Is There Nothing That Obama Can't Do?

"Cut in half" compared to what? Technically he's correct - the five year projections are cut in half compared to 2009. Compared to 2008, not so much.

notice that after the crisis, he just continues the spending trent that he criticizes with Bush.

That big red spike is for 2009. That's Obama's baby much as he protests otherwise.

Wow the Big Owe's best(?) year 2012's deficit is almost 50% bigger than GWB's worst year 2008.

Obama may be cleverer than he seems. There's an old trick in public-company accounting called "taking a bath." In essence, bath-taking means throwing everything bad into a quarter's results. Conservatism and pessimism are urged at that time. Once the horrid quarter is done with, near-future results look pretty good by comparison. They may even be aided by write-ups that compensate for the pessimism in the bath-taking quarter.

In this case, taking a bath would mean aiming at a high deficit for this fiscal year. That way, the baseline for the halving is unusually high. It's easier to, say, halve a $2 trillion deficit than it would be to halve a $1.5 trillion one.

Here's a nice comment from Larry Kudlow on Obama and his tax agenda

"But the bigger point is this: A 90 percent tax rate on financial bonuses is so punitive that it will surely drive away the best and brightest from the very banks that must heal the credit system. Do we really want D-minus students -- who are willing to accept massive tax punishment -- in charge of a trillion dollars in taxpayer money and spearheading economic recovery? The perverse incentives of tax retribution against AIG and other TARPed banks will surely backfire, and taxpayers and economic recovery will take the hit.

You see, taxes matter. They hugely impact economic behavior. The whole economic system is run on incentives to work, invest and take risks. And it must pay, after tax, to ignite the entrepreneurial activity that really drives the economy. Like it or not, our free-market capitalist system is driven by the economic activist, provided he or she is properly rewarded.

So the real battle here in fact could be a war between the left wing of the Democratic Party and the Reagan supply side incentive model of economic growth".

Moving the power to 'be an economic activist' from the individual to the government is an extremely dangerous agenda. The socialist strategy of empowering the government and disabling the individual, has been proven again and again, to stop an economy in its tracks.

Here's the math -

.5 x WayTooMuch = 1 sh*tload

The CBO estimates are arguably not conservative enough. And their projection basically has the US spiralling into insolvency. And that is without fixing social security funding of which there is zero chance of happening under the dems (not that the GOP is much better).

The scary thing is that BO and the dems could put the US into this spending spiral before the 2010 elections. The American economy could be put into a dive that it will be impossible to pull out of. Just like the UK in the 50s.

The CBO estimates are arguably not conservative enough. And their projection basically has the US spiralling into insolvency. And that is without fixing social security funding of which there is zero chance of happening under the dems (not that the GOP is much better).

The scary thing is that BO and the dems could put the US into this spending spiral before the 2010 elections. The American economy could be put into a dive that it will be impossible to pull out of. Just like the UK in the 50s.

and he has the printing presses rolling 7x24x365 "making" lotsa new money.

But printing money is really negative wealth creation.

Curious that SDA readers are so fixated on the TOTUS that Harper led Conservatives have sought and acquired a $3 billion honey pot for fast disbursal of your tax cash.

No need for any kind of ideas where or how much that cash goes to - jus that we really, really, need it now.

Or that Kevin Page - the PBO in Ottawa - is getting financially squeezed by the Cons because of messaging problems. But I see the CBO in the states was set up as an independent office - sort of how the Conservatives promised it would happen here, but didn't do when creating it. Funny that.

Or best yet, the hockey stick graph of debt the Cons are foisting on Canada - in an economy that will avoid most effects of a global recession.

Except for the normal ebb and flow of the odd deeply subsidized buggy whip maker needing to go out of business. But, our our government is going to give those buggy whip makers $4 billion of your cash.

Why? Because all of the people who declare themselves to be conservative in this country are guffawing at Obamateur Hour in the states. While our Liberal government in Ottawa launches the single largest per captia spending increase in the history of the nation.

Fully 1.75x larger than the increase in government spending undertaking by Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government in the early 70's.

And all the cons here - laughing at the orgy of profligacy, government expansion, regulatory creep, and institutionalized dependency.

Who says conservatism is dying in Canada? It is already dead.

What Obama doesn't seem to understand, since he lives completely and totally in a fictional world of his own authorship, is that manipulating words won't and can't create an actual reality.

He tells us that 'deficits will be cut in half' - when this is actually, in the real world, untrue because he's first increasing the deficit. It's like someone increasing the cost of a loaf of bread from $2.00 to $8.00 and then, proudly announcing a sale for $4.00.

Show a saving yet still triple the debt. Left handed math.

hardboiled... you have a point - true conservatism is dead in Canada.

But to be faire to PMSH, the opposition all but stampeded him into useless deficit spending to "stimulate" the economy à la BO... if he had a majority government, he wouldn't have had to bow to the economic illiterates on the other side of the Commons.

Question: Why are politicians so good at breaking things and so poor at fixing ? Could it be intentional ?

In a stable, well functioning economy and a crime free society with everyone, EVERYONE acting in a responsible fashion ( no freeloading hippies, no drugs, no dunbed down media) - how would this work for a vote seeking Politician:

" Blah balh, I would like you to vote for me. Ahhww , mmmm , there is nothing really wrong with our country and the way it is working these days."

"Actually everything is just ticky poo. No crime to speak of since we got tough on crime. No need to raise taxes - in fact we can lower taxes. A lot !! Because there are no more bums since we went to a 'only truly needy' welfare system - the numbers have plunged by ninety percent."

" Businesses are doing well and employing virtually everybody. So,I can't stand here and promise you voters the world and how I will fix everything because , frankly, there is nothing to fix."

(Turns aside, to an aide, and blasts: why in hell did we fix everything !? It was much better in the Trudeau days when we broke everything - much easier to control the people when they are living in fear. When they are so broke they come begging for help. With votes)

"Anyways, people, nothing to fix here. Move along - oh, I see they already have. " :(

Thanks Tank

Hardboiled must be percussionist because he is always beating the same drum. He neglects to recognize in his comments that the Liberals and the Dippers are even less conservative than the Conservatives. He throws mud but never offers an alternate solution or position. As best I can tell Hardboiled's true identity is Ron Paul. He is so fixated on the definition of "conservative" that he spends all of his time telling conservatives that they are not conservative.

That being said, I think Hardboiled’s comments would be very interesting and insightful if he focused on the issues at hand instead of finger pointing.

"Curious that SDA readers are so fixated on the TOTUS that Harper led Conservatives have sought and acquired a $3 billion honey pot for fast disbursal of your tax cash."

Although I'm not in favour of much government intervention in the economy, I'll trust Harper, the economist to micro manage that money and make sure it's invested well compared to Barry, the new Paris "Look at me" Hilton.

If Harper was as vapid and bored with the real hard work of being leader of a country like Obama is, it would mean that Harper might give the hard work to someone like Layton. After all Obama gives all the work to people like Pelosi, the Layton of the south who comes from and represents San Francisco, capital of moonbattery par excellence.
Frisco is part of California; a lefty socialist state that's bankrupt.

Pejman, wrong you need another really in the "it's not "and hope really, really, really, really, really hard" line. Than your statement would be believable!

et. i would say that obama has d minus students in charge now. kudlow should have made that point. it is not future tense.

Terry Tory, Paris Hilton would be doing a better job as TOTUS than Scary Bary OmigawdBama. She's smarter and less psycho. That's what's frightening.

ET, how long before the ACORN bus shows up at Larry Kudlow's house?

Posted by: Indiana Homez at March 25, 2009 1:57 PM

...if I focused on the issues? Huh?

$3 billion in spending that can't be defined by the government before spending?

$4+ billion to NA car makers?

Largest spending increase in the history of Canada?

A PBO that lacks independence?

Let me guess, I wasn't able to put any issues in my post?