Category Archives: Economics

An Oil-Spill To-Do List

I’m sure that the president will get right on it, just as soon as he finishes his latest round of golf.

You know, I’ll bet that Bobby Jindal hasn’t hit the links once in the past couple months.

One of the most insane things is the EPA not allowing the ships to clean the water, because they only remove ninety-plus percent of the oil. This is bureaucracy run amok. The president could fix it with the stroke of a pen. I wonder why he doesn’t?

Jim Moron

The Virginia Congressman, just having beamed in from some other planet, says “the economy has recovered“:

In fact, in the last six months more jobs were created than Bush was able to generate in eight years, Chris. People don’t understand that, the economy has recovered.

Guess he picked a bad week to keep huffing glue.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, Rick Santelli goes off on another righteous rant, and says to “stop spending.”

Here’s to that. Hope it stirs the folks up again, though he should have waited until closer to November. Of course, I suspect there’s plenty more where that came from.

Condolences

…to the friends and family of Senator Byrd.

My only immediate thoughts are that while they may miss him, the nation should not. For all of his posturing about his love of the Constitution, he was one of the prime architects of the fiscal ruin that lays ahead, and he served far too long.

[Update a few minutes later]

Related thoughts from Nick Gillespie:

“As the encomia mount like rotting, fly-buzzed piles of the pork-barrel spending he so systematically shoveled back to his West Virginia home, let’s not forget the late Sen. Robert Byrd’s most undeniable legacy: Undermining belief in politicians as little more than self-serving glad-handers on the hunt for more and more taxpayer money for their constituents.”

Perhaps if he’s really done that, he’s done the country a service. We’ll find out this fall.

[Update a while later]

Speaking of this fall, if his seat is declared vacant this week, there will be an election for it, with whoever the (Democrat) governor appoints as his replacement as the incumbent. But if there is (for some mysterious reason) a delay in such a declaration until next week, then the replacement will have the seat until 2012.

Did I mention that West Virginia’s governor is a Democrat?

Just A Coincidence, I’m Sure

Stimulating:

Since the beginning of the recession (roughly January 2008), some 7.9 million jobs were lost in the private sector while 590,000 jobs were gained in the public one. And since the passage of the stimulus bill (February 2009), over 2.6 million private jobs were lost, but the government workforce grew by 400,000.

I think it’s exactly what they wanted to happen. Have to keep those public union people employed so they can keep providing the campaign cash. Especially when they can pass laws to shut down the opposition.

The Gulf Economy Is Saved

At least temporarily. A federal judge has struck down the idiotic and mendacious drilling moratorium.

My prediction: the lamestream media and the administration will attempt to make hay out of the fact that Judge Feldman is a Reagan appointee. I expect them to appeal, unfortunately. But at least the ban is lifted for now, or will be in thirty days.

[Update a few minutes later]

They’ve already said they’re going to appeal. But I don’t think they can get it reinstated until they win the appeal, if they do (and I suspect they won’t). I wonder if they’ll try to get the appellate court to take it as an emergency case? No, I don’t really. You know they will.