Down the Road
Just a brief note about the FAA budget partial shutdown controversy that was shamelessly used by "Republican" Transportation Department Secretary Ray LaHood. Last year the National Mediation Board ruled that relevant union certification only required a net plurality versus majority vote of target membership. The Republican House rolled back this reform, plus stripped out subsidies favoring rural airports. The Senate Democrats refuse to accept these modest reforms to the FAA budget, which I highly favor, and the result is a few thousand FAA employees furloughed, no authority to collect certain taxes, while Senator Schumer and other Democrats once against put their parochial (union) interests above fiscal responsibility on behalf of the American taxpayer. Obama has also vowed to veto any NMB rollback.
Schumer was particularly obnoxious, referring to the controversy to the GOP holding a gun to the heads of Democrats. Schumer has now become yet another nominee to my tongue-in-cheek 2011 Jackass of the Year award. I didn't mention it in past posts, but former Congressman David "Tiger Blood" Wu was also nominated to the already crowded field. Nadler used the term "hijacking".
The announced compromise puts aside the union issue, but a bare-minimum Senate would approve an interim House measure (with stripped rural subsidies) and LaHood would restore certain stripped subsidies using his own effective authority.
Gore Calls For an "Arab Spring in America":
Both Thumbs DOWN!
Apparently Al Gore doesn't note that the real tyranny in America is the leadership in the US Senate and the White House. It's not ObamaCare, one of the largest entitlement programs in the history of the US, pushed through without a single GOP vote and the worst crony deal making in the Senate or Dodd N. Frankenstein "reform".
Al Gore wants you to believe that the Tea Party is little more than a thinly-veiled cover for the billionaire oil brothers, the Koch brothers. Yup, I haven't received a single penny from the Tea Party and the American people voted several Tea Party-supported candidates into office, but Al Gore wants all you lower middle-class workers not paying a dime in federal income taxes to make sure "rich" people pay their fair share...
Apparently global warming has melted down his remaining brain cells....
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Take It To the Limit". One of my favorite song titles of all time, given two math degrees...
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Miscellany: 8/03/11
Quote of the Day
While the right to talk may be the beginning of freedom, the necessity of listening is what makes the right important.
Walter Lippmann
California/Feds Busts Raw Milk Product Retailers: Thumbs DOWN!
There are a couple of routine food-related topics that I have followed on a recurring basis in this and my nutrition blog: the first is local licensing/regulations/restrictions like child-operated lemonade stands and food trucks; these generally serve to arbitrarily restrict competition, limit consumer choice and increase prices. The second involves state or federal restrictions on food choices: in particular, I've looked at raw milk products.
The embedded video focuses on a Fed crackdown on three California retailers selling raw milk and related processed products (i.e., 'mislabeled' cheese) in a 'conspiracy'; state laws were also allegedly violated. Among other things, the Feds reportedly dumped raw milk and various product items (including mangoes).
There's an interesting split between conservatives on issues like this, similar in nature to TSA concerns. Certain law and order types simply ask whether or not a law exists, no matter how arbitrarily it's enforced, its effectiveness, reasonableness or costliness. Thus, the law and order folks think it's perfectly fine to shakedown a young child through invasive search procedures. A few years back we saw people arrested under a Texas sodomy law. And here we have a premium, nutritionally superior product.
Somehow along the way, individual liberty got sacrificed in favor of dubious, self-important authoritarian bureaucrats engaging in fear-mongering.
Obama and His Recycled Policy Ideas on Job Creation
How many times does President Obama have to hit his head against a brick wall before it starts to hurt? Obama had this hubris during the disastrous ObamaCare law was being debated: it was just a matter of rephrasing the intuitively obvious necessity of passing this 2000-page bill. There was more hubris: once people understood the program, the GOP opposing him would face an electoral disaster.
Obama is resorting to the same old, same old expensive, ineffectual policies, e.g., partial payroll tax holidays, extensions to two years of unemployment insurance, etc. Never mind disingenuous discussions of infrastructure spending. The issue here is not whether or not America has been cutting corners on upkeep of its infrastructure for generations: it's a variety of other points. If these programs had their purported effect on economic growth in the first place, why were they given short shrift to begin with? Why should we be underwriting state or local infrastructure projects? Doesn't this constitute moral hazard? Won't state and local governments simply be trained to neglect infrastructure because they know Uncle Sam is going to bail them out?
This shows Obama hasn't learned anything from the failures of the 2009 stimulus bill. What businesses want is not another gimmicky tax cut but a halt of new initiatives, more competitive tax policies and a reduced government footprint in business decision making.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Lyin' Eyes"
While the right to talk may be the beginning of freedom, the necessity of listening is what makes the right important.
Walter Lippmann
California/Feds Busts Raw Milk Product Retailers: Thumbs DOWN!
There are a couple of routine food-related topics that I have followed on a recurring basis in this and my nutrition blog: the first is local licensing/regulations/restrictions like child-operated lemonade stands and food trucks; these generally serve to arbitrarily restrict competition, limit consumer choice and increase prices. The second involves state or federal restrictions on food choices: in particular, I've looked at raw milk products.
The embedded video focuses on a Fed crackdown on three California retailers selling raw milk and related processed products (i.e., 'mislabeled' cheese) in a 'conspiracy'; state laws were also allegedly violated. Among other things, the Feds reportedly dumped raw milk and various product items (including mangoes).
There's an interesting split between conservatives on issues like this, similar in nature to TSA concerns. Certain law and order types simply ask whether or not a law exists, no matter how arbitrarily it's enforced, its effectiveness, reasonableness or costliness. Thus, the law and order folks think it's perfectly fine to shakedown a young child through invasive search procedures. A few years back we saw people arrested under a Texas sodomy law. And here we have a premium, nutritionally superior product.
Somehow along the way, individual liberty got sacrificed in favor of dubious, self-important authoritarian bureaucrats engaging in fear-mongering.
Obama and His Recycled Policy Ideas on Job Creation
How many times does President Obama have to hit his head against a brick wall before it starts to hurt? Obama had this hubris during the disastrous ObamaCare law was being debated: it was just a matter of rephrasing the intuitively obvious necessity of passing this 2000-page bill. There was more hubris: once people understood the program, the GOP opposing him would face an electoral disaster.
Obama is resorting to the same old, same old expensive, ineffectual policies, e.g., partial payroll tax holidays, extensions to two years of unemployment insurance, etc. Never mind disingenuous discussions of infrastructure spending. The issue here is not whether or not America has been cutting corners on upkeep of its infrastructure for generations: it's a variety of other points. If these programs had their purported effect on economic growth in the first place, why were they given short shrift to begin with? Why should we be underwriting state or local infrastructure projects? Doesn't this constitute moral hazard? Won't state and local governments simply be trained to neglect infrastructure because they know Uncle Sam is going to bail them out?
This shows Obama hasn't learned anything from the failures of the 2009 stimulus bill. What businesses want is not another gimmicky tax cut but a halt of new initiatives, more competitive tax policies and a reduced government footprint in business decision making.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Lyin' Eyes"
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Miscellany: 8/02/11
Quote of the Day
Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.
Allophones Karr
Senate Approves Debt 74-26; Obama Signs Debt Deal:
Thumbs UP!
The good news is that Moody's is retaining the AAA rating on US securities; the bad news is that Moody's has a negative outlook. In other words, our attention deficit disorder "President" Obama: as much as you want to pretend that the crisis is over, you're only on the first step of a long staircase. True progress is not simply in slowing the rate Democratic program superspending raises the national debt: it's when the debt actually starts SHRINKING and the country is running a surplus. I still remember reading over 10 years ago where politicians were worried that we would run out of debt because of budget surpluses and what are policy alternatives were.
There are a variety of actual or potential issues with a large national debt, including the distribution of hard-earned domestic tax revenues to pay foreign holders of US debt and a competition for investor dollars resulting in higher rates and/or zero-sum/crowding out of private sector investment dollars, highly relevant to generation of jobs and future tax revenues (property, income, etc.)
Even China credit rating agencies are downgrading US debt, and Russian Prime Minister Putin has publicly called America a "parasite" on the global economy. [America is the world's best customer, a breadbasket for the world, and the dominant producer and leading-edge manufacturing of best-selling goods and innovative services. Foreigners do not have to invest in American securities. Maybe if Putin put as much effort into diversifying his country's economy beyond its dependence on producing natural resources as he does sustaining his political career and an indulgent aging male politician sex symbol delusional fantasy, we would listen to more of what he had to say.]
I just want to bring up a related point here: the late night comics like to harpoon China's large holdings of American debt. I have written some related ad libs in my recurring political humor feature. Foreign holdings of US debt (using May numbers) amount to roughly 31.5%, with China holding about a quarter of that, or 8% overall. The largest holding is the social security trust fund with about 19% overall, and the Fed, via quantitative easing, holds just over 11%, roughly 40% more than China does.
We have a number of factors impacting the dollar which are easy to overlook. The US comprises about a quarter of the global economy and is easily the world's most stable, diversified economy. Global alternatives don't have suitable scalability or stability; the euro is the most viable alternative, and it is facing its own challenges given analogous fiscal challenges from countries like Greece, Italy and Ireland. Right now Treasury notes/bonds are rallying given recent news reflecting plummeting consumer confidence and weak economic growth (i.e., perceived lower demand for debt). But make no mistake: the downgrading of US debt is all but inevitable, and that will likely result in $100B or more increases to our interest payments. This is $100B we can't spend towards other national priorities, and in contrast to other discussions of mandatory versus discretionary spending, interest payments on the debt really do constitute mandatory spending.
The fact of the matter is that the President and Democratic Congress increased discretionary spending by nearly 25% during the last session of Congress. (Paul Ryan argues 84%, but this includes the massive stimulus bill, which is a one-time, not ongoing expenditure.) This was at a time revenues were dropping by nearly 40%, and Democrats were ludicrously paying lip service to pay-as-you-go standards.
Obama has rediscovered the issue of jobs. We are glad to see the surge of official unemployment back up over 9% has finally gotten his attention; I heard that Obama actually had to postpone a fundraiser in DC during the debt ceiling crisis. Maybe he couldn't squeeze in a few extra rounds of golf, and I don't know if he's planning another visit to Martha's Vineyard to recuperate from all his hard work jawboning the two sides to get their act together while refusing to commit himself publicly to a constructive solution. No, he took the intellectually challenging alternative and innovative standpoint of criticizing legislative sausage making and making it clear his priorities: the next debt ceiling vote must not interrupt the only thing Obama really is good at: campaigning to be President. Being President is a totally different thing...
Here's a hint: try addressing pro-economic growth policies by getting back to the topic of globally uncompetitive business tax rate brackets. I would be happy to reopen the discussion of removing nuanced policies supporting crony capitalism across the board if for once in your life you shut up about your favorite whipping boy of corporate jets and oil and gas production tax accounting. Are you, for once, going to stop being a hypocrite over your federal breastfeeding of money-losing green energy initiatives and other Democratic program boondoggles, including corruptible so-called "investments" in rail?
Speaking of which, Craig Pirrong posted a couple of interesting commentaries on high-rail initiatives a few months back (see here and here). Here are a few relevant quotes:
Sarah Palin on Romney and Revisiting the Ayers Affair
As if we needed any more reason to ensure this pseudo-conservative populist failed governor from Alaska never again gets so much as a visitor's pass to the White House, Sarah Palin used another appearance as a paid contributor on Fox News Channel to spout her pathetic, vacuous nonsense, second only to Obama's inane rhetoric (Roger Ailes must have been out of his mind signing one of the worst mistakes made by a Presidential candidate since McGovern's poorly vetted selection of Thomas Eagleton).
I know Fox News has been obsessed with leftist smears of the Tea Party movement, suggesting that the Tea Party, by not letting President Obama have his "just put it on my tab [for the next generation to pay--in fact, it's probably a good thing Sasha and Malia are going their homework on time because they are going to have to work their asses off cleaning up after their Daddy and paying his bills]" way in irresponsibly spending money he doesn't have without speaking up, was engaging in economic "terrorism". I'm part of the legitimate Tea Party movement, and I fully supported the GOP effort to derail business as usual.
Let us be clear: President Obama and his fellow Democratic cronies are getting their just deserts for embracing fiscally unsustainable policies. Would credit card lenders think it's a wise thing to extend the credit limit of a cardholder whom has actually paid off principal on his debt 3 times over the past 5 decades? Are they engaging in "economic terrorism"? So what do I care what a bunch of leftist wackoes think? They think it's perfectly ethical to pick other people's pockets to pay for their megalomaniac policies; you can't reason with a pack of shameless thieves.
When I heard Sarah Palin try to turn the tables on these idiots by resurrecting the Bill Ayers connection to Barack Obama from the 2008 campaign, I am appreciative of the only good thing stemming from McCain's loss to a grossly incompetent, clueless Barack Obama: at least we didn't have Sarah Palin a heartbeat from the Presidency. Why in the world did the McCain campaign try to make much of some washed-up, irrelevant figure from the 1970's whom lived in relative obscurity as a mediocre college professor? Because he showed up for or hosted one or 2 fundraising events for Obama's state senate bids in the 1990's? Are you kidding me? What about all the notable fundraisers and questionable donations for the Clintons' campaigns? You know, why was the McCain campaign spending so much time sweating the small stuff? Why weren't they pushing more on a spendthrift Presidential candidate? This may play well with nostalgic partisans fondly remembering those good old Palin's 'Obama pal-ing around with terrorists' red meat rallies, but not with reasonably intelligent human beings. Does Ailes really think it brings his network credibility by letting this failed politician rehash leftover bumper stickers from the 2008 campaign?
But I want to focus on her shot at GOP front runner Mitt Romney, which seemed to be a thinly disguised swipe by someone whom is being rumored as getting ready to make a Labor Day announcement of her own candidacy (despite every poll in the world showing she can't beat Obama in the general election). I myself was critical of Mitt Romney's decision not to support the debt ceiling compromise, but Sarah Palin didn't argue for or against the merit of his view, but suggested his recent decision amounted to Obama-style indecision made for purely political reasons.
Sarah Palin's analysis and judgment are not respectable. Never mind she's implicitly arguing against a proper review time for major legislation which most REAL maverick reformers, like myself, advocate. I did give a pass on this because of the nature of a debt deadline (yes, I'm aware of the fact that the President could try to put off payment of 40% of the bills). But arguing that Romney's timing on his decision, which, by the way, I did not agree with as I wrote in a recent post, was politically motivated is patently ABSURD. The big issue was how you could do a 2 phase approach and motivate both parties to continue towards a follow-up agreement of budget cuts. There was almost no news coverage of the mechanisms at all.
What Romney said was not that he opposed the debt limit compromise in concept--he had a problem with the enforcement mechanisms being used--particularly the idea that Defense Department spending would be cut at the expense of discretionary spending targets.
Now, Ms. Palin, since you go through your perfunctory "stand up and recognize the troops" ritual every rally you attend, do you disagree with Romney's concerns that if these legislators don't get their act together, across-the-board Defense cuts may not be such a good idea? Instead of taking an unnecessary cheap shot at the only candidate whom runs competitively against Obama, why don't you take the time to understand what he's saying before shooting off a premature blast? I don't agree with Romney's position but I understand and respect it. You shoot off your mouth before you think things through, and we've seen a lot of that already with Barack Obama. The last thing we need is a right-wing Barack Obama.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "One of These Nights"
Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.
Allophones Karr
Senate Approves Debt 74-26; Obama Signs Debt Deal:
Thumbs UP!
The good news is that Moody's is retaining the AAA rating on US securities; the bad news is that Moody's has a negative outlook. In other words, our attention deficit disorder "President" Obama: as much as you want to pretend that the crisis is over, you're only on the first step of a long staircase. True progress is not simply in slowing the rate Democratic program superspending raises the national debt: it's when the debt actually starts SHRINKING and the country is running a surplus. I still remember reading over 10 years ago where politicians were worried that we would run out of debt because of budget surpluses and what are policy alternatives were.
There are a variety of actual or potential issues with a large national debt, including the distribution of hard-earned domestic tax revenues to pay foreign holders of US debt and a competition for investor dollars resulting in higher rates and/or zero-sum/crowding out of private sector investment dollars, highly relevant to generation of jobs and future tax revenues (property, income, etc.)
Even China credit rating agencies are downgrading US debt, and Russian Prime Minister Putin has publicly called America a "parasite" on the global economy. [America is the world's best customer, a breadbasket for the world, and the dominant producer and leading-edge manufacturing of best-selling goods and innovative services. Foreigners do not have to invest in American securities. Maybe if Putin put as much effort into diversifying his country's economy beyond its dependence on producing natural resources as he does sustaining his political career and an indulgent aging male politician sex symbol delusional fantasy, we would listen to more of what he had to say.]
I just want to bring up a related point here: the late night comics like to harpoon China's large holdings of American debt. I have written some related ad libs in my recurring political humor feature. Foreign holdings of US debt (using May numbers) amount to roughly 31.5%, with China holding about a quarter of that, or 8% overall. The largest holding is the social security trust fund with about 19% overall, and the Fed, via quantitative easing, holds just over 11%, roughly 40% more than China does.
We have a number of factors impacting the dollar which are easy to overlook. The US comprises about a quarter of the global economy and is easily the world's most stable, diversified economy. Global alternatives don't have suitable scalability or stability; the euro is the most viable alternative, and it is facing its own challenges given analogous fiscal challenges from countries like Greece, Italy and Ireland. Right now Treasury notes/bonds are rallying given recent news reflecting plummeting consumer confidence and weak economic growth (i.e., perceived lower demand for debt). But make no mistake: the downgrading of US debt is all but inevitable, and that will likely result in $100B or more increases to our interest payments. This is $100B we can't spend towards other national priorities, and in contrast to other discussions of mandatory versus discretionary spending, interest payments on the debt really do constitute mandatory spending.
The fact of the matter is that the President and Democratic Congress increased discretionary spending by nearly 25% during the last session of Congress. (Paul Ryan argues 84%, but this includes the massive stimulus bill, which is a one-time, not ongoing expenditure.) This was at a time revenues were dropping by nearly 40%, and Democrats were ludicrously paying lip service to pay-as-you-go standards.
Obama has rediscovered the issue of jobs. We are glad to see the surge of official unemployment back up over 9% has finally gotten his attention; I heard that Obama actually had to postpone a fundraiser in DC during the debt ceiling crisis. Maybe he couldn't squeeze in a few extra rounds of golf, and I don't know if he's planning another visit to Martha's Vineyard to recuperate from all his hard work jawboning the two sides to get their act together while refusing to commit himself publicly to a constructive solution. No, he took the intellectually challenging alternative and innovative standpoint of criticizing legislative sausage making and making it clear his priorities: the next debt ceiling vote must not interrupt the only thing Obama really is good at: campaigning to be President. Being President is a totally different thing...
Here's a hint: try addressing pro-economic growth policies by getting back to the topic of globally uncompetitive business tax rate brackets. I would be happy to reopen the discussion of removing nuanced policies supporting crony capitalism across the board if for once in your life you shut up about your favorite whipping boy of corporate jets and oil and gas production tax accounting. Are you, for once, going to stop being a hypocrite over your federal breastfeeding of money-losing green energy initiatives and other Democratic program boondoggles, including corruptible so-called "investments" in rail?
Speaking of which, Craig Pirrong posted a couple of interesting commentaries on high-rail initiatives a few months back (see here and here). Here are a few relevant quotes:
- "In Japan, ... only a single bullet-train line, between Japan and Osaka, breaks even; ...in France, ...only the Paris-Lyon line is in the black. Taiwan tried a privately financed system, but ...the government had to bail it out in 2009."
- "A recent World Bank report on high-speed rail systems around the world noted that ridership forecasts rarely materialize and warned that “governments ... should also contemplate the near-certainty of copious and continuing budget support for the debt.”
- "Zhao Jian, a researcher at Beijing Jiaotong University, [says] that 'the debt [of China’s Ministry of Railways] had at least reached 2 trillion yuan by now, and the interests of those debts have grown too large for the government to afford'... Some experts say those debt levels are unsustainable... given that many of the country’s high-speed rail links are having trouble making money."
It was conventional wisdom in the 1960s, and a not uncommon belief into the 1980s, that the centrally planned USSR was more efficient that the U.S., and would eventually overtake the U.S. economically. In the 1980s, the Japanese model, which involved considerable state involvement in choosing winning industries and firms, was considered by many in the U.S. as superior to the U.S. model. In the 1930s, the USSR (again) and fascist economies were held out as exemplars.Congratulations to the Republicans, whom have finally managed to install speed bumps on Democrats' unsustainable path to financial Armageddon; this is only a first step, but one that irresponsible Senate Democrats and President Obama resisted kicking and screaming every step of the way. You made the best of the hand that was dealt to you. The real battle is the next election where, at last, we'll have an opportunity to finally stop the unconscionable Democratic theft from future generations.
Sarah Palin on Romney and Revisiting the Ayers Affair
As if we needed any more reason to ensure this pseudo-conservative populist failed governor from Alaska never again gets so much as a visitor's pass to the White House, Sarah Palin used another appearance as a paid contributor on Fox News Channel to spout her pathetic, vacuous nonsense, second only to Obama's inane rhetoric (Roger Ailes must have been out of his mind signing one of the worst mistakes made by a Presidential candidate since McGovern's poorly vetted selection of Thomas Eagleton).
I know Fox News has been obsessed with leftist smears of the Tea Party movement, suggesting that the Tea Party, by not letting President Obama have his "just put it on my tab [for the next generation to pay--in fact, it's probably a good thing Sasha and Malia are going their homework on time because they are going to have to work their asses off cleaning up after their Daddy and paying his bills]" way in irresponsibly spending money he doesn't have without speaking up, was engaging in economic "terrorism". I'm part of the legitimate Tea Party movement, and I fully supported the GOP effort to derail business as usual.
Let us be clear: President Obama and his fellow Democratic cronies are getting their just deserts for embracing fiscally unsustainable policies. Would credit card lenders think it's a wise thing to extend the credit limit of a cardholder whom has actually paid off principal on his debt 3 times over the past 5 decades? Are they engaging in "economic terrorism"? So what do I care what a bunch of leftist wackoes think? They think it's perfectly ethical to pick other people's pockets to pay for their megalomaniac policies; you can't reason with a pack of shameless thieves.
When I heard Sarah Palin try to turn the tables on these idiots by resurrecting the Bill Ayers connection to Barack Obama from the 2008 campaign, I am appreciative of the only good thing stemming from McCain's loss to a grossly incompetent, clueless Barack Obama: at least we didn't have Sarah Palin a heartbeat from the Presidency. Why in the world did the McCain campaign try to make much of some washed-up, irrelevant figure from the 1970's whom lived in relative obscurity as a mediocre college professor? Because he showed up for or hosted one or 2 fundraising events for Obama's state senate bids in the 1990's? Are you kidding me? What about all the notable fundraisers and questionable donations for the Clintons' campaigns? You know, why was the McCain campaign spending so much time sweating the small stuff? Why weren't they pushing more on a spendthrift Presidential candidate? This may play well with nostalgic partisans fondly remembering those good old Palin's 'Obama pal-ing around with terrorists' red meat rallies, but not with reasonably intelligent human beings. Does Ailes really think it brings his network credibility by letting this failed politician rehash leftover bumper stickers from the 2008 campaign?
But I want to focus on her shot at GOP front runner Mitt Romney, which seemed to be a thinly disguised swipe by someone whom is being rumored as getting ready to make a Labor Day announcement of her own candidacy (despite every poll in the world showing she can't beat Obama in the general election). I myself was critical of Mitt Romney's decision not to support the debt ceiling compromise, but Sarah Palin didn't argue for or against the merit of his view, but suggested his recent decision amounted to Obama-style indecision made for purely political reasons.
Sarah Palin's analysis and judgment are not respectable. Never mind she's implicitly arguing against a proper review time for major legislation which most REAL maverick reformers, like myself, advocate. I did give a pass on this because of the nature of a debt deadline (yes, I'm aware of the fact that the President could try to put off payment of 40% of the bills). But arguing that Romney's timing on his decision, which, by the way, I did not agree with as I wrote in a recent post, was politically motivated is patently ABSURD. The big issue was how you could do a 2 phase approach and motivate both parties to continue towards a follow-up agreement of budget cuts. There was almost no news coverage of the mechanisms at all.
What Romney said was not that he opposed the debt limit compromise in concept--he had a problem with the enforcement mechanisms being used--particularly the idea that Defense Department spending would be cut at the expense of discretionary spending targets.
Now, Ms. Palin, since you go through your perfunctory "stand up and recognize the troops" ritual every rally you attend, do you disagree with Romney's concerns that if these legislators don't get their act together, across-the-board Defense cuts may not be such a good idea? Instead of taking an unnecessary cheap shot at the only candidate whom runs competitively against Obama, why don't you take the time to understand what he's saying before shooting off a premature blast? I don't agree with Romney's position but I understand and respect it. You shoot off your mouth before you think things through, and we've seen a lot of that already with Barack Obama. The last thing we need is a right-wing Barack Obama.
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "One of These Nights"
Monday, August 1, 2011
Miscellany: 8/01/11
Quote of the Day
Listen to the passion of your soul, set the wings of your spirit free; and let not a single song go unsung.
Sylvana Rossetti
House Approves Debt Ceiling 269-161: Thumbs UP!
I have written several commentaries over the past week; compromises are necessarily suboptimal from an ideological perspective. A debt default is not a viable, responsible position. I have to admit that I would have been amused to see Obama have to manage a no-win scenario of deciding what 40% of the budget wouldn't get paid. I am frustrated that the only thing the politicians seem to see from controlling Medicare costs is not streamlining benefits or increasing premiums but cutting provider reimbursements. Some resistance from conservatives is ideological (e.g., Michele Bachmann, which I think is an indulgent free ride on the backs of Republicans whom have to take the tough vote of an imperfect piece of legislation). The other substantive objection by other Republicans (e.g., Mitt Romney and military conservatives like Lindsey Graham (R-SC)) is the fear of cuts in automated Defense and Medicare program funding if the joint congressional committee can't come to an agreement on a package of cuts by the holidays. In fact, just as the Congress finally came to a compromise with a possible default and credit bureau rating downgrades on the ground, I fully expect the committee to do their job without the triggers activating.
I am disappointed with Romney's position on this. I expected him to reinforce his proven bipartisan credentials in Massachusetts. I understand he is particularly interested in establishing his defense credentials and a potential across-the-board cut is serious. A President Romney is at least 50 times better than the current incompetent occupant of the Oval Office.
Peggy Noonan/WSJ, "They've Lost That Lovin' Feeling": Thumbs UP!
Peggy Noonan takes an Obama campaign job description about data mining and related analytical software. This falls under the scope of my academic and professional disciplines: I've administered several large relational data warehouses. Think of data mining as panning for data gold: including the identification of novel, unsuspected relationships. For example, within a political context, it may well be that Latino entrepreneurs visit particular websites or respond to certain salient issues (say, small business loans, immigration reform, and improved access to government contracts). Peggy uses the job description jargon as a metaphor for Obama's personality: aloof, sophistical, clinical, impersonal. What came to mind when I read Peggy's column was the famous quote by Bill McKay (Robert Redford) at the end of the "The Candidate": "What do we do now?"
Peggy Noonan refers to Obama as sly and shrewd. He's certainly analytical. I think it's more a question of sophistry, with an intentionally misleading legalistic argument--his pseudo-centrism: he will attempt to co-opt language and concepts, e.g., "shared sacrifice". Veronique de Rugy has a good textbook example of how Obama operates in her short post "The Truth Behind Obama's 2012 Budget": we can broadly characterize federal spending as discretionary or mandatory (e.g., entitlements). Obama claims that discretionary spending is being cut by 5%--but what happened is a couple of large programs got shifted from discretionary to mandatory spending, not subject to relevant funding restrictions. We've seen the same type of word games with things like salary freezes (which, for example, may be limited to certain political appointments). Other examples by de Rugy included no reference to likely doc fixes and unrealistic economic growth and employment numbers.
Gabby Giffords Returns to Cast Aye on Debt Ceiling Increase:
Thumbs UP!
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Best of My Love". The first Eagles' #1 hit...
Listen to the passion of your soul, set the wings of your spirit free; and let not a single song go unsung.
Sylvana Rossetti
House Approves Debt Ceiling 269-161: Thumbs UP!
I have written several commentaries over the past week; compromises are necessarily suboptimal from an ideological perspective. A debt default is not a viable, responsible position. I have to admit that I would have been amused to see Obama have to manage a no-win scenario of deciding what 40% of the budget wouldn't get paid. I am frustrated that the only thing the politicians seem to see from controlling Medicare costs is not streamlining benefits or increasing premiums but cutting provider reimbursements. Some resistance from conservatives is ideological (e.g., Michele Bachmann, which I think is an indulgent free ride on the backs of Republicans whom have to take the tough vote of an imperfect piece of legislation). The other substantive objection by other Republicans (e.g., Mitt Romney and military conservatives like Lindsey Graham (R-SC)) is the fear of cuts in automated Defense and Medicare program funding if the joint congressional committee can't come to an agreement on a package of cuts by the holidays. In fact, just as the Congress finally came to a compromise with a possible default and credit bureau rating downgrades on the ground, I fully expect the committee to do their job without the triggers activating.
I am disappointed with Romney's position on this. I expected him to reinforce his proven bipartisan credentials in Massachusetts. I understand he is particularly interested in establishing his defense credentials and a potential across-the-board cut is serious. A President Romney is at least 50 times better than the current incompetent occupant of the Oval Office.
Peggy Noonan/WSJ, "They've Lost That Lovin' Feeling": Thumbs UP!
Peggy Noonan takes an Obama campaign job description about data mining and related analytical software. This falls under the scope of my academic and professional disciplines: I've administered several large relational data warehouses. Think of data mining as panning for data gold: including the identification of novel, unsuspected relationships. For example, within a political context, it may well be that Latino entrepreneurs visit particular websites or respond to certain salient issues (say, small business loans, immigration reform, and improved access to government contracts). Peggy uses the job description jargon as a metaphor for Obama's personality: aloof, sophistical, clinical, impersonal. What came to mind when I read Peggy's column was the famous quote by Bill McKay (Robert Redford) at the end of the "The Candidate": "What do we do now?"
The secret of Mr. Obama is that he isn't really very good at politics...The fact is, he's good at dismantling. He's good at critiquing. He's good at not being [George W. Bush]. But he's not good at building, creating, calling into being. He was good at summoning hope, but he's not good at directing it and turning it into something concrete that answers a broad public desire.
And so his failures in the debt ceiling fight. He wasn't serious, he was only shrewd—and shrewdness wasn't enough. He demagogued the issue... He never offered a plan. In a crisis he was merely sly. And no one likes sly, no one respects it.
So he is losing a battle in which he had superior forces—the presidency, the U.S. Senate... He is not a devil, an alien, a socialist. He is a loser.
Peggy Noonan refers to Obama as sly and shrewd. He's certainly analytical. I think it's more a question of sophistry, with an intentionally misleading legalistic argument--his pseudo-centrism: he will attempt to co-opt language and concepts, e.g., "shared sacrifice". Veronique de Rugy has a good textbook example of how Obama operates in her short post "The Truth Behind Obama's 2012 Budget": we can broadly characterize federal spending as discretionary or mandatory (e.g., entitlements). Obama claims that discretionary spending is being cut by 5%--but what happened is a couple of large programs got shifted from discretionary to mandatory spending, not subject to relevant funding restrictions. We've seen the same type of word games with things like salary freezes (which, for example, may be limited to certain political appointments). Other examples by de Rugy included no reference to likely doc fixes and unrealistic economic growth and employment numbers.
Gabby Giffords Returns to Cast Aye on Debt Ceiling Increase:
Thumbs UP!
 |
| Tuscon shooting survivor Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) at debt ceiling vote (Still: AP) |
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "Best of My Love". The first Eagles' #1 hit...
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