Column of the Day: Krauthammer — ‘Most Radical Agenda in Our Lifetime’
At Townhall, another well-known commentator calls out the nature of Obama’s agenda, and explains the markets’ decline:
But the list of causes of the collapse of the financial system does not include the absence of universal health care, let alone of computerized medical records. Nor the absence of an industry-killing cap-and-trade carbon levy. Nor the lack of college graduates. Indeed, one could perversely make the case that, if anything, the proliferation of overeducated, Gucci-wearing, smart-ass MBAs inventing ever more sophisticated and opaque mathematical models and debt instruments helped get us into this credit catastrophe in the first place.
And yet with our financial house on fire, Obama makes clear both in his speech and his budget that the essence of his presidency will be the transformation of health care, education and energy. Four months after winning the election, six weeks after his swearing in, Obama has yet to unveil a plan to deal with the banking crisis.
What’s going on? “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” said Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. “This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that you could not do before.”
Things. Now we know what they are. The markets’ recent precipitous decline is a reaction not just to the absence of any plausible bank rescue plan, but also to the suspicion that Obama sees the continuing financial crisis as usefully creating the psychological conditions — the sense of crisis bordering on fear-itself panic — for enacting his “Big Bang” agenda to federalize and/or socialize health care, education and energy, the commanding heights of post-industrial society.
Clever politics, but intellectually dishonest to the core. Health, education and energy — worthy and weighty as they may be — are not the cause of our financial collapse. And they are not the cure. The fraudulent claim that they are both cause and cure is the rhetorical device by which an ambitious president intends to enact the most radical agenda of social transformation seen in our lifetime.
Some of us warned that this is what was really going on.
Nobody with a brain can make a case that this is what America consciously and deliberately voted for in November.
When will the twits finally believe us?! We, Conservatives, were right all along. Obama told us what he was going to do, and we told you what would happen if he did. He did it and we were right; yet somehow everyone dismisses our prescience. Not only that, they seem to be OK with it. Welcome to the dumbed-down free-rider society of Leftist dreams.
TB, I think you need a post about political business cycles because that is exactly what is happening now. The mild recovery will start by the midterms, after which the real pain will start. That’s why all the spending isn’t planned until 2011, when the tax rates will go up as well. I am of the opinion that B. Hussein doesn’t expect, care about, or even want a second term.
Comment by Joe C. — March 6, 2009 @ 12:32 pm
#1, Obama fully expects to be re-elected because he is following FDR’s political policies. If 52.5% of the voters were gullible enough to fall for the Hope and Change song and dance, there is a good chance they will fall for the encoure performance as well. FDR bambozzled the public with make work programs to give the appearance something was being done, no matter how counterproductive it was. Don’t think for one minute Obama and his allies have another government program that will also give the appearance of doing something such as extended unemployment, more food stamps, more, more, more, none of which addresses the economic problem. FDR like Obama understands the public focuses on what in front of them not the long term, just like a magician’s slight of hand. There is a reason why Obama is doing this, FDR was successful politically for the Dems evidenced by 50 years of having a lock on Congress. They know where the real power is – Congress. Nancy Pelosi is the one really calling the shots, Obama is just a salesman on the company payroll nothing more.
Comment by dscott — March 6, 2009 @ 1:16 pm
“Second term” implies that the first term will end….
Comment by Michael — March 6, 2009 @ 5:41 pm
The white-hot anger I feel in me and sense in a whole lot of other middle-class working stiffs like me is not going away. Indeed, I’m watching the “tea parties” blossoming across the nation, including the Cincinnati Tea Party (3/15, 3-5pm, Fountain Square), and I’m seeing military officers, some in the combat zone of Iraq, standing up and saying they don’t recognize BO as Commander-in-Chief because of the apparently unresolved “native born” constitutional requirement question, and I’m wondering what’s the next unprecedented event around the corner.
As I understand it, this whole economic mess was absolutely unnecessary and was caused in large part by political correctness run amuck when the Democrats under Carter and again under Clinton, aided and abetted by some Republicans, began putting federal pressure on American banks and other lending institutions to loosen their credit rules so citizens with poor or no credit could get mortgage loans and buy houses. Now the same Barney Franks, Nancy Pelosis and Harry Reids are leading the lemmings over the cliff while pretending they know what to do to “fix” things. Americans do not want to see the nation slip incrementally into socialism. Americans do not want to see the markets slide any farther south. Americans do not want to see any assault against our precious constitutional liberties.
Americans will not tolerate the re-legitimizing of the horror of partial-birth abortion. Americans don’t want to see Fred marrying Charlie or Sadie marrying her cockatoo or polygamy or polyandry. It’s hard to decide what to be outraged about first. And where will it all lead? Will it come to a choice between rebellion and socialism? Will it devolve into a Who is John Galt-kind of shut-down? I don’t know, but I do know I’m in deep prayer about all of it. And any person of faith should join me. And meanwhile I’m thinking RESIST!
Comment by EXCELSIOR — March 7, 2009 @ 12:59 am
#4, you’re not alone.
Comment by TBlumer — March 7, 2009 @ 5:22 am
Intellectually dishonest? Maybe not. Intellectually misguided? Definitely. The plans that have unfolded rapid fire are not fixes, they are pre-planned responses to the economy of 6 months ago, not now. They are taking the playbook right out of the NY Times op-eds. Foreign policy has been laughable so far with Hillary gaffing her way around the globe and Obama writing open letters. Obama, last open letter I wrote was to Santa. Get a clue. Meanwhile, Geithner is still trying to figure out his appointees. The world is waiting fellows. Emanuel’s ridiculous call out of Limbaugh comments were just what the doctor did not order. Spend like Hoover, get Hoover’s results.
Comment by Chad L Corbin — March 7, 2009 @ 3:28 pm
Speaking of taxation, I was listening to a show this morning discussing the effects increasing the marginal tax rates on the wealthy as Obama defines them, those making over $250k. The response to the coming tax increases in 2011 basically has backfired on the government.
http://sbinformation.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=sbinformation&cdn=money&tm=138&f=00&su=p284.9.336.ip_p649.3.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectID/BACFCE69-7858-4F6D-ACB8839F3BAC4187/111/182/241/ART/
The so called wealthy who are mostly self employed can adjust their income below the $250k target by declaring a limited or split dividend if they are an LLC. The above link has the 2006 tax brackets to give a representational example. For a simple example, if you make $260K, declare a dividend of $11k and a salary of $249K to stay below the excessive income tax. By declaring a dividend up to $75k you keep your tax rate below the individual rates. The problem with this strategy is it draws that amount away from money that might otherwise be invested in the expansion of the company such as hiring. While semantically the amounts in the example still add up to $260k, the taxes affect the net take for both the individual and the LLC. Obama’s soak the rich strategy is a job killer, even though such taxation will not take effect until the tax year 2011, you must make those changes now before the new rates take effect otherwise you will be battling the IRS in an audit. This explains why small businesses who account for the bulk of job creation in the US are not and will not be hiring workers for the foreseeable future unless Obama and the Dems relent of their self serving political lust for power.
The upshot is tax revenues will not increase appreciably and in the meantime no job creation creates more demand upon the government to provide benefits to those not working with a new social program for health with no funding source other than printing money by the Fed. This was a lose/lose proposition from the very beginning.
Comment by dscott — March 8, 2009 @ 9:49 am