Insanity, round two
Suit up, buckle on the helmet, strap in. Obama and the Democrat Congress, unhappy with the abject failure of Stimulus One, are scheming to force through Stimulus Two, perhaps before year's end.
And they will no doubt rig this "Son of Stimulus" with the same premeditated misdirection of funds
that guaranteed the first $800 billion fiasco wouldn't nurture anything other than the coffers of the Democrat Party faithful, unions, ancillary support organizations, and "community organizers."
It's almost as though they figure we haven't bled enough, compiled enough debt, lost enough millions of jobs, destroyed enough of our small businesses, nationalized enough of the private sector, or ensured massive tax increases in a paltry few months' time.
And oh by the way, that trite, false, juvenile attempt at distraction -- "It's all Bush's fault!" -- just won't fly any more.
Obama's pilfering of America's wealth is a national disaster.
Assessing the damage
Jim Hott, at the American Issues Project, took the time to detail this national disgrace. His summarized efforts follow:
- Job Loss -- The U.S. economy lost 598,000 jobs in January, 706,000 jobs in February, 742,000 jobs in March, 545,000 jobs in April, 485,000 jobs in May, and 473,000 jobs in June. That totals 3,549,000 lost jobs since the beginning of this year;
- Unemployment -- The U.S. unemployment rate has risen from 7.6 percent to 9.5 percent (and still rising) under Obama, the highest rate in 26 years. The U.S. has lost 16,000 jobs each day since Democrats passed Porkulus;
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -- GDP growth is far below that of 2008. 2009 GDP fell at a 5.5 percent annual rate in the first financial quarter. Federal debt under Obama is 41 percent of GDP, almost half the overall value of the economic production of the U.S. According to national economists, the debt will rise to 81 percent of GDP in 10 years;
- National Deficit -- Obama will more than quadruple the U.S. budget deficit his first year in office. Obama inherited a 2008 budget deficit of $459 billion. He voted for the $700 billion bank rescue in the fall. He was left $350 billion from this spending bill when he took office. He then spent $787 billion on Porkulus, $33 billion on the SCHIP bill, and $410 billion on his record-setting Omnibus Bill. The CBO estimated that the Obama budget deficit will total an astounding 13.1 percent of GDP this year. Under President Bush, the federal deficit for 2008 was 3.2 percent of GDP;
- Stock Market -- The stock market is down 3,000 points from a year ago, and nearly a thousand points since the 2009 Inauguration;
- Inflation, Interest Rates -- Most economists see a huge rise in inflation and interest rates. The Telegraph reported that the U.S. economy is lunging towards crisis as long-term interest rates are on course to double in size. This will cripple the country's ability to pay its debts and plunge the economy into a deeper recession before the U.S. recovers from the current one;
- The Dollar -- Global economic leaders are also concerned about the future of the dollar. Brazil, Russia, India, and China are calling for a "more diversified" currency system. This is causing the dollar value to drop.
Only the beginning
Remember, none of the figures represent the economic meltdown that will follow Obama's Carbon Cap and Tax scheme.
They do not reflect the reductions in the quality of care and specialized medical services that must necessarily follow Obama's mission to socialize American health care -- a scheme that will eliminate fully one-seventh of the remaining American private sector economy.
The figures also do not reflect the adverse economic effects of Obama's planned National Sales Tax or planned surtax on high-income Americans to help pay for the statist overhaul and depreciation of the health care system.
You ain't seen nuthin' yet.
Raise taxes. Impose new taxes. Bigger government, bloated bureaucracies, cadres of uncurbed czars. Statists taxing us into mediocrity, then spending us into bankruptcy. Nationalizing America's private sector and all of its wealth. What novel ideas! Why haven't we or the world thought of these innovations before?
Thank you, Democrat Congress and Obama for...
Hype and Chains.