It makes California look frugal and responsible. So naturally, we took the people responsible for it and put them in charge in Washington. Not for much longer, I hope.
Category Archives: Economics
The Coming Depression
A cheery interview with Vox Day:
The dirty little secret of politics is that most politicians are of barely above average intelligence and possess very narrow educations. They’re mostly people with IQs of around 120 and a law degree. So, they know literally nothing about economics and lack the capacity to see that what the experts are telling them doesn’t add up. Given those circumstances, it should come as no surprise that they so readily embrace the economic theory that tells them exactly what they want to hear. “Go, thou, and spend, and thus shalt the economy be saved. And lo, thou shalt be the savior of thy people!” That’s a lot more palatable than being told that the nation is in dire straits and their careers are in jeopardy due to the actions of their predecessors, and that there’s not much they can do about it. So, they listen to the self-interested parties and blindly go about making the situation worse.
I think that he overestimates the intelligence of the narrowly educated lawyer/politicians. Particularly the one in the White House.
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?
Unintended Consequences
Even thought it’s from Cracked, this is a good look at the counterproductivity of well-intentioned laws. With regard to the underground sex offenders, Obama favored a law on gun stores that would have made it similarly impossible to find a location for them. I don’t think that consequence was unintended, though.
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.
Better To Be A Smartass
…than the alternative, Mr. Vice President.
And they called Dan Quayle stupid.
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?
“Capricious And Arbitrary”
I think that pretty much sums up this administration’s approach to governance. Fortunately, there’s a federal judge who is willing to call it like it is, and defend the constitution.
More Projection From The Left
Cavuto: “Where did you get your degree? At a baking school?”
Blackwell: “You’re an a**hole.”
Just A Coincidence, I’m Sure
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.