RWNJ Conservative Views from Cincinnati

Bradley Schiller has stated in a Wall Street Journal opinion article today that Obama has turned his fearmongering into an art form.  He has continually compared the current econonmic situation to the Great Depression.  He has repeatedly said that action must be taken immediately or the economy may be unable to recover (yet he mysteriously is letting the bill sit on his desk until Tuesday…  go figure).  Honestly, he is invoking fear just as well as Bush did with Iraq.

While the economic situation is not rosy, it is far from The Great Depression but more like the Carter-era recession.  Schiller points out that last year we shed 2.2% of the work force.  1981-1982 job force losses were also 2.2%.  The Great Depression saw us lose 4.8% in 1930, 6.5% in 1931, and 7.1% in 1932.  Our current job losses aren’t even in the ballpark.  Current unemployment is 7.6%.  The peak in the Carter-era depression was 10.8%.  The peak during The Great Depression was 25.2%.

If you stick some evidence alongside the fearmongering, Obama seems to be stretching the evidence far futher than Bush ever did.  Is this a trend Obama will continue?  It certainly will have a negative effect on the economy as consumers aren’t likely to have their confidence boosted by these heavyhanded fear tactics from our President.

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Posted under Economy

Rep Boehner (R-OH) said clearly what needed to be said.  The fact that the Democrats backed out of a promise to leave for the public to review the bill was bad enough… but consider the fact that not a single member of the House had a chance to read the bill and yet voted on it.  Yes, they voted for a bill that, when interest is added in, will cost the country $1 Trillion… Absolute obsurdity!  By the way, check out the size of this bill when it is printed out.

Boehner also pointed out (not in video) that this bill will cost every American family approximately $10,000.  The Government seems determined to find out if the way to get out of debt is to go further into it.

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Posted under Economy

The Democrats are forging ahead to have an immediate vote on the $780 Billion stimulus package.  This will mean they will back out of a promise they made to give the American people and members of Congress 48 hours to review the package.  According to Drudge Report, Rep. Culberson (D-TX) is claiming that the vote must be made today because Rep Pelosi has an 8 day trip to Europe planned.

The bill has swelled to 1071 pages.  Representatives do not have the appropriate time needed to review the bill, which was first made available at 10:45PM Thursday.  As seems to be the pattern in the new administration, urgent action is more important than thorough review.  Personally, I’ve never liked any legislation to be rammed through quickly, regardless of who is pushing it.  Though the economic situation is unpleasant, it can wait some time for a real review of this bill.  This isn’t a situation, such as an attack on our country, that demands a purely reactionary response.

If you want to see the bill, it is available here.  I have had no success downloading it due to the heavy traffic the site is experiencing.  It seems that the “chattering class” is interested in this bill after all!

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It appears that there has been an agreement reached between the House and Senate on the stimulus bill.  Yahoo has a summary article.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Cost: $780 Billion – That’s an increase of about 7.3% to the National Debt.
• Breakdown: 1/3 Tax Cuts and 2/3 Spending
• Medicaid: $90 Billion to help states with funding – something that should have been in a separate bill.
• Education: $10 Billion on program to assist low-income students – another for a separate appropriations bill.
• Infrastructure: $150 Billion – $50 Billion of that is transportation infrastructure.
• Tax Cuts: $400/year credit that applies to 95% of workers – Yes, that’s our direct share out of the $780 Billion bill.
• Timeline: Some construction projects could begin in 90 days – unfortunately, no details on how soon the jobs will end.

It is disappointing to still see a lot of items that should have been in separate appropriations bills.  Many such items could stand on their own merit instead of being tagged onto an ‘emergency stimulus bill’.  I guess it goes to show that there isn’t a bill that a politician can’t find a way to stick a rider to.

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Posted under Economy

Another interesting poll from Rasmussen:

67% trust their judgment more than the average member of Congress. Even more surprising 44% think a group of people randomly selected from the phone book could address the nation’s problems better than Congress! Only 37% disagree with them. This does not bode well for the Democrats so early into holding majorities in the House, Senate, and Presidency.

It is clear that the stimulus package is starting to take a toll on the Democrats.  Public support is falling not only for the package, but for the party that is pushing it.  The “bold and swift action” that Obama is pressing for could end up expensive if an equally swift economic reaction does not result from its passing.

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Posted under Economy