With all the angst over the so-called "fiscal cliff," attention is drawn away from a recurrent drain on the Federal Treasury, which ranges from Federal meddling in the marketplace to legislator's pet projects that benefit few at a cost to many, that does far more damage to the national economy.
I received a copy of Antifragility, the latest book by Nassim Taleb who previously authored the The Black Swan. He writes in the book's Prologue, "At no point in history, have so many...with no personal exposure, exerted so much control (over the lives of others who are at risk)" That [...]
Of the two default states of Congress, hysterical panic or clueless optimism, I'm not sure which produces more miss-targeted, poorly written or outright destructive legislation. One thing is sure, stupidity is bi-partisan.
I've had a number of discussions recently about Presidential abuse of recess appointments. It seems that, no matter who occupies the Oval office, the members of the opposing team are outraged (OUTRAGED, DO YOU HEAR) at the perceived threat to our democracy, violation of the fundamental principal of the separation [...]
So this is how the President's Middle East Peace initiative goes. Obama treks over there, hat in hand, to apologize for America's chronic evilness. He backs away from supporting Israel. On the heels of the Iraq retreat (oops, "victory"), he declares that war is so 2011 (and it's all Bush's fault [...]
Well folks, as the President begins his campaign for a second term, he knows that he'll need all the true believers, fellow-travelers, and Kool Aid drinkers he can round up to offset all of the independents he's pissed off once they realized that his "campaign for change" really meant a plan to socialize medical treatment, promote union interests, and transfer what wealth was left in the economy to unions and welfare recipients. Unfortunately, he has the typical "liberal" grasp of economics, such that he seems to have worked full-time to kill the engine that drives the US economy, whose taxes provide for all the social welfare treats beloved by his constituency.
From his latest budget proposal, it's apparent that Obama-the-Magnificent didn't pay attention in high school Econ. His "cut backs" amount to an "air haircut." Those of you old enough to remember barbers, will recall how they would repeatedly snap their scissors trimming microscopic ends from your hair. Well, that's how the Spender-In-Chief has pared his package of fiscal woe to our future generations.
This was too good to pass up. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee intoned a new freedom during the debate about ObamaCare. In response to the concern that - like all welfare programs - the new entitlements championed by the Democrats will lead to an increase in the jobless rate along with a vast increase in governement dependency, Van Hollen expressed his concern about, "the freedom to choose not to get a job."
Woe to all who trust their future to elected officials who exempt themselves from the rules they set for their constinuents. Think about that, all you fans of ObamaCare.
In the annals of twitdom, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (Democrat, Arizona) must rank near the top for her question to General Petraeus about how he was planning to reduce carbon emissions in the War on Terror. This politician is a poster child for term limits, and another sterling example of an elected representative attempting to capitalize on the issue de jour of her (apparently) head-in-the-sand constituency without bothering to think. Though in Giffords' defense, her constituents may not have elected her based on her cognitive powers. Sounds like our local politics.