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A Further Perspective
The Summer of Recovery
For more information, just ask Joe Biden.
It’s The Summer of Recovery. Just ask perky Vice President Joe Biden, who says there’s no doubt about it. Here’s the evidence:
• “We’ve [that is, the Obama White House] created or saved 3.8 million jobs.” Since almost none has been created outside of the short-term hiring at the Census Bureau, he must mean that the rest were “saved.” That use of the word, coined by this administration, is useful since it can neither be proved nor disproved. Thus, anyone who didn’t lose his or her job in the recession had it “saved” — presumably by the Obama “stimulus” money.
• The other day, President Obama called a Rose Garden press conference to introduce three Americans who have been jobless so long their unemployment benefits were about to run out. Congressional Democrats obliged by extending these benefits to 99 weeks for some 2.5 million people. That’s just short of two years. What happens when it runs out, another extension? The jobless folks he trotted out may represent the cutting edge of a new welfare program.
There is hardly an economist alive who would argue with the adage that the more you subsidize something, the more of it you get; and the more you tax something, the less of it you get. It looks as though the White House has decided that since its $862 billion “stimulus” program didn’t produce any jobs, it might as well pay people not to work. Although no one wishes ill to job seekers, with their ever-extended benefits more than a few will decide that rather than taking a job that pays less than their old one, they’ll hold out until something better comes along. That’s human nature.
Meanwhile businesses are not hiring, partly because of the current tax-and-regulatory climate and partly because they worry about what comes next. Unless Obama and Congress get over the temptation to fight a perpetual (and imaginary) class war, the Bush tax cuts will expire December 31. For many businesses, especially those in the Subchapter S category (profits taxed at individual rather than corporate rates), taxes are going to go up.
Capital gains tax rates will also go up. Repeatedly in the course of modern decades, hikes in the capital gains rates have consistently caused U.S. Treasury revenues to drop. Rate reductions have caused them go up. The explanation is not complicated, no matter how hard the left tries to avoid learning it. Higher rates cause thousands of decisions makers to decide against investing in new businesses or to add employees or purchase new equipment for existing ones. Lower rates produce the opposite result: new businesses start up, people are hired, equipment is purchased. Seems simple, but it causes palpitations among those who are haunted by the lurking worry that somehow, somewhere, someone is going to make a profit.
About the Author
Peter Hannaford was closely associated for a number of years with the late President Reagan, beginning in the California Governor’s office. His latest book is Presidential Retreats.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (32) | Leave a comment
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Purple Lips| 7.26.10 @ 7:54AM
One of the new jobs in my area during this "summer of recovery" are lawn mowing jobs. There are so many vacant factories, warehouses, distribution centers, and retail outlets that business is booming for those lucky enough to own lawn tractors, and a large pickup.
Good times, good times.
wouldee| 7.26.10 @ 4:21PM
on one hand, UI extensions are welfare. On the other hand, no one is hiring.
Between the ears, this brainiac fails to see the contradiction.
Especially since govt intervention in housing continues unabated by obozo and his inept minions to keep construction workers unemployed while housing stocks of cheap resales grow and grow like weeds.
Construction workers want jobs, not welfare. But UI extensions keep us from being homeless another day or two while idiots argue nonsense and irrational delusions to feel good about themselves.
God forbid these self-absorbed idiots with sufficient backstop should actually comprehend the plight of residential construction professionals- especially those of us unfortunates who had the audacity to be born in the SF Bay Area.
The hubris is amazing.
The ignorance of certain allegedly learned American Spectators is apalling.
chuck| 7.27.10 @ 7:32AM
Wouldee,
First of all, let me comiserate with you. I was in new construction for almost 30 years, making more money than most white-collar pencil pushers. So I understand where you are coming from. It sucks.
That said, get off your ass and find a way! I had to completely change my line of work. Instead of new construction, its now home repairs and remodeling. It took a couple of years, but now(Thank God) I am as busy as ever. I had to sell my big house, the dream home we built 17 years ago, but I was able to take the proceeds and buy a foreclosure for cash, which I'm renovating. By the end of the year, I'll be in a house thats paid for.
Long story short, quit whining and find a way. You may have to move, you'll have to rethink your career, but get off your ass and do it, and quit sucking off the government. Have some respect for yourself!
Shamus| 7.26.10 @ 6:02PM
Recovery Summer is when voters gets their sense back.
chuck| 7.26.10 @ 8:01AM
The next thing to come out of VP Bite me's yap will be that they saved 100 million jobs, because if you're still working, its because of their great, great economic policies.
Another Take| 7.26.10 @ 8:27AM
I believe this administration has saved a lot of jobs.
If they weren't so inept, their evil plans would have destroyed even more jobs. If you are still employed, thank Obama's crowd of crooks for inadequately destroying the economy......yet.
Louis Jenkins| 7.26.10 @ 8:29AM
The Bush tax cuts will remain in place. (I'm wagering here.) The Blue Dog Democrats are getting skeerd. And the Obama White House will claim a victory. Spending money is of no concern to the Pretender n Chief. A few ga-zillion here or there, it does not matter. The White House loves to spend money, even if it doesn't have it. Those of us who have jobs will be applauded by the administration, and those who don't, well, they'll be applauded too.
Paevo| 7.26.10 @ 8:31AM
"Seems simple, but it causes palpitations among those who are haunted by the lurking worry that somehow, somewhere, someone is going to make a profit. "
Excellent remark; exposes the paranoia and chronic envy that, from the point of view of the leftist, pass for "intelligence"...
Lawrence Boccardi| 7.26.10 @ 8:36AM
I read an interesting Obama comment, over the weekend. He is going to allow the first daughters (no slight intended to the Obama children), to begin babysitting " to learn the value of money"!!!!!
Max Nichts| 7.26.10 @ 3:17PM
Starting with Joe Biteme
Desert-Rose-8| 7.30.10 @ 11:37AM
Wouldn't that be the first and second daughters? ha ha
Howard| 7.26.10 @ 8:40AM
I will send my dog eared copy of Atlas Shrugged to the White House. Obama's tired leftist ideology is creating a permanent class of welfare recipients. And he foolishly thinks that people who produce, will not let higher taxes influence their decisions.
Howard| 7.26.10 @ 8:40AM
I will send my dog eared copy of Atlas Shrugged to the White House. Obama's tired leftist ideology is creating a permanent class of welfare recipients. And he foolishly thinks that people who produce, will not let higher taxes influence their decisions.
Melvin| 7.26.10 @ 9:34AM
People, some of us already are aware of this fact, but there isn't going to be a recovery. The only thing that will be coming is a shift change from the once proud American worker to being dumped into a global workers pool.
Basically what has happened we are experiencing the completion of the manufacturing base completing it's overseas migration. Other Fortune 500 companies and to a certain extent the banking industry through mergers and acquisitions have also entered into their final phases, hence the shock therapy that we have experienced since 2008.
The American worker through Globalism now has to compete with Chinese, Vietnamese, European Union workers, Indian and basically every other country on this planet. This is one of the unintended or intended consequences of the, "New World Order."
What do we expect that the average Chinese worker works 10 to 12 hours a day for .88 and hour, Vietnamese .22 an hour. No benefits whatsoever, no overzealous EPA with onerous rules and regulations for Corporations to deal with. No NIMBIES to deal with when wanting to build a business.
Corporations only have to deal with corrupt government officials in China, and not government regulations like the ADA requirements or this regulation or that regulation.
Our government run schools are producing idiots that do not have the skills or knowledge to compete with European of Asian workers. American workers lack woefully in the sciences and math skills, and many do not even know where the power button is on a computer.
I would have never believed this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. A good friend invited me to sit in on one of his classes that dealt with the lower level of attaining a GED. There were four classes of students in our local Community College that were slam packed with Americans that couldn't read, and most couldn't write other than signing their name.
Each of these classes held about 40 students (adults) and if the school offered more, they would have been filled to capacity as well.
About the only thing that could be said about this is, better bone up on your Mandarin and acquire a taste for Ramen type noodles.
Kurt| 7.26.10 @ 10:42AM
Melvin,
If there were only more of us with the ability and the desire to see what is happening to this great nation there would be hope! Unfortunately the majority of the drones in this country could care less. Most only worry about a couple things and they are their government check arriving on the 1st and who will win American idol. Look at these conservative blogs like Human events, townhall and American spectator and you can see that very few care about our future by how small the reader and comment lists are. We Americans, well the majority are comfortably numb to the reality of our future downfall...SO SAD!!!
rainmaker1145 | 7.26.10 @ 11:13AM
ENTER THE TROJAN HORSE - THE END OF THE RULING CLASS
In order to end the tyranny of the ruling class aristocracy an effort every bit as organized, defined, researched and analyzed will have to be undertaken in order to attract people who will do what is necessary to end this tyranny.
It will not happen by warning the people that their liberties are imperiled - history shows us the human condition is such that it will ignore this as irrelevant because it seems so uncivilized it cannot be imagined that we would be enslaved in this day and time - and yet it happens repeatedly. Remember: all the while you have been warning our people the enemy has been whispering treason in their ears to lull them into ignorance and conformity to their corrupt plan.
It will not happen by pointing out the failings of what the enemies of freedom have perpetrated or will likely perpetrate as these are always a source of subjective measurement and require us to use measures of accountability the enemy will never allow us to deploy. Do they not use racism and other distractions to serve these purposes and more?
It will only happen by offering the enemy a Trojan Horse of unimaginable destructive power - one that carries those two seeds of destructive kryptonite that can be taken into the core of the liberal colony and used to destroy the entire colony. This Trojan Horse must be like no other in history or they will likely use any means available to prevent the deployment of this Trojan Horse Weapon of Mass Democracy. This means it must be perceived has having little or no effect upon them until its use becomes so widespread it can no longer be considered stoppable. It has to be as big as the Internet and as hard to do without as cell phones. There is only one thing in our lives that offers the potential to introduce a Trojan Horse of this size and provide for its infection at so high a rate that a corrupt liberal-progressive will gladly swallow the virus and ingest the kryptonite without consideration.
That thing is money - the god they worship and the addiction they are willing to do anything to feed.
The Trojan Horse has to be something to do with money that every single liberal-progressive would be willing to kill for to enable it to happen. In my 9 years of research to create the Trojan Horse I found only one thing that had the power by which liberal-progressives could be immediately subdued to obtain this goal and that one thing is the opportunity to realize truly unlimited government spending. This appeals both to their desire to play God with people's live and property, as well as obtain the means for permanent satisfaction of their addiction to spending that which they did not earn, but still corruptly believe they alone are entitled to spend. The aristocracy is supported not by real work and production (as is our class), but by stealing our money via government spending. In their world, the more spending the government can get away with, the greater their fortunes would be. This becomes our point of introduction for the Trojan Horse and served as the benchmark for my design to end their world forever and free us from the dominion of those who would make us support their consumption at our sole risk and expense as the price for our continued existence.
The design of the ultimate Trojan Horse began with the realization I had to create a new system of fiscal appropriations that would allow for unlimited fiscal spending. I realized this because:
(i) the history of world democracies shows that all democracies suffer and die as a result of unlimited spending, so I either had to fix this issue as part of the Trojan Horse or we would be doomed to tyranny no matter what else happens; and (ii) since we cannot control spending, the solution would be to control revenues in such a way as to pay for all spending and find the solution in some other structure that would end up destroying unlimited spending in the long-run as a result. If I could offer a new system of fiscal appropriations that (seemingly) gives liberal-progressives the power to undertake unlimited spending, then they would readily bring my Trojan Horse into their camp and celebrate its virtues while (conveniently) ignoring the destruction that awaited inside the beast.
This told me I had to have a way to deploy my kryptonite (accountability and responsibility) in such a way that we obtained the benefit of these outcomes as a result of a structural relationship within our economy and not as a result of the desire of any party to prove their own worth and the validity of their actions. The problem with accountability and responsibility is that we all have to take a hand in promoting it, not in doing it.
We are human and we all have our own interests at heart and these conflicts-of-interest conspire to prevent us from realizing true accountability, real personal responsibility and complete transparency in our affairs. My ultimate solution was the result of structuring our markets, businesses and government entities within the orbit of a macroeconomic system that AUTOMATICALLY provided accountability without any of the reporting parties involved having to be consulted on the matter - true, real-time, third-party reporting to ensure that these goals are met. The real "magic" in Lovellian economics was that this part of the system comes as a benefit and not as a structural component that must be promoted per se. This makes it ideal for our Trojan Horse usage as this can be downplayed (or ignored) in the ensuing discussion of the implementation of Lovellian economics while we know the outcome will still be the same - the kryptonite will be delivered and the affects of the act cannot be reversed once they start because the benefits appeal to their craven and amoral desires and addictions.
What does Lovellian economics do for us that makes it the Trojan Horse these people will readily adopt? It allows them to believe they can undertake unlimited fiscal spending because the "New Economy" is structured so that all fiscal spending is an actual stimulus to the economy just as it would be if the Queen of England stopped by once a year and just gave us the money for government to spend. This would end our need for taxes and allow them (or so they would believe) to spend money just as they have in the past, but the New Economy provides real-time reporting (as of the previous day's close of business) so the ability of government to waste money, to commit abuses, to be inefficient would all be eliminated in this new system. This new system would end the problems of our banking system and our currency, while paying off our national debt as if by magic and they will swallow this Trojan Horse for those related reasons as well. They will see Lovellian economics as their tool for incredible prosperity while we actually enjoy real prosperity they cannot stop due to the nature of its implementation.
What will you do now that you know about the Trojan Horse?
Will you (once again) wait and see what happens and when tyranny comes to your home wonder if you should have done more?
Will you help us take the next step and set up the market system that will make the Trojan Horse unavoidable?
Will you do nothing and allow them the dominion of all our lands, all our peoples and end our reliance upon productive purpose and liberty to create future happiness?
What will you do?
fantum| 7.26.10 @ 12:52PM
Send in the Clown...
http://usataxpayer.org/htm/vids.asp?A=45722279
fantum| 7.26.10 @ 12:54PM
A Democrat lies about everything (Obama), lies about his military service (Blumenthal), sells his vote (Stupak), has an extramarital affair (Clinton), cheats on his taxes (Rangle), accepts bribes (Murtha RIP), takes bribes (Jefferson), buys a Senate seat (Jackson), backs underage sex-trafficking (Cleaver), lives with a pimp (Frank), lies about racism (Carnahan), and on and on and on...
THEY ARE DEMOCRATS and IT IS EXPECTED OF THEM! They have no morals, there is no God, praise homosexuals, be politically correct, kill your baby, tax global warming, embrace illegals, bigger government is the answer to everything. The most corrupt Democrat is the most exalted.
Pelosi has been asked to re-write her own ethics rules because BLACK CAUCUS MEMBERS KEEP GETTING BUSTED VIOLATING THEM!
The Black Caucus Wants to Stop Ethics Investigations!
http://usataxpayer.org/htm/blackcaucus.asp
Bill| 7.26.10 @ 1:38PM
The concept of the government "saving" jobs must come from the same people who explain tax cuts as "costing" money.
Surfdumb| 7.27.10 @ 1:45AM
Touche!
Milton Friedman, Reagan Economic Advisor
'The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit'
'The problem of social organization is how to set up an arrangement under which greed will do the least harm, capitalism is that kind of a system'
'I am favor of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it's possible'
'Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government.'
'Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.'
'
Gill O’Teen ✝✡$| 7.26.10 @ 2:43PM
I already reported last Friday that since June 4, 2 Yo, OUR economy has shed 2,077,268 people from its Work Force according to numbers I copied from the National Debt Clock [http://www.usdebtclock.org] Over the same time, we added 385,584 persons to the population count. In short, for every new person, there is a corresponding loss of about 5.387 jobs. At that time, there were 41,278,753 people on food stamps and 14,347,637 officially unemployed. 16,520,742 people work for State or local gum’mints and 4,264,782 work for the feds. According to the national Jobs for All Coalition for 2007-2008 an estimated 49.9 million people were receiving Social Security. Unfortunately, I don’t know how many of these people are legal voters. Still this clearly indicates that around 40.77 % of the population derive their incomes from some level of gum’mint. Somehow, I fear that's why the incompetent won's poll numbers don't drop below 40%.
This does not include the numbers getting farm subsidies, bank bailouts or other variations of taxpayer money borrowed from China. The Debt:GDP Ratio stood at a rather chilling 91.5357186% and the per Citizen Unfunded Liability debt is only $353,973. Pardon me, mister bite-me, but I’m not impressed.
If there is any improvement in the job numbers before 2012, it will be due to businesses hiring lawyers and CPAs in order to comply with the 1099 IRS reporting requirements mandated by obummercare. Pardon me, mister bite-me, but I’m underwhelmed by your brilliance.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡$
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
“None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but licence.” - John Milton
Only 909 days to go.
Gill O’Teen ✝✡$| 7.26.10 @ 6:12PM
Based on the National Debt Clock [http://www.usdebtclock.org] numbers collected today about 4:16 PM ET, after the New York Stock Exchange closed, we lost 30,192 workers over the weekend, added 23,789 folks to the population, added an additional 30,171 mouths to the Food Stamps Roll and the Debt:GDP Ratio stands at a rather daunting 91.6061123%. How do you like them numbers, mister bite-me?
Gill O’Teen ✝✡$
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
“No man who knows aught, can be so stupid to deny that all men naturally were born free.” - John Milton
Only 909 days to go.
Doctor Right| 7.26.10 @ 3:34PM
Only one-half of the "historical" nature of this Presidency is ever discussed.
Obama is the nation's first black President.
But...
Biden is the nation's first retarded Vice President.
Think about it.
WhiteBikerTrash| 7.26.10 @ 5:56PM
Hate to tell you this but according to the Democratic party Obama is not our first black President!!
Warren G. Harding was, they said so!
Gill O’Teen ✝✡$| 7.26.10 @ 6:25PM
Do you mean that hill’s billy-bubba-boy’s fan club may have misrepresented the truth when they claimed him to be OUR first black president?
Gill O’Teen ✝✡$
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
“Years ago, in the middle of the Whitewater investigation, one heard the first murmurs: white skin notwithstanding, this is our first black President. Blacker than any actual black person who could ever be elected in our children’s lifetime. After all, Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald’s-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas.” - Toni Morrison writing about the convicted liar’s impeachment in 1998.
Only 909 days to go.
RCV| 7.28.10 @ 4:42PM
Sorry, but Dan Quayle has already retired the title.
Pat Fields | 7.26.10 @ 9:00PM
The longer we tolerate virtual 'money', the worse these so-called recessions will be.
This Plantation Scrip is issued at interest! In the 20's that interest sopped up all our circulating gold. By 1963 the interest sopped up all our circulating silver. Since then the interest has been forcing more issuance of cash ... at interest ... to pay the service ... in turn causing more cash to be issued ... at interest! Is this clear yet? It goes on forever! The cash and interest are a reciprocal co-generation Maw!
As this compounding interest on compounding interest expands exponentially it's commandeering all our productive capacity and MUST continue on to engulf our basic consumption until our entire economy is a hollowed out husk!
Surfdumb| 7.27.10 @ 2:53AM
Yes, but we're still the worlds military superpower, so will it be the usual 'que the military' or will the globalists 'que the new global currency' and a new & improved global ponzi scheme unveiled - working so well for the Euro and all.
Pat Fields | 7.27.10 @ 7:30AM
In this equation, the military factor is inconsequential. The self-destructive nature of the virtual 'money' model systemically proceeds to unavoidable economic ruin, where a military force is fully as susceptible to deprivation and breakdown as everyone else in society. Virtual ‘money’ Interest Service (both internal and external) gradually consumes ALL of the society’s productive capacity.
It’s common knowledge that the Chinese have accumulated copper far in excess of extrapolated infrastructure needs. Given that they had already faced complete dissolution of their civilization under paper money in the mid-1400s and sidestepped the catastrophe by ‘hardening’ their currency in copper (while accumulating silver), it is a distinct possibility that they’re forming up the resources to do the very same again.