At last, a presidential candidate who understand economics and the limits of government power:
“Don’t get me wrong,” Johnson said in a statement. “We are proud of this distinction. We had a 11.6 percent job growth that occurred during our two terms in office. But the headlines that accompanied that report – referring to governors, including me, as ‘job creators’ – were just wrong.”
“The fact is, I can unequivocally say that I did not create a single job while I was governor,” Johnson added. Instead, “we kept government in check, the budget balanced, and the path to growth clear of unnecessary regulatory obstacles.”
And the current gang in DC is doing exactly the opposite, so there’s no reason that continuing bad economic news should be “unexpected.”
[Update a couple minutes later]
The one stimulus that the government refuses to try:
It’s almost as if Washington envisions the economy not as a complex network of billions of voluntary, mutually beneficial relationships, but as a lawn mower which could be forced to run smoothly if only they’d yank hard enough on the starter cord.
Amid government’s rush to “do something,” we forget that, on a percentage basis, the nation’s most productive years, those in which the U.S. overtook Great Britain to become the world’s leading economic power, occurred prior to the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913. What many lawmakers and regulators are not considering here is the strong possibility that the stimulus and intervention have had a deleterious effect.
No, that couldn’t possibly be.
Government can’t make you richer. But they sure can make you poorer.
“And the current gang in DC is doing exactly the opposite”
Not only that, they are taking on TX, via the EPA. They are the only place showing any ability to grow. If the Dems, RINOs, or Republicans wanted to grow our economy, they’d be looking to see how they could copy TX.
The Dems don’t want anyone to know that, the RINOs are as bad, and I don’t see the Republicans standing up and screaming Perry’s name from the roof tops. I get that not all of them are ‘supporters’ for Perry’s run. But they should be supporters of a decent, conservative minded legislature, who are getting things done right!
This is why we can’t defeat the Dems, they refuse to show the voters WHEN their policies are working somewhere. They’ll be apologizing for NOT getting things done in CA, NY, IL and MA before they crow about TX, if history is any indicator.
I have to disagree, Brian. Government can make you very rich if you have the right political connections. How many times have you heard of middle level government flunkies cashing in on their connections and making millions? How about the way old school friends and powerful political allies are taken care of at taxpayer expense in the form of bailouts?
I’ve read articles that state the return on investment in bribing Congress (more politely known as “campaign contributions”) can be over 100 to 1. Where else in life can you get that kind of return on your money? Why do you think the lobbying is a multi-billion “industry?”
Crony capitalism works amazingly well at all levels of government. Grease the right palms and government contracts flow your way. You can get quite rich that way.
Now, honest government can’t make anyone rich, but we’re a long way from that.
Actually, there is one thing Mr. Obama could even still do to turn the economy around and hence guarantee his reelection.
He could give an Oval Office speech decrying the environmental impact of the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill and appoint some manner of blue-ribbon Nobel-laureate-staffed turbo-charge Commission to not only investigate the spill but determine procedures “that such a disaster never happen again.”
In the next breath he could announce that upon following the safety procedures developed by the Commission, all off-shore areas of the Continental U.S. and Alaska will be opened to oil and gas exploration and production and that leases for all promising on-shore areas, including ANWR, would be put up for bid.
He could then announce that none of this would supplant his existing programs for promoting “clean source of energy for the future”, but that the economy was in dire need of this “shot in the arm” of a boost in conventional energy sources, which would send “a message to OPEC” and thus have have an immediate effect on the affordability on the gasoline needed for “everyday Americans to drive to their jobs, carry out their jobs, and visit their loved one’s when they came home from their jobs.”
And he could close with a promise that the work of the Commission and the decisions on these leases will be completed “by Christmas, 2011”, and that as President, this would be given the utmost priority and his personal direction and supervision from the Oval Office.
Sad that the media wants to pre-defeat Johnson. He’s the kind of guy we could use in the White House right now, especially compared to the likely alternatives.