Rogue Politics » Entries tagged with "Government Spending"
An Amazing Indictment of Obamanomics – Banks that Don’t Want Deposits
I’ve commented on the failure of Obamanomics, with special focus on how both banks and corporations are sitting on money because the investment climate is so grim. Not exactly flattering to the White House. Using Minneapolis Federal Reserve data, I’ve compared the current recovery with the expansion of the early 1980s. Once again, not good news for the Obama Administration. And I’ve shared a couple of cartoons – here and here - that use humor to show the impact of bad public policy. But here’s a Bloomberg story that provides what may be the most damning evidence that the President’s big government agenda is a failure. U.S. regulators have asked some banks to take more deposits from large investors even if it’s unprofitable, and lenders in return are seeking relief on insurance premiums and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
The Keynesian Crackup Continues: From Space Aliens to Food-Stamp Stimulus
Paul Krugman recently argued that a fake threat from space aliens would be good for the economy because the people of earth would waste a bunch of money building unnecessary defenses. That was a bit loopy, as I noted a few days ago, but other Keynesians also have been making really weird assertions. Obama’s Secretary of Agriculture (another department that shouldn’t exist) just said that food stamps are a great form of stimulus (video at the link, for those who think this can’t possibly be true). Makes me wonder if they’re having some sort of secret contest for who can say the strangest thing on TV. And if that’s the case, Nancy Pelosi has to be in the running for her claim that you create jobs by subsidizing joblessness. Appearing on Judge Napolitano’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
Needless Budget Drama in Congress, Time Machines, and some Debt Limit Humor
In the spirit of the budget battle, readers have to eat their peas (i.e., endure my analysis) before getting to the dessert menu of jokes from the late-night comics. The big news today is that Speaker Boehner had to cancel a vote on his “Budget Control Act” last night. But other than the political-drama angle, I’m not sure why this is newsworthy. Senate Democrats were united against the plan, with all 53 members signing a letter of opposition. In other words, this was just a symbolic vote. But I must admit that I’m puzzled why the GOP leadership decided to even bother going down this path. Republicans were beginning to make progress with the theme of “We’ve passed two proposals, where’s Reid’s plan or Obama’s plan?” So why did they let the Democrats off … Read entire article »
Filed under: HalfBaked
The Gang of Six Is Back from the Dead: Contemplating the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in their Budget Plan
The on-again, off-again “Gang of Six” has come back on the scene and is offering a “Bipartisan Plan to Reduce Our Nation’s Deficits.” The proposal is quite similar to the one put forth by the President’s Simpson-Bowles Commission, which isn’t too surprising since some of the same people are involved. At this stage, all I’ve seen is this summary (A BIPARTISAN PLAN TO REDUCE OUR NATIONS DEFICITS v7), so I reserve the right to modify my analysis as more details emerge (and since I fully expect the plan to look worse when additional information is available, the following is an optimistic assessment. The Good o Unlike President Obama, the Gang of Six is not consumed by class-warfare resentment. The plan envisions that the top personal income tax rate will fall to no higher than … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
The Federal Government Has Been Bailing Out Romneycare, but Who Will Be Available to Bail Out Obamacare?
The Beacon Hill Institute in Massachusetts has just released a very good – but very depressing study. The research finds that costs have jumped under Romneycare, but that’s not surprising. After all, politicians always underestimate the cost of new entitlements. The important revelation in this new research is the degree to which the system has been propped up by the federal government (i.e., taxpayers in the rest of the nation). That’s probably good news for Bay State politicians, who get to shift a fiscal burden to people outside the state, And it’s probably good news for Mitt Romney, because it somewhat disguises the magnitude of the disaster he imposed on the taxpayers of his state. But it doesn’t bode well for the United States. Who will be available to bail out Obamacare? The … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
So Long as He Gets What He Wants, Obama Is Flexible in the Budget Negotiations
Welcome Instapundit readers. Check out this post for additional info on Obama’s disingenuous rhetoric. ===================================================== Appearing on Freedom Watch, I explain that the White House is very flexible. The President will be happy if GOPers cut their own wrists and agree to a tax increase. That means Obama can tax and spend. But he’ll also be satisfied if Republicans approve a “clean debt limit increase,” meaning Obama can borrow and spend. The unifying theme, in case it’s not obvious, is that the Administration will go along with any outcome that enables more spending and bigger government. In the second half of the video, the discussion shifts to whether the government has the right to seize children if parents allow them to get too chubby. Not surprisingly, I’m leery of giving bureaucrats that kind of power. … Read entire article »
Filed under: PageTwo
New Study from Swedish Economists Allows Us to Quantify the Cost of the Bush-Obama Spending Binge
The United States has been on a decade-long spending binge. Thanks to the profligate policies of both Bush and Obama, the burden of federal spending has climbed to about 25 percent of economic output, up from 18.2 percent of GDP when Bill Clinton left office. The political class tells us that more government is good for the economy since it an “investment” and/or a “stimulus.” The academic research, however, tells a different story. Here are some brief excerpts from a recent study by two Swedish economists, including a critically important observation about the impact of bigger government on economic performance. …most recent studies typically find a negative correlation between total government size and economic growth. …the most convincing studies are those most recently published. …In general, research has come very close to a … Read entire article »
Filed under: PageTwo
European Political Elite React to Deteriorating Fiscal Outlook with Decisive Moves to…Kill the Messenger
I’m not a big fan of the rating agencies. I’ve warned in TV interviews that they generally wait too long before downgrading profligate governments. So when the rating agencies finally catch up to everyone else and lower their outlook for failing welfare states such as Greece and Portugal, one would think that this would be seen as a useful – albeit late – warning sign. But European politicians are not very happy about this development. At the risk of mixing metaphors, they want everyone to keep their heads buried in the sand and to continue complimenting the emperor on his new clothes. Here are some excerpts from a BBC report. The European Commission has strongly criticised international credit ratings agencies following the downgrade of Portugal by Moody’s. The Commission said the timing of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured
Time to Shut Down the Department of Agriculture
I have a confession to make: I have a hard time making up my mind. At times, I am overcome by indecision. To be more specific, I can’t figure out which department of the federal government should be shut down first. In the past, I’ve written about the squalid waste and corruption at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and argued that HUD should be shuttered. But I’ve also written about the grotesque inefficiency and bloat at the Department of Transportation and urged that the building be razed to the ground. Today, I can’t resist turning my attention to the Department of Agriculture. This is another part of the federal behemoth that specializes in taking money from productive taxpayers and dispensing it to well-connected agri-businesses to maintain a system of subsidies and … Read entire article »
Filed under: PageTwo
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