Obama’s Jobs Plan Amounts To Stimulus II

September 6, 2011 Leave a comment

President Obama held a rally with labor leaders yesterday in Detroit. Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa Jr. was Obama’s warmup act. He declared:

We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They’ve got a war, they got a war with us and there’s only going to be one winner. It’s going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We’re going to win that war.

President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let’s take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.

Predictably the White House has no comment about Hoffa’s speech, which was given in front of Obama who said nothing about it during his 25 minute address. On one hand Hoffa’s comments are a very clear indication of how the leadership of the unions view politics. They and the extreme left really do view things as a war and they have little to no problem with violence. On the other hand Hoffa’s comments are almost laughably ridiculous. He apparently thinks this is the 1930′s where unions can get away with violent rhetoric because the public supports them and supports the left-wing pols they endorse. Polling indicates Obama has never had the rank and file union members, and has them even less so now.

While Hoffa’s comments are sure to be a hit on right-wing talk radio and blog roll today, it’s President Obama’s comments that are more interesting. Obama hinted at what will be in his big jobs speech on Thursday. It sounds like a good portion of the speech will be a proposal to spend more money in infrastructure. This includes an infrastructure bank, which would supposedly include the private and public sector.

In other words, if Obama’s Detroit speech is any indication of what his jobs speech will be he’s calling for Stimulus II. You’ll recall that Obama’s biggest argument for the Stimulus was all the “shovel ready” jobs that it would fund. Two years later Obama admitted that “shovel ready” didn’t mean right away. The Stimulus package did little, if anything to employ the American workforce. It was little more than a payoff for unions at the expense of taxpayers. Most of the “shovel ready” jobs already existed and they came at costs of over $250,000 per job.

So now it appears Obama is ready to offer Stimulus II. He’s learned nothing from the failure of Stimulus I. The President is devoid of new ideas, he’s clearly ready to retread a failed policy. People need to go to work now. There aren’t any shovel ready jobs that are being hoarded away for lack of funding. The fact of the matter is that when government spends on infrastructure, it takes two to three years before actual construction jobs are created. Stimulus II will create few if any jobs, but the jobs that it does create will happen during the next administration, not in the next year.

Last week the Weekly Standard declared Obama was President Zero. Zero jobs, zero ideas. That’s looking like an accurate statement. Job growth was zero in August and in September the President appears ready to show us he has zero new ideas. While Jimmy Hoffa Jr. will get all the headlines today for his ridiculous, violent rhetoric in Detroit, the President’s Detroit speech is far more important. It shows us that we have a President who doesn’t know what he’s doing and is unable to come up with any new ideas. His jobs speech is headed towards disaster.

Filed under 2012 election, economy, jobs, Obama, Politics, unions Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Unemployment Up, Job Numbers Pathetic

July 8, 2011 Leave a comment

Unemployment rose to 9.2% in June. According to the government, only 18,000 jobs were created last month. That comes down to around 360 per state. Worse, the government revised numbers for April and June, determining that the economy created 44,000 fewer jobs in those months. Keep in mind that in May the government told us only 38,000 jobs were created. It’s pretty clear that the economy is stagnating.

So what is the Obama administration’s response? One top adviser suggests that unemployment won’t be very important in next years election. After all, people don’t vote based on national numbers but rather on personal economic situations. That may be true, but when unemployment is high you can bet that wages are stagnant or declining. Voters may not go into the voting booth and vote based on national GDP but the GDP has a great effect on how people vote. It is the height of idiocy to believe that unemployment numbers won’t matter next year. It is my sincere hope that Obama hires more advisers like this one.

Obama is apparently finally getting around to rolling up his sleeves and going to work on the economy. He insists that unemployment can come down to 8.2%, even though that apparently won’t affect the 2012 election. We’ve heard this song and dance before with Obama and the Democrats. Remember it was Obama who told us unemployment wouldn’t reach 7% if his Stimulus plan was passed. Since Obama took office, the overwhelming majority of months have had over 7% unemployment. Nancy Pelosi told us during the Obamacare debate that 400,000 jobs would be created by Obamacare overnight. Where are they?

What is the administration going to do about the terrible state of the economy? They’re still demanding tax increases. As though taking money away from small businesses and job creators is going to stimulate the economy. This administration has already increased taxes and it hasn’t done much good has it? In fact, since the administration increased taxes last year, the economy has only gotten worse. You can bet that further tax increases, no matter how small, will result in an economic downturn.

President Obama doesn’t have a solution for our economic problems that doesn’t begin with Washington controlling the economy. Unable to get beyond that core belief, Obama is handcuffed when dealing with Congressional Republicans. Obama has pushed through administrative regulations which have done little more than hurt business. But in terms of sweeping public policy, Obama doesn’t have one. Does anyone know what Obama’s economic recovery plan is? We know his core beliefs but we don’t know what his plan is. After two and a half years, it’s fairly clear that Obama doesn’t really have one. His economic plan seems limited to increasing government power with administrative rules created without oversight. All other forms of economic planning is given a pass by this administration. After all, Obama had almost no hand in creating the Stimulus or Obamacare. He let Congress do all the work on those bills.

At the end of the day it’s fairly clear that this administration doesn’t have a clue about the economy. They don’t understand that jobs aren’t created by government, they’re created by the private sector. Their failure to understand this has handcuffed their policy making and has resulted in long term economic stagnation. The country cannot afford to continue like this. Unfortunately we have another 18 months of Obama, at a minimum.

Filed under 2012 election, economy, unemployment Tagged with , , , , , , ,

How Obama Can Turn The Economy Around And Win In 2012

July 6, 2011 1 Comment

President Obama has been in office for 29 months and in none of those months has Gallup showed 50% of Americans believing that the economy is getting better. In fact, the highest month on record only hit 41%. In the last three day period only 31% of Americans believed the economy was improving. 63% thought it was getting worse. Those numbers are astounding three years into a recession. They don’t bode well for a President who is looking at re-election next year.

If next year’s election were about terrorism or foreign policy, the economic numbers wouldn’t matter so much. Unfortunately for Obama it isn’t 2004 and even the killing of Osama bin Laden hasn’t helped the President’s poll numbers long term. The 2012 election will be a referendum on Obama’s job handling the economy. So far, it’s not looking so hot for Obama.

Obama spent his first two years in office playing around with Obamacare while the American people clamored for the President to focus on jobs. After losing 60+ seats in the House, you would think the President would have listened. The biggest issues that people voted on last year were the economy and jobs. It appears the President still hasn’t listened to the American people. Since November has the President offered any plan to get Americans back to work? The Republicans can’t get a plan on the debt ceiling from the White House, the Senate minority leader can’t even get the President to sit down with him to discuss the debt ceiling. Those waiting for a plan on jobs and the economy generally are out of luck.

Obama seems to rest his job making abilities on the Stimulus and the auto bailout. But the fact is the American public is generally against both of those moves. The Stimulus didn’t create the jobs Obama said it would and the auto bailout smells like a sweetheart deal between Obama and the UAW. Not to mention it cost taxpayers nearly $20 billion that has not and will not be repaid. Most of these moves haven’t affected those who are unemployed, they’ve done nothing to create conditions where employment is possible.

In fact, this is the very problem with Obama’s economic outlook. He believes that jobs are created in Washington by acts of Congress, the President and various bureaucratic minions. The average unemployed American is unemployed over six months, up from five weeks less than five years ago. With 14 million unemployed Americans, and tens of millions more underemployed, no amount of government spending is going to get them back to work. Certainly not at $287,000 per job.

Because Obama believes government creates jobs he is handcuffed and unable to do much of anything for the unemployed. With Congress unwilling to spend more money and a public tired of massive deficits and growing government, Obama doesn’t know what to do about the economy. His core beliefs have stifled economic recovery and have the potential to bring down his Presidency.

President Obama can do something today that will change the direction of the economy and earn him re-election. He can call for tax cuts and spending cuts. Cut the top personal income rate to 28%, the same as much of the 80′s and cut capital gains taxes to 14%. Cut Corporate tax rates, even Bill Clinton supports this. Eliminate wasteful government spending and repeal Obamacare and any number of business unfriendly regulations.

Obama of course won’t do any of this. But it’s the only way we’re going to see an upswing in the economy. Never forget that the top 2 % are responsible for 1/3 of the consumer spending in this country. Tax cuts will only increase consumer spending, as it has in the past. Ultimately that benefits the middle class and the economy as a whole. But don’t look for Obama to support any of this. He believes jobs are created in Washington and he seems unable to shift from that position.

Filed under 2012 election, economy, Obama Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Obama Struggles To Attract Middle Class Campaign Donors

June 14, 2011 Leave a comment

President Obama claims that his family would be fine if he only served one term. I couldn’t agree with the family more, one term sounds fine to me. That said, Obama’s line isn’t even believable. Maybe for the kids it is, perhaps they’re old enough to realize that the perks of being the President’s daughter aren’t worth the lack of privacy. But I don’t buy for a second that Michelle Obama would be fine with one term. She loves the power that goes with being the First Lady and has used it to further her own ends.

Perhaps one term isn’t out of the question for this President. He’s having a little trouble fundraising, as he recently held a fundraiser in a half empty performing arts center near Miami. What’s especially interesting about this fundraiser is that it was a low end fundraiser. Tickets for the event could be purchased for only $44. The fact that people aren’t interested suggests that small time middle and lower middle class 2008 supporters of the President aren’t willing to give him their money this time around. Obama can still pack a room with high end donors in New York, San Francisco and Chicago but he can’t get the rank and file to donate a pittance. That doesn’t bode well for Obama’s re-election.

Perhaps Obama can’t get the rank and file to donate because there are 1.9 million fewer jobs since his failed Stimulus bill was passed. You’ll recall Congress had to pass the Stimulus bill or else unemployment would hit 7%. Of course unemployment has been above 7% for over two years and the unemployment rate has been 9% or more for the better part of the last year. No wonder people don’t want to donate to the Obama campaign. Not only have Obama’s policies failed but no one on the lower end of campaign donations has the extra money to fork over to a Presidential campaign.

The President surely didn’t help himself this week when he joked ”shovel ready was not as shovel ready as we expected.” Tee hee. The fact is that his shovel ready line was a joke when he made it back in 2009. The Stimulus bill was little more than a pork barrel waste of tax money. People supported it out of desperation at the time. Now I think most Americans have wised up to the fact that the Stimulus was a failure and a waste of money. No wonder small time donors aren’t interested in going to an Obama fundraiser.

Perhaps the worst turn of events for the President is that he’s lost what little good will he gained after Osama was killed. The daily polls (Gallup and Rasmussen) recorded very small gains for the President the week after he had Osama killed. For several weeks Obama stayed at those levels, around 50-51%. The gain was very small considering the magnitude and importance of the killing. At this point, Obama’s numbers are right back down where they were before Osama was killed. Rasmussen has Obama at 46% today, Gallup has the President at 47%. He’s lost his Osama spike.

The Republicans have a real shot at beating Obama next year. The economy is tanking, Obama’s policies haven’t helped matters at all. The deficit spending is out of control and Obama is largely blamed for it. There’s no doubt that Obama will be able to raise money for his re-election. But his struggles at getting middle class people to donate a little of their money suggest he’s in real trouble. He isn’t going to get legions of $25 and $50 donations this time around. Obama could very well be a one term President.

Filed under 2012 election, Obama Tagged with , , , ,

Stimulus II, Islamic Terror Support & Food Police

December 14, 2010 Leave a comment

I’ve watched with a certain amount of amusement the left’s reaction to the deal Obama cut with the Republicans concerning the Bush tax cuts. The left has gone mad even though Obama got the better end of the deal. Meanwhile, Obama himself can’t even bring himself to say anything nice about the deal, going on the attack against everyone in his presser last week. He attacked the GOP as a bunch of hostage takers while attacking the left as a bunch of sanctimonious purists. Obama got the better end of the deal though, which makes the left’s attacks so absurd. The GOP got to keep the Bush tax cuts but had to give up what amounts to extended welfare for the chronically unemployed. The cost is nearly a trillion dollars, two thirds of which are spending. Which of course means the real cost is over $600 billion, since taxes aren’t monies being paid out by the government. I’m not so sure avoiding a tax increase is worth that sort of dough. The right has been largely silent, much to my chagrin. But the left is enraged over this deal. The left is so in love with the idea of taking money away from the rich that they can’t see past keeping tax rates the same for a paltry two years. In their rage, the left is behaving as only the radical left used to behave. For a century the left has been willing to go along with incremental change. They’ve been willing to compromise because they know in the long run they’ll end up getting everything they want. It’s only been the extreme left, the Communists and other such leftists, who have demanded absolute purity and called left-wingers like FDR and LBJ traitors, phonies and most amusingly “right-wing.” Now they’re calling Obama a corporatist, a centrist and a sell-out but it isn’t just the extremists in the left-wing doing it. It’s rank and file left-wing Democrats who are the loudest complainers. There is no plausible explanation for why Obama is being held to a higher standard by the rank and file than other liberal Presidents. That is unless I care to turn the race card on the left, which I’m not willing to do. Obama cut himself a great deal, a liberal deal and it’s the liberals who are the most outraged. No wonder the moderates didn’t vote for these people last month.

WashPo: Swindle of the Year (Charles Krauthammer)
WSJ: From Audacity to Animosity (Peggy Noonan)

I’m not a Glenn Beck fan. I find his radio show irritating and I see through his bogus sales technique. While I find the left’s hatred of him amusing, it’s not compelling enough for me to pay a ton of attention to him. I did notice last week that the left was enraged because Beck accused 10% of Muslims of being terrorists. One of his assistants wrote a blog post defending Beck and I’ll have to say he makes a compelling argument. A terrorist is defined as someone who ‘uses or advocates terrorism.’ Which means that anyone who supports terrorism is in fact a terrorist. There was a poll done in 2009 by a respected polling company (ie: the study wasn’t paid for by Beck) which sought to discover the feelings of Muslims living overseas. The results suggest that Beck is mostly correct and the findings suggest that Islam is extremely dangerous. When asked whether they support attacks on US citizens 4% of people in Azerbaijan support terrorist attacks on the low end of the poll. On the high end 24% of Palestinians support such attacks. Some people in these countries had mixed feelings about terrorist attacks, so they’re at least somewhat sympathetic. 15% of Palestinians have mixed feelings, meaning nearly 40% either support or somewhat support terrorist attacks against the US. The range goes from 10% in Egypt to 40% of Palestinians. Asked whether they support al Qaeda’s attacks on the US the range is from 9% in Azerbaijan to 21% in Egypt. Those approving of attacks on US citizens working in Islamic countries, the range is from 7% in Azerbaijan to 30% in the Palestinian territories. Like it or not a good number of Muslims support terrorism, it’s likely in the 10% range. This is a religion with 1.5 billion people, which means 150 million of them are terrorists. If only 1% of those people would actually carry out a terrorist attack, we’re still looking at 1.5 million people willing to go forward with a terrorist act. Islam is a religion of war and conversion by the sword, it has been from its very beginning. Until we take this wicked religion and it’s true beliefs seriously, we stand no chance in the War on Terror. Beck is unfortunately right.

Stu Blog: Dear Media: Glenn was right. You were wrong.  Apologize.

The food police are at it again. Mrs. Obama’s childhood nutrition bill was passed by Congress last week. The bill continues the cradle to grave welfare that the left loves so much. Now taxpayers are not only going to foot the bill for breakfast and lunch for low income students, we’re going to buy them dinner as well. Next we’ll be buying them a suit of clothes, a car and a puppy dog. Mrs. Obama’s bill isn’t just about welfare, it’s about the nanny state as well. Her bill bans (I kid you not, it bans) pizza parties in school and bake sales that do not sell food the government declares as healthy. So much for the local control Democrats like to lobby for when it suits them. In any event, Mrs. Obama takes matters two steps further than all of this. First, Mrs. Obama claims we can’t just leave nutrition up to parents. Apparently parents aren’t capable of deciding what’s best for the children, the government needs to step in and make the decisions for them. We can’t just leave it up to those parents, parents are idiots after all. Government has to step in to stop these idiot parents. I find this sort of arrogance vile. Mrs. Obama also declared childhood obesity a ‘national security threat.’ If the term ‘national security threat’ hasn’t jumped the shark already it certainly has now. Fat children are as much a national security threat as the grandma’s the TSA has been groping for the past month. Mrs. Obama’s assertion is ridiculous on its face, as is her nutrition bill. For all the whining the left is doing about Obama, his administration has done more for the nanny state the left loves so much in two years than has been done since LBJ. School children are being fed by the government, the government is dictating what can be eaten in schools, parents are declared incapable and their job is taken over by the state, what’s not to love about this bill if you’re a leftist? If you love freedom, if you believe parents are more than capable of making decisions for their children, if you’re tired of cradle to grave welfare then this bill makes you sick to your stomach.

Breitbart Video: Michelle Obama on Nutrition: ‘We Can’t Just Leave it Up to the Parents’
Politico: Michelle Obama has new warning on obesity

Filed under Legislation, Politics, Taxes, Terrorism Tagged with , , , , ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 140 other followers