Obama Speak

[MikeK]

Surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy...

uuhhhh?

[Bill Glasheen]

It's the language of wealth redistributionists, Mike.

Several centuries ago, Vilfredo Pareto noted that 20 percent of the population in Italy owned 80 percent of the wealth. That 80/20 rule holds across generations and cultures. The distribution is equally predictable for the top 1% (a quarter of the wealth), top 2% (a third of the wealth), and 5% (half the wealth).

Captialism acknowledges nature, and chooses to penalize those in the upper income group just a little more than a flat tax would. Socialism seeks to flatten the natural have vs. have-not tendency of mankind and nature.

Guess which system maintains the greatest incentive to work hard? Guess which system won out in the 20th century? Communism and central planning is no more in most of the world now.

Here's the thing though. While 20 percent may own 80 percent of the wealth, the 80 percent could be goaded into overtaxing those in the wealthy brackets - because they can. Democrats in particular use the class warfare language to get the wealthy to pay a greater PROPORTION of their earned income to support the state and the large government they want. Just a flat tax alone would have the wealthy paying the largest burden of the taxes. But that apparently isn't enough for some. Class warfare leads to resentment which leads to oppressive taxes (on the wealthy and on corporations) which unfortunately leads to a less productive economy.

Can we live with the smarter, harder working, and more emotionally intelligent folks in the world doing better? Apparently some can't.

I saw some of the speech last night, Mike. The coded language of socialism started to piss me off. I turned it off. I had problems enough looking at Nancy Pelosi without wanting to lose my dinner.

Sigh...

- Bill

[MikeK]

Dark times ahead.

Let's start the chant, "one term, one term"

[Bill Glasheen]

Dark times ahead.

Let's start the chant, "one term, one term"

I hear you.

I have such mixed feelings on the matter. I want Obama to succeed because we all NEED him to succeed. Unfortunately I stopped believing in Christmas almost 5 decades ago. This Keynesian approach to one nasty recession just doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies.

And the tax-speak frankly scares the poo out of me. Even if it doesn't affect me, it's the principle of the matter. When the government unfairly penalizes the brightest and most productive, we all should feel ashamed. Those of us who grew to love Jefferson understand when our constitutional principles have been compromised.

I don't want to be right. But I have this bad feeling that I just can't shake.

- Bill

[Jason Rees]

I watched the speech last night. Man, the guy can give a speech. I don't think I've ever heard someone say so little about so much. Apparently investors agreed, because investing continued its downward spiral today.

It's hard to argue with a guy who wraps everything up in a nice, fuzzy glow. How do you argue against spending good money after bad on our educational system? On healthcare? On 'alternative energy...' except that we can't afford it? Speaking of which, if the press were as derisive about the phrase 'alternative energy' as they are about 'so-called partial-birth abortion,' I think I'd keel over in shock.

I'm deeply disturbed that once again our president proved that he can't lay out a policy, because he doesn't have one. The 'most open administration in history' will continue to have meetings behind closed doors, press bills through Congress before anyone can see what's actually in them, and then crow about the lack of earmarks in bills chock-full of the pet projects of every Democrat in Congress.

Our president and his Democrat colleagues in Congress seem drunk with their recently acquired power. But maybe some are beginning to feel the hangover set in. Byrd seems to have had a moment of clarity after the last eight years of near-senility. He's complaining that their Dear Leader is taking power away from Congress with all his 'Czars,' empowering the Executive Branch and dismantling the powers of the Legislative Branch, and building secrecy and immunity into executive actions.

Democrats having this much power scares me. Charismatic men like Obama scare the bejesus out of me. This is a guy who would be king. And the ignorant and adoring masses, as in the past, may very well be glad to help him do it.

If we continue to empower the government, allowing it to centralize power over every aspect of our lives... how much is going to be left to us? And what will happen to the promise of America?

[Bill Glasheen]

Democrats having this much power scares me.

Any party having that much power should scare the average citizen. It isn't healthy. The dynamic tension of the balance of power (executive, legislative, judicial) and multiple parties is the key to preventing what's commonly called tyranny of the masses. When one set of interests runs over that of the minority, we as a people all suffer.

Virginia has this right. Whatever party ends up in the White House, the opposite party typically has the governor's mansion in the next election. It's what gives us balance.

Charismatic men like Obama scare the bejesus out of me.

Obama doesn't scare me. It's the people who blindly follow him or feel compelled to defend him without debate who scare me.

- Bill

[Jason Rees]

Obama doesn't scare me. It's the people who blindly follow him or feel compelled to defend him without debate who scare me.

That's why people like him are scary.

[Bill Glasheen]

Back when I was a grad student in academia depending on NIH to fund my training, it was a different time and a different perspective for me. Ronald Reagan was elected after I started graduate school.

They used to call Reagan "the teflon president", because nothing used against him would stick. I remember being a little scared of Reagan because he wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, and he had strong charismatic qualities. Nevertheless he did have vision and he could lead.

Reagan's power over the population (including the "Reagan Democrats") used to scare me. But back then there was a difference. At least in the 1980s the media was at odds with the conservative Republican, and challenged him every step of the way. Reagan responded (when necessary) by taking his case straight to the people. He was one of the great communicators.

The problem with Obama is that much of the media is fawning over him. Even SNL did a skit making fun of this in a Hillary vs. Obama primary debate. Some like Chris Matthews should just quit the media altogether and get into politics. On the whole, the media shirked its responsibility through both the primaries and the election process. And I don't see them (in general) screaming bloody murder about the details within a near-trillion-dollar spending spree. That ought to scare at least some people. And it's difficult for me to believe that a young reporter doesn't have an opportunity for recognition with just a little bit of investigative work.

No matter what your beliefs, it's important to challenge and to question. I rely on that process of debate and discovery at work on projects I'm working on. Without feedback and scrutiny, we're left to the devices of people who are all too human and in some cases are just plain incompetent. That can't be a good thing.

This isn't war. We don't need to rally around the Commander in Chief because the enemy is at our doorstep. This is a time for critical internal review and measured steps forward.

- Bill

[cxt]

Bill

Remember when dissenting from the POTUS POV was considered the height of doings ones civic duty?

Least that was the spin at the time.............wonder what those self same folks feel about dissent these days?

[MikeK]

"Unfortunately, President Obama has inherited a colossal mess" said Senate Budget committee Chairman Kent Conrad

TARP proponent KC.

Lawrence Summers, the former Harvard president who is now a top economic adviser to President Obama, talked up Obama's stimulus package today, but also reminded of the crisis that he inherited. "You'll see the effects begin almost immediately," Summers said...

Been seeing those effects daily in the stock market.

I inherited the deficit that we have right now, and the economic crisis that we have right now.

“If you delay acting on an economy of this severity, then you potentially create a negative spiral that becomes much more difficult for us to get out of,”

Speechifier in Chief.

If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, if we stand up there and we really make the tough decisions, there's still a 30 percent chance we're going to get it wrong

Joltin Joe not quite getting what the words right and certainty mean.

[hoshin]

what i thnk many fail to see is that obama is only putting the burden on the middle class. the truly wealthy do not rely on "earned income" their money comes from portfolio and passive income which is not what he is targeting. the wealthy have the means and resources to pressure politicians and change laws that effect them. the middle class do not.
he may be targeting the CEO's of coporations that take bail money but other then that i dont think Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are going to be hurting.
printing new money will be a disaster the bail out will be a burden for generations to come and new taxes and health care expenses will kill most new entreprenuers from getting in the game.

[MikeK]

And to think, he's only been in office a month.

[cxt]

hoshin

Excellent points........check out some time what the vastly wealthy Kenndey clan pays in taxes or Pelosi or Teresa Heines Kerry.

The wealthy have the means to avoid taxes that less well off folks can't effectively ulitize.

All the more reason that Bidens quip of paying taxes being ones "patriotic duty"............with all the tax cheats.......oops......I mean "those poor folks whom made errors on their taxes in the Democratic party....rings rather hollow.

Sure there are plenty of people with said behavior in the Rep party....they just were not in line to run the tax department.

[Gene DeMambro]

Please enlighten us. Show us how much Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Barack Obama et al make in income and pay in taxes.

Be sure to tell us how much Dick Cheney, George W. Bush. Mitch McConnell et al pay as well.

[MikeK]

Gene,
If you don't feel that you are being adequately taxed then please feel free to write a nice check to the IRS to remedy the situation.
I feel that I'm paying more than enough.