Go to PDF Version | Go to Recent Issues
To save time in the future, you may select one of the preferences below. You may update your eIBD preferences at any time by going into My IBD and selecting Update Your eIBD Preferences.
Set Web-Based Version as Default Set PDF Version as Default Set Recent Issues as Default
Get QuoteSearch Site
Daily Graphs Online
Fiscal Policy: This year's $787 billion "stimulus" is now the costliest fiscal failure in U.S. history. Put bluntly, it didn't work — in fact, it made things worse. So what do you follow it up with? Why, "Stimulus, Part II."
Government is by its very essence wasteful, but it doesn't have to be stupid. Yet, with more than a year's experience under our belt and no real progress seen in ending our jobless recovery, you'd think Congress would be hesitant to pass another big-spending, job-killing failure like the last.
On Thursday, however, the House passed another $175 billion "jobs" bill. Given what we know, this is an act of either total ignorance or breathtaking political opportunism — or a bit of both.
It amounts to a third round of stimulus. In 2008, President George W. Bush tried one, handing out some $152 billion — a bit under 1% of GDP — to Americans and inviting them to spend it to get the economy growing again. Instead, they saved it or paid down credit cards.
This year's mammoth stimulus, we were assured by the Obama White House, would be different. It would cap unemployment at 8% and kick-start the economy. But the unemployment rate soared above 10%, and we've lost 4 million jobs this year alone.
So it's no longer debatable: Based on what was promised, the stimulus has failed. Even so, we now may get another one (called a "jobs bill" this time), which no doubt will be just as wasteful.
At the same time, we hear things like the following from the mouth of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "As I told the members this morning, I'm in campaign mode ... I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm in campaign mode."
Puts a different gloss on that $175 billion, doesn't it? Knowing that such a stimulus won't work, we must conclude the real idea behind it is to provide pork and outright payoffs to key Democratic constituencies in 2010 as Democrats try to reverse their flagging fortunes.
In short, they're trying to engineer a political comeback after a disastrous 2009 using taxpayer money. Your money.
Given Pelosi's remarks, everything Congress does from here on should be highly suspect. That includes any votes made by Democrats on hot-button issues. Along with her other remarks, Pelosi has privately told vulnerable members of her party that she will "shield" them from controversial votes.
Copenhagen Conference: The United Nations summit was promoted as a serious effort to mitigate climate change. But it's turned into an attack on capitalism. So what does the U.S. do? It pledges money. Any international meeting that invites Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ...
The internal threat from Muslim extremists in the military extends to high-level Defense Department aides who have undermined military policy. In fact, one top Muslim adviser pushed out an intelligence analyst who warned of the sudden jihad syndrome that led to the Fort Hood terrorist attack. An ...
Leadership: Alaska's ex-governor asks a question we'd like answered: Why is California's current governor pushing the same policies in Copenhagen that helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment? The movie series that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name involved ...
Americans overwhelmingly like their health care and insurance. While they reject ObamaCare, the president and Congress insist on driving it through. Up to 85% of us already have health insurance and are satisfied with it. Lacking health insurance is different from lacking health care — which, ...
As the attempt to pass meaningful health care reform stumbles oafishly toward home plate, having missed a base or two along the way, it's hard not to repeat Casey Stengel's famous lament about the hapless 1962 Mets: "You look up and down the bench and you have to say to yourself, 'Can't anybody ...
Posted By: OBSERVER U.K(260) on 12/18/2009 | 4:54 AM ET
Hooray ! at last the beast is awakening, AMERICAN's start kicking Democrat's A***S, impeach, impeach, and hold Pelosi and co ready for federal charges of abusing the constitution and putting self interest before the interest's of the American public, they are supposed to represent.
Posted By: OBSERVER U.K(260) on 12/18/2009 | 4:54 AM ET
Hooray ! at last the beast is awakening, AMERICAN's start kicking Democrat's A***S, impeach, impeach, and hold Pelosi and co ready for federal charges of abusing the constitution and putting self interest before the interest's of the American public, they are supposed to represent.
Posted By: predfern(25) on 12/17/2009 | 11:56 PM ET
Milton Friedman once said "When a private enterprise fails, it is closed down; when a government enterprise fails, it is expanded." Hence the rational for another stimulus package.
Posted By: GrannyRob(640) on 12/17/2009 | 10:11 PM ET
Nobody says it like IBD! The last sentence in this article tells it all. I will add that if voters choose to remain stupid and uninformed, this great country and the freedom we once enjoyed will cease to be. It is always the choice of the people. Do we have the guts of our forefathers to face reality?
To participate in Community areas, please Sign In or Register
Register
By grabbing smaller but safer gains when appropriate, you will secure your gains. By cutting losses before they get out of control, you'll secure your capital.
Get QuoteSearch Site
Read Full Article »