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The New Paternalism
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The Recession Spectator
The Small Business Canard
Obama’s Laputan economy benefits corporations and little else.
(Page 2 of 2)
It’s why so many corporate CEOs initially tried to work with the White House. If there’s a regulatory wave coming, you’d better get out front and ride it.
In Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver discovers an island that floats above the earth called Laputa populated by an educated class and their servants. Barack Obama is presiding over a Laputan economy, where corporate businessmen and government bureaucrats levitate above everything, living high and enjoying each other’s enlightened company, shielded from the little guy who can’t climb up. (“La puta,” fittingly enough, means “the whore” in Spanish.)
President Obama talks a big game about helping the average American. But his policies have effectively stalled small businesses, the engine of growth for the middle class. These days it’s not the thrifty entrepreneur who gets ahead. It’s the corporate businessman with the deep pockets, the sprawling investments, and the “Washington man,” as Ayn Rand derisively called lobbyists.
That’s a dangerous shift for a country built on the average man’s enterprise. And it’s one that a President Romney must stop.
About the Author
Matt Purple is The American Spectator’s assistant managing editor.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (22) | Leave a comment
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TLP| 10.26.12 @ 9:58AM
The Contest is at Wednesday's Column - The Point Of Criticism.
It's the last entry for that day, so you might need to hit the "Previous" thingy.
cicero| 10.26.12 @ 10:13AM
Of course, big business loves this administration. The rules and regulations don't bother them, because they have already provided for them. They just make it impossible for new businessmen to break in, and provide competition. Why do you think guys like Immelt are in bed with this administration. In addition, Obama can knock on a few doors, and receive millions in contributions, while he would have to actually work to raise that kind of money a hundred at a time - from small outfits. It is no mistake that the boys at Solindra and E123 received hundreds of millions of taxpayer money a few months before they shut down. The wonder is that the folks in Washington can be bought so cheaply. For the donation of thousands, they pay back millions. I believe a forensic audit would trace the trillions back to the pockets of these thieves. How else could a man, who never earned more that poverty level wages prior to entering "public service" be shopping for multi million dollar properties to move to in Oahu?
An nobody will go to jail?
Von Mises Jr| 10.26.12 @ 10:50AM
Right on, cicero. It is called fascism. GE paid Zero taxes last year on $14.2B in profits, $5B here in the states. Barry's car company GM got $50B total when you count in the $25B in tax breaks. Buffet loaned BOA $5B at a quick 8% profit and still owes $1B in back taxes. Fannie and Freddie were money machines for Clinton's friends. Next is the Student Loan industry that will keep tuition high and not let borrowers off the hook with bankruptcy or early payment.
These crony capitalist make it impossible for non-cronies to compete. It is as Matt clearly makes the analogy: the cronies are pulling up the ladder after they reached the top.
And the danger is not only a crashing economy. It means that these cronies no longer have to compete. Why make top notch products at a competitive price if the regime clears the field? Isn't this the same way Obama wins elections? Clear the field.
Al Adab| 10.26.12 @ 1:54PM
Jr:
It is indeed fasciism. Remember that Hermann Goering was one of the worlds richest men with the steel works he owned. All the government contracts (like CFLs for GE) went to his firm and the firms of others similarly favored. This administration penchant for waivers and handouts is simply the newest form of the same. Wait for the mandate that every second car must be a Chevy Volt.
PolishKnight| 10.26.12 @ 11:24AM
I would say even going back to the Marxism's origins, the emphasis has always been on acquiring political power rather than achieving any of it's stated goals or agendas. The whole leftist agenda is intellectually bankrupt: helping middle and working class people in manufacturing (instead, they are now treated with contempt by leftist elites, media, and government workers), environmentalism (they import millions of voters and create a welfare state to encourage overpopulation) and of course civil rights (which they've made a mastery of doublespeak via "preferences").
It's no surprise they're in bed with big business since this provides them with more opportunities for cronyism.
In the meantime, if Romney loses this election and the Republican party faces extinction, they will really need to double down and ask themselves if they want to care about their electorate. Either way, I want to see this mess settled. Am I the only one sick of this century long game?
TLP| 10.26.12 @ 4:06PM
The Contest is at Wednesday's Column - The Point Of Criticism.
It's the last entry for that day, so you might need to hit the "Previous" thingy.
English!
lost| 10.26.12 @ 11:10AM
I work for a small company. No wait it not small have over 50 employees. We tried to stay under the 50 mark because once we went over that a whole slew of regulations went into effect which cost use about $2000 more per year to comply with some of the most expensive ones thank to obama. Come 2014 with obamacare we may no longer offer health insurance because it will be cheap for us not to ie cheaper to pay the fine than it is to pay for health insurance, compliance cost and penalties.
lost| 10.26.12 @ 11:11AM
that is $2000 per year per employee
Stan Redmond| 10.26.12 @ 1:27PM
I have a feeling your small company will be laying off a couple people or a lot of you are going to part time real soon. Prepare for it. Good luck. And businesses aren't stupid. A company that needs 2 or 3 hundred people will simply set up 8 LLCs and 8 little businesses to meet their need.
TLP| 10.26.12 @ 4:07PM
The Contest is at Wednesday's Column - The Point Of Criticism.
It's the last entry for that day, so you might need to hit the "Previous" thingy.
The Contest is until 7pm Saturday.
Rhoetus| 10.28.12 @ 10:30PM
Hillary Clinton once said that "I can't be responsible for under capitalized business" - this was in response to her health care scheme.
JimH| 10.26.12 @ 11:14AM
What I have not figured out is O in on the scheme and knowingly acting as a front man. Or is he just being used while he thinks he really is leading the proletarian revolt.
PolishKnight| 10.26.12 @ 11:28AM
I'm reminded of Eva Longoria making a statement when he fellow cast member on Desperate Housewives was falsely accused of being gay and "outed"
"Those religious right Republicans won't leave her alone!"
In other words, she's a shallow Hollywood bimbo. The allegation was cheap hollywood gossip or even leftist gay activism. But Eva is just going through the motions to fit in.
Anyways, reminds me of Obama somehow. He spouts off this rhetoric now that he isn't pretending to be a moderate as during 2008 and it comes off as hollow and unthought through and this probably reflects his handlers as well. I don't think he ever fully understood it. It was nice stuff to say while getting easy C's in college and later in politics. He simply does his job which is dealing out kickbacks and greasing skids.
Paul Avery| 10.26.12 @ 12:11PM
This article comes across as election-year pandering, not a thoughtful analysis which would balance a number of factors, including the fact that we suffered the worst recession by far in 75 years, out of which the US has recovered faster than other OECD countries. And if small business made the 2001 recovery "work", why did private employment during that recovery increase at a rate very close to what it is now in spite of the fact that it was a much milder recession? That recovery was called the "jobless recovery" for good reason.
Overall, the author demonstrates little knowledge of broad economic forces which transcend parties and administrations.
Stan Redmond| 10.26.12 @ 1:38PM
Look at the tables. There is no growth. The BS, I mean BLS, is simply shifting numbers to give the appearance of a lowering unemployment rate. Using the standards of the BLS I can say I have less debt as a percentage when my credit card company raises my credit limit. I still owe the money and I didn't pay any of the debt off, but it sure looks good on my balance sheet.
TLP| 10.26.12 @ 4:08PM
The Contest is at Wednesday's Column - The Point Of Criticism.
It's the last entry for that day, so you might need to hit the "Previous" thingy.
Paul Avery| 10.26.12 @ 4:16PM
The total employment figure is a better figure to use than the unemployment rate because it comes from a very large sample of businesses, not a smaller sample of households. On that basis, private sector job growth from the bottom of the recession is about the same as from the bottom of the 2001 recession. But the loss of jobs in 2007 was 3x worse (and 2001 recovery spending was aided by a soon to explode housing bubble), so it's going to be a long climb out. There are major economic forces at work and blaming everything on one party is a distraction.
C Smith | 10.27.12 @ 1:50PM
Have been concerned regarding the potential complicity of the current administration in tragic events in Benghazi. Yet, realized that there are many questions for which I had no answer. The following link addresses many questions, While not vetting the validity of the conclusions and being diametrically opposed to the humanist source, still realize that "truth is truth regless of the source" (if it is indeed truth):
http://www.theatheistconservat.....r-stevens/
"What is the... truth that the Obama administration is trying to conceal about the tragic events in Benghazi, when the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were murdered in an Islamic terrorist attack"?
Occam's Tool| 10.28.12 @ 1:17AM
Note that Gold Price is going down right now. Now, I happen to believe that the long term price of gold will get up to the $5000 range as the EU collapses and kicks the price up. But short term, it is probably reflecting Romney getting elected.
Butch| 10.28.12 @ 4:05PM
"The left loves to bang the class warfare cymbal, pitting the middle class against blackhearted corporations." That's the sound of the cymbal, all right, but the real war is the welfare poor versus the middle class. The left despises the middle class as the bedrock of Americanism, which they are. Optimism, effort, and opportunity combined with the work ethic and a belief in the ability to harness nature for man's benefit--all of these core beliefs reside in the middle class, and all are rejected by the welfare class. Corporations have no vote, and corporate employees are middle class to the core, except for the few boardroom types.
The rhetoric may be middle class vs. corporations, but the dog-whistle conflict is the selfish, sorry, and indolent vs. the middle class. Corporations are just rhetorical scapegoats.
Rhoetus| 10.28.12 @ 10:27PM
Small businesses in Tucson are struggling or dieing here. Many business owners I have spoken with during the summer are worried or angry. My auto mechanic is on a week to week business as business is off 50% from last year- I've been a customer there for 24 years. He is not the only one, just one of many.
ArturoMabb| 10.29.12 @ 3:41AM
Part of this is a natural consequence http://tinyurl.com/8d945br of the recession. Small businesses, lacking the insulation of massive infrastructure or huge money reserves, always get hit harder.