I have referred to the “Stimulus” bill as the Bankrupt the Nation Act of 2009 here, here, here, here, here, and here. Now we have Senator Judd Gregg (R., N.H.), the man who Obama wanted to be Commerce Secretary, confirm what should be obvious to everyone: we are on the road to national bankruptcy. Heaven knows this problem didn’t start with President Obama. However, his misguided policy of multi-trillion dollar annual deficits will push us over the brink into national insolvency. We are in for very tough economic times for a very long period.
National Bankruptcy
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 41 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
He is just bound and determined to see it through. Not aware that he was simply doing the bidding of Capitol Hill Democratic leaders. Who no doubt have been discussing this prospect since the 1994 GOP upset. Possibly since 1965, the Great Society Year. Maybe a recurring conversations in cloakrooms since 1933. In many ways, the future of the Death Party has been stuffed into the oversized sausage that is Porkapalooza. The ultimate expression of reward for friends, punishment for enemies, development of projects to raise mosquitos or other such bosh. So we watch as city after city sponsors tea parties- in reaction to last week’s rant by CNBC’s Rick Santelli. Who received a less than charitable response by White House Head Spinmeister Robert Gibbs. Which has clearly made him fearful for his safety. No matter. Funny how invocations to patriotism resemble that for the future of the Church. Something about the tree of liberty watered with Type O- good and bad guys alike. Much weirdness to come. Watch and pray that you may not enter into total meltdown.
“Much weirdness to come.”
Gerard, unfortunately I think that is an accurate prediction. We are in for very turbulent times.
Fortunately I pulled most of my money out of the market in August. Have now put a stop on contributions to mutual fund, etc pending the outcome of the next couple of months. Looking at investing in a 12 gauge as eyes not so good anymore.
It bears repeating that, because one can’t argue the counterfactual, Obama is most likely going to emerge from this recession smelling like a rose. If the stimulus works (doubtful), he takes credit. If it doesn’t, then we simply have a longer and deeper recession, and he takes credit for it “not being as bad as it could’ve been.” Business cycle downturns have a way of correcting themselves even when governments bungle policy badly, and output is likely to trend upward on his watch in any event. I don’t have the link, but Megan McArdle has argued this point before (contrasting the Argentine and Japanese experiences).
If the issue here is that the nation will be insolvent because of the unsustainability of entitlement spending, then that’s another matter that’s been on the table for some time — wholly apart from the stimulus package. Everyone sees that train wreck coming, but it’s hard to pin that on any political party because neither one wants to be the one to incur the wrath of AARP.
Judd Gregg seems to have had some seriously shady business dealings, which were the real reason behind his removal of himself from the confirmation process.
Now, now, Mark. It’s true that many of Obama’s high profile appointments have turned out to be tax cheats or to have had shady backgrounds, but we can’t judge everyone Obama appoints that way. Sen. Gregg may be a perfectly honest fellow even though he did have the misfortune to be nominated by Obama.
And with Katrina Jindal and Mr. Steele heading up the GOP, how long can Obama hope to remain president?
Well…maybe with enemies like them, Obama will need no friends.
I think this is what Mr. DeFrancisis is referring to:http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/02/judd_greggs_dealings_not_why_h.html
Politicians fattening their private wealth this way is appalling. Imagine how many will have immense opportunities to do just this through the Bankrupt the Nation Act of 2009 and all the other debt bombs that Congress will pass this year. It also says nothing good about Obama’s staff work that this factoid, presumably, was not known to them. Interesting that the AP unleashed this story after Gregg dropped out of consideration for Commere Secretary and began to attack Obama’s economic policies. Of course none of this detracts from Gregg’s correct observation that the nation is headed toward bankruptcy.
Thank you Mr. McClarey.
I am still waiting for more of your “Compare and Contrast” musical pieces, btw. It is a great series.
And with Katrina Jindal and Mr. Steele heading up the GOP, how long can Obama hope to remain president?
If the operative word is “hope” I would assume the answer is “eight years”.
I’d agree with Donald that Sen. Gregg’s dealings here are greedy and unethical — though he’d hardly have stood out from Obama’s other nominations in that regard.
How exactly you consider Gov. Jindal to have been responsible for the Katrina debacle, however, escapes me. It was disgust with how the Democratic governor handled Katrina that brought Jindal into office.
News hit today that he fabricated the Katrina story in his minority response to Obama’s speech.
That was my reference.
Calling the story “fabricated” is a major stretch:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0209/Jindal_aide_Story_was_set_after_Katrina.html?showall
Mark:
Seriously, where do you get your news? Do you just read left-wing blogs in order to form your opinion? The report that Jindall “fabricated” the story has been exposed as a lie, and here it is 24 hours later and you’re still repeating.
Get out of your little cocoon and join the rest of us here in the real world.
Paul.
Pot. Kettle. Black
Just out from the Times-Picayune …
Louisiana’s transportation department plans to request federal dollars for a New Orleans to Baton Rouge passenger rail service from the same pot of railroad money in the president’s economic stimulus package that Gov. Bobby Jindal criticized as unnecessary pork on national television Tuesday night.
Mark:
I know you are but what am I is just about the level of comment I have come to expect from you. It really is pointless in engaging in debate with someone who can’t rise above the level of soundbite.
Paul,
You engage Rush in your own typical analysis. A sea of such words deserves nothing more.
QED.
I was going to write something serious and analytical in reply but…
This last exchange just reminded me why I probably should give up blogging for Lent right now. Even reading Catholic blogs gets me worked up, depressed, confused, and obsessed with showing off my infinite wisdom and compassion to those poor benighted souls of the blogosphere.
“Lord, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men (or women), crooked, grasping, adulterous, spendthrift Obamaniac liberal Democrats (or heartless, right wing, sore loser Republicans, depending on your point of view)…”
The stimulus needed: In his Ash Wednesday homily, Pope Benedict concluded his homily by asking that Lent, “marked by more frequent contact with the Word of God, by more intense prayer, and by a severe and penitential lifestyle, be a stimulus to convert and to love our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and needy.”
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