Obama’s Hope Built on a Lie
October 17, 2009
When Shepard Fairey created Obama’s ‘Hope’ poster he stole the work of Mannie Garcia, the owner of a small freelance photography company. When confronted by authorities Shepard claimed that he did NOT use Mannie’s photo, but more recently he has admitted to perjury as well as destruction and fabrication of evidence. His lawyers have indicated they can no longer represent him. The irony of the situation? After the AP confronted Shepard about the photo, asking for compensation, Fairey sued the AP. Yes, the guy who stole Mannie Garcia’s work had the gall to sue the AP for asking for compensation. Wow.
At the end of the day, this situation is ironic. Obama’s plan for America requires that property be taken from one group and given to another (and he is going to take the credit). For example, last week Obama announced he would be making a cash payment to senior citizens of $250. This plan will cost $12 billion and is being touted as part of a ’second stimulus’ to create jobs. You can create a boatload of jobs with $12 billion, but if you divide it up and give $250 to each senior you can’t create a single job. The administration is ‘hoping’ that seniors will go out to Best Buy and buy something. We need to start making investments – investments that are worth MORE tomorrow than they cost to build today. Build a building, build a nuclear power plant, built a road – all of these are examples of capital assets that a) create jobs near term and long term and b) will be worth more tomorrow than they are today. Assets appreciate. Cash payments to seniors make the situation worse.
Just as Shepard blamed the victim, Obama blames us – the small business owners who try to create jobs. He calls us ‘fat cats’, ‘whiners’ or unruly teenagers who don’t know what is good for ourselves. I have hope for America – but my hope is not invested in Obama or our government – instead my hope is invested in the people of America.
US GDP Down 25% since 2000!
October 8, 2009
David Malpass in Wall Street Journal article titled, “The Weak-Dollar Threat to Prosperity“ suggests the weakness in the dollar is a real problem for America. Uh, really? The more interesting point he makes is actually very scary. Take a minute to think about this fact:
“Measured in euros (a more stable ruler than the ever-weakening dollar), U.S. real per capita GDP is down 25% since 2000, while Germany’s is up 4% and tops ours.”
This means our standard of living has declined 25%. Are you still spending the same as you spent in 2000? Or maybe even more? You know how? You have been borrowing money you don’t have – nor will you ever have unless we make serious changes in our behavior. Figuring out how to spend an extra trillion a year on health insurance is NOT a solution – it is part of the problem. David explains that we need, “a strong U.S. jobs and wealth program. It has to include stable money, a flatter, more competitive tax structure, spending restraint, and common-sense bank regulation so small business lending can restart. Treasury has to rapidly lengthen the maturity of the national debt and take steps to protect the Fed from market losses on its long-term debt holdings.”
Obama and his team have decided to to continue weaking the dollar to mask the decline in GDP. This would be bad enough, but Obama is ALSO raising taxes on millions of Americans through levies (i.e. the new payments you will need to make for the public option insurance system) and outright tax increases on small businesses and individuals making more than $250,000 per year. On top of that he is “borrowing short (the Fed’s near trillion-dollar overnight debt, Treasury’s mounds of bill and note issuance) to lend long (mortgages, student loans, entitlements).” Not very smart. Finally Obama is “doubling down on government subsidies, and rechanneling bank loans to governments and big businesses instead of the small business job-growth engine.”
David points out that the entire ‘weak-dollar’ policy was invented by the Bush administration. Obama could fix almost everything if he would reverse this policy. Now that is change we need. How about it Mr. Obama?
Handouts aren’t Stimulus
October 7, 2009
Thousands of Detroit residents lined up yesterday for $3,000 stimulus checks from the Obama administration. Turns out they were confused. Instead of receiving checks, the residents were asked to complete an application explaining their need. Detroit was granted $15MM by Obama to help residents pay their bills and rent.
These sort of direct handouts aren’t any sort of stimulus for the economy. Now I am not arguing these people couldn’t use the money, but government handouts never work. Helping you make rent payments for the next couple of months won’t create a single job. They will simply defer reality and add to our ballooning national debt. Our unemployment rate, the real one, is 17%+ – this approaches depression era levels. Of course it doesn’t include those working for SIGNIFICANTLY less than they did just a year ago. HP/EDS cut wages across the board between 30-40% this summer. I am not sure, but if someone cut my monthly income by 40% I might have problems sustaining my lifestyle. How about you? Video of the thousands of Detroit residents lining up for their checks.
Where are the stimulus projects that create jobs?
Failure we can’t afford. . .
October 6, 2009
Obama is back from Europe where he staked our national prestige on a bid to win the Olympics for Chicago. The world voted, overwhelmingly, against Obama and America. While Obama was risking his international political capital on games that won’t occur until after he leaves Washington, the world was also voting against the Dollar and ultimately turning its back on America. This change by both our allies and our enemies is unacceptable and a major failure for Obama and America – a failure we can’t afford.
As a result of Obama’s inaction and Congress’ insane deficit spending, our ‘allies’ in the Middle East, Japan and France along with our ‘enemies’ China, Russia and Brazil have agreed to replace the dollar with a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new unified currency from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar. Obama knew of the high level meetings going on in Europe that would dictate the future of the Dollar, but Obama decided not to attend, not to send an envoy, not to pressure our allies. Wouldn’t it have been impressive if Obama fought for the Dollar? for America? Would he have succeeded? There is no guarantee, but showing up would have sent a message – a serious message.
The stakes could not be higher, but Obama doesn’t seem to agree. Unless we act fast the Dollar, as we know it today, will be gone in nine years. The global financial system contemplated by the Bretton Woods agreements after the second World War is being dismantled. According to Robert Fisk, “Chinese financial sources believe President Barack Obama is too busy fixing the US economy to concentrate on the extraordinary implications of the transition from the dollar in nine years’ time. The current deadline for the currency transition is 2018.”
Unfortunately, the Chinese are both wrong and right, Obama is NOT busy fixing our economy – instead he is VERY busy working on climate change and health care bills. Obama’s focus is 180 degrees out of sync with our present realities – the real unemployment rate in the US is 17% – our debt is soaring out of control – our states are insolvent – our entitlement programs (SS, Medicare, Medicaid) are insolvent – the FDIC is insolvent – the Dollar is under attack. Don’t take this as a partisan attack – I don’t think Bush would have acted either. Regardless of which party you are with – we all need to be Americans once more and fight for our country and our way of life. If we don’t the implications will be dire. A Chinese banker explains, “These plans will change the face of international financial transactions. America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate.”
We’re screwed. . .
September 23, 2009
Take a minute to look at the graph John Taylor (professor of economics at Stanford) put together for his students. It is based on the latest CBO numbers. Unless we can convince our leaders to stop spending China’s money the US will cease to exist as a nation:
![[Debt+Chart.gif]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GhUVXaopHNE/SrmxrXg0EYI/AAAAAAAAAD8/ra7cWOb1m6A/s1600/Debt%2BChart.gif)
