A picture says a thousand words:
It can be argued that President Obama inherited a recession. But then again, so did George Bush.
It can be argued that President Bush kept the cost of wars “off the books” by using supplemental funding bills. But then again, that spending still shows up in past years’ deficit figures.
It can be argued that nationalized health care is somehow stimulative. I guess. But it doesn’t seem to be working out that way for Britain.
I like this system. You quadruple the budget deficit, to bail out the economy. The bailout holds the economy in a recession that it would have recovered from anyway. Then you promise to cut the deficit in half in your four years in office.
Nobody on the nightly news is reporting that cutting the deficit in half still makes it over half again what the deficit was when the current administration entered office.
These guys need to learn that sometimes doing nothing is the thing to do.
But hey, thats just me..
My favorite line from his speech last night was that the government is helping out “responsible” home owners. I’m a responsible home owner and I’ve never missed a payment on my mortgage. Where’s my help?
you watched his speech Joe??? You’re right though, doing nothing would have been the best thing.
Our grand children will be paying for this, and probably even their children as well. Hayek is rolling in his grave…
Don’t get me started on the speech. I turned on the TV at 6:00 PM to watch the final half of the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions and the President was on every channel. I actually did watch it, trying to be a good citizen. And my wife wasn’t home so there was nobody to tell me not to yell at the TV.
He did get a little testy when he was asked why he didn’t report AIG executives getting bonuses right away. Said, “I like to make sure I know what I’m talking about before I speak.”
Man, what a straight line…
Well I watched too. Seems the press at least asked a few non-softball questions.
But the thing is – this whole “selling the budget” thing is a pack of just plain lies.
This labeling spending as “investment” gets no analysis. I can see spending on upgrading the grid as having investment potential as it will allow wind farms to be built in the plains to provide electricity to their intended markets. You can’t make a windfarm work if you don’t have the lines connecting to the places of demand. That will, eventually, generate tax revenue to pay back the investment made in theory. Spending more money on government paid healthcare does not generate a return unless you do phony math and pretend you would spend more money if you didn’t take this approach. But what if you don’t have the money to begin with? The chart does not lie – or does not lie as much.
The problem with the forecasts are largely driven by the inability to accurately forecast growth (akin to forecasting the weather 5 years out) and that, IIRC, CBO forecast always under estimate the revenue effect of tax cuts and over estimate the revenue effect of tax increases. CBO assumptions don’t account for behavior modifications. Best example I can think of is the luxury tax imposed in the Clinton years on yachts. Forecasted to bring in billions from rich fat cats buying big ass boats. Passed with much fanfare by Dems looking out for the little guy preaching fairness with all the aplomb of the President explaining his cut in deductability of charitable contributions. End result it was quietly repealed in a couple years after it damn near put every yacht maker out of business.
And so we see more of the same logic only on a scale only someone truly bent on wrecking the place can approve of. I can bet his budgfet submission shows all kinds of savings from leaving Iraq even as CBO is showing now it is going to cost a lot more in the near term to actually, you know, withdraw, etc.
So we are treated to the same sorts of dishonest budgeting that has been part and parcel to this process for 50 years or more. Only this time they’ve adopted a strategy of telling the really BIG LIE. All with a straight face and cool cat persona that gives his supporters the tingly feelings even as the country follows the California economic suicide model off the cliff.
Agree with OT6. We know from experience that govment budget estimates are always way too generous (to themselves). I’d extend those pretty red & pink lines downward.
And CA is leading the way, as it often does. Our brand-spanking new budget is already $8 billion in the red, and UCLA predicts unemployment above 12% soon. But there will be ballot measures to increase taxes even more–for the chillin’.
Finally.
We can see all that ‘change’ he talked about clearly now.
I stick by what I said over 2 years ago. He was an empty suit then and he still us…Except now he’s calling the shots and he’s surrounded by stooges.
b2