Typically, Recoveries Do Not Look Like This

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

The Enterprise Blog

The economy grew 1.7 percent in 2011 after expanding 3 percent the prior year

Meanwhile, to show there is no going back, at least not anytime soon, because it will take years to undo what Obama accomplished in just a couple of years.

Investors Business Daily: Food stamps and federal handouts skyrocket.

Direct payments. The amount of money the federal government hands out in direct payments to individuals steadily increased over the past four decades, but shot up under Obama, climbing by almost $600 billion — a 32% increase — in his first three years. And Obama’s last budget called for these payments to climb another $500 billion by 2016, at which point they would account for fully two-thirds of all federal spending.

People getting benefits. According to the Census Bureau 49% now live in homes where at least one person gets a federal benefit — Social Security, workers comp, unemployment, subsidized housing, and the like. That’s up from 44% the year before Obama took office, and way up from 1983, when fewer than a third were government beneficiaries.

Food stamps. This year, more than 46 million (15% of all Americans) will get food stamps. That’s 45% higher than when Obama took office, and twice as high as the average for the previous 40 years. This surge was driven in part by the recession, but also because Obama boosted the benefit amount as part of his stimulus plan.

Disability. The number of people on Social Security disability has steadily climbed since the 1970s, thanks mainly to easier eligibility rules. But their numbers jumped 10% in Obama’s first two years in office, according to the Social Security Administration. That sharp rise was due largely to meager job prospects since the recession ended in 2009. When employment opportunities are scarce, experts note, many who could otherwise work sign up for disability benefits instead.

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When Keynesian Economics ‘Fix’ Things

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

And what better example is there than the President’s adopted home state, the deep blue state of Illinois.

Already a model for government spending, Illinois chose to raise corporate income tax rate by 46%, and the personal income tax rate by 67%. The result was that Illinois led the nation in the biggest unemployment spike of 2011 (H/T to Lonely Conservative).

And as the First Street Journal reports, Illinois received a credit downgrade.

Run up spending and debt, raise taxes in the naming of balancing the budget, but then watch as deficits rise and your credit-rating falls anyway. That’s been the sad pattern in Europe, and now it’s hitting that mecca of tax-and-spend government known as Illinois.

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Romney’s Lead Shows He May Have Weathered the Worst in Florida

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

Recent polling is showing quite the turn around for Romney in Florida. Barely a week after a lot pundits were declaring the momentum shift was entirely Newt’s, Romney has surged back into the lead.

The poll shows that Republicans most likely to vote in the state’s closed primary now favor Romney over Gingrich by 40 to 32 percent. Rep. Ron Paul has 9 percent, while former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has 8 percent.

Just a few days ago, Insider Advantage had Gingrich leading comfortably.

Now that is not the case and most polls have Romney leading Gingrich. Though it should be mentioned the race is still very tight.

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SOTU: President Obama’s $20 Billion Spending Plan Will Come From Defense Cuts

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

There are different methods being used to determine the spending outcomes presented by President Obama during his SOTU.

Tucked inside the less specific topics the President covered such as jobs, the federal budget, and military operations was an obvious conclusion that the president is seeking billions of dollars in new spending. The new spending will come from reduction in military spending and higher taxes.

The reason for cutting back on military spending, we were told, was for two reasons: To bring to close costly wars, and a responsible act to bring down government spending.

Fresh analysis just-released by National Taxpayer Union study tallied at total $20.7 billion in new spending in the SOTU, which will be offset by defense cuts and tax increases (the study).

Some highlights:

  • President Obama proposed 18 items with a potential impact on federal expenditures: 3 that would reduce the federal budget, 8 that would increase it, and 7 whose effect was too vague to be estimated.
  • The largest single cost was the President’s infrastructure proposal. Based on his plans outlined in the American Jobs Act, the projects contained in this initiative would amount to over $11.07 billion annually.
  • In short, for every dollar he hopes to save in domestic programs, Obama is counting on saving 128 dollars in defense.

This administration is not cutting military spending as a way to close up fiscal obligations, but as away to find new ways to increase spending with “cost unknowns.” Instead of a peace dividends and relief to the nation’s mounting debt, tax payers will be asked to foot the bill for further government spending and bureaucratic growth. As a consequence our debt will grow and our military strength will necessarily weaken.

“President Obama laid out an agenda that was more about ‘soldiers to subsidies’ than ‘swords to plowshares,’” said NTUF Senior Policy Analyst Demian Brady. “Even as he reaps fiscal rewards from completed military missions – such as fewer borrowing obligations going forward – the President’s domestic proposals continue to grow in their budgetary cost and burden on everyday economic activity.”

Moreover, NTU’s study concluded that last year President Obama asked for approximately $21 billion dollars in new spending. The fact that he is asking for the same amount shows above all else that his public words run opposite of his actual agenda.

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Gingrich Sees Permanent US Moon Base by End of His Second Term

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

Oh how easy at times it has been to make fun of Gingrich’s penchant for grandiosity. However, this isn’t one of them. Call me nostalgic or a victim of selective recall when it comes to history, but I see a real need to channel some of our restlessness and negative energy towards big projects. Projects that can capture the imagination of the nation and instill a sense of national pride.

Give Newt credit, he can deliver ideas on such projects with a straight face and then dare you to scoff at him for being, quintessentially, American. One president can gut NASA and make it irrelevant, another can give it a new mission and focus.

"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American," Gingrich said to applause.

He said the development would include commercial and private efforts, and will make apparent, "we clearly have the capacity that Chinese and the Russians will never come anywhere close to us."

Gingrich also said he would push to develop propulsion technology that would get man to Mars.

He emphasized that it doesn’t have to be expensive, exploration in partnership with private companies can lower the cost.

"If it’s cheaper and it’s faster and it works, do it," he said (Politico).

America has always operated paradoxically; a nation of profound idealism but always tempered with practical application. What I mean by that is America has all the patience in the world for dreamers just so long as its interesting, capturing, and desirable. Space has long been considered the final frontier for man’s exploration and it will truly be a matter of time before other nations of the world begin to militarize it and use it for their on advantages.

Of course our budget is a mess. It’s a mess because we can’t prioritize and each party plays to its own power base. It is a see-saw battle between hoarding resources and dispensing with the spoils of victories. There comes a point when constituencies and ideological differences must take a back seat to national interests.

It’s time America gets back to dreaming and doing.

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Poor Warren Buffet’s Secretary

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

How long has the line “Buffet’s secretary paid taxes at higher rate than he did” been around? It seems like a while. Since President Obama has gotten on his class warfare kick, it’s only increased and even found its way into his State of the Union Address.  He used her tax rate story to show injustice and the innate inequality within our American system.

Well, newer news is likely to put a few things into perspective. This “forgotten” woman probably makes somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000, but certainly at least $200,000.

The IRS publishes detailed tax tables by income level. The latest results are for 2009. They show that taxpayers earning an adjusted gross income between$100,000 and $200,000 pay an average rate oftwelve percent. This is below Buffet’s rate; so she must earn more than that. Taxpayers earning adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 to $500,000, pay an average tax rate of nineteen percent. Therefore Buffet must pay Debbie Bosanke a salary above two hundred thousand.

We must wait for further details to learn how much more than $200,000 she earns. The tax tables tell us about average ranges. For all we know she earns closer to a half million each year, but that is pure speculation (Forbes).

It’s not important how much she (Debbie Bosanke is her name) makes. If she clears that much or more, good for her but the president should stop with the sanctimony drivel about inequality and injustice. (For more on that, you must read A Conservative Teacher’s post notes on the SOTU).

Commentary

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Caption of the Day: ‘Cowboy Up, Son…’

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

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MMA the New Conservative Sport?

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

I’m a boxing guy and have never become much of a follower of UFC or MMA style fighting. Sure I’ve watched some bouts, but like I said, I’m a boxing guy. With that being said, Arlene Delgado list 5 points why MMA has become the new conservative sport.

Indeed, the UFC’s tale is straight out of a capitalism storybook. A decade ago, Dana White, UFC’s president and the worldwide face of MMA, was a 32-year-old Las Vegas gym owner, trainer, and MMA-fighter manager. In 2001 he heard the bankrupt UFC was up for sale. (John McCain’s 1996 campaign against “human cockfighting” and various states’ bans had dried up much of the sport’s audience and venues.) Realizing mixed martial arts’ heretofore untapped potential, White phoned his childhood friend, Lorenzo Fertitta, of the successful casino-gaming family. Within one month, Lorenzo and his brother, Frank, formed Zuffa LLC along with Dana and purchased the UFC for a mere $2 million. They wisely invested another $44 million in it, as well as much hard work and brilliance, and the company is now worth an estimated $1 billion.

1) It’s conservative philosophy manifested in a sport.

2) The UFC boasts a disproportionately high number of outspoken conservative fighters.

3) The UFC staunchly supports U.S. military personnel and veterans.

4) Unions hate it.

5) Oh, and the Left in general hates it, too.

Go give and give it a read.

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Reaction to SOTU Address

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

And the results are in…

See State of the Union fact check. Read the transcript.

Commentary

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US Navy Seals Avert Hostage Situation in Somalia

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Another bold and successful raid by US Navy Seals.

WASHINGTON — In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.

American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and a 60-year-old Dane, Poul Thisted, were working for a Danish relief organization in northern Somalia when they were kidnapped last October. U.S. officials described their kidnappers as heavily armed common criminals with no known ties to any organized militant group.

According to the U.S. officials, two teams of Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the compound where the two hostages were being held.

As the SEALS approached the compound on foot gunfire broke out, the U.S. officials said, and several of the militants were reportedly killed. There is no word that any of the Americans were wounded.

The SEALs gathered up Buchanan and Thisted, loaded them onto the helicopters and flew them to safety at an undisclosed location. The two hostages were not injured during the rescue operation and are reported to be in relatively good condition.

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Air Force’s Space Plane Monitoring Chinese Satellite?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

Those sneaky zoomies.

The U.S. Air Force’s classified X-37B space plane should have returned to Earth in December.

But the top-secret unmanned spacecraft continues to glide along its unusually low orbit nearly one year after it was launched in March 2011, leading Spaceflight magazine to suggest the vehicle isspying on a Chinese spacelab called Tiangong-1, the BBC reports.

The X-37B, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is a 29-foot solar-powered craft NASA has been developing since 1999. In that time, the vehicle has been launched twice, including the most recent mission from which it has yet to return.

According to the Air Force, the craft’s purpose is to test “reusable spacecraft technologies for America’s future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth.”

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What is Conservatism?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

Since we are groin deep in the GOP primary season–17 or 18 debates deep–it isn’t surprising that many people are rallying around their favorite candidate. You have the Romney crowd, the anti-Romney crowd, and the folks leftover who hover from the candidate du’jour to the candidate du’jour. Through it all I have seen, read, and heard various criticisms hurled, but one stands out from the rest in its amount of use. That being “Candidate__________ (insert name) is no conservative.”

Surprisingly after this I have seen no definition of what is a “conservative” and why that particular person being criticized isn’t one.  Sure…there are policies or political actions that these candidates might have been involved with that indicate a propensity towards another political frame of thought but no one that I have seen has offered a substantial criticism of these people based on what the critics own personal view of conservatism is.

So, I want to ask our readers, and only our readers–no contributors–I already know what you think, what is your personal view of what conservatism is? Your answer can be based on your own observations; academic, elementary, or otherwise.

I am just curious.

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White House Economic Memo Showed Obama Team Played Loosely With Numbers to Hide Costs

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

A lot of attention has been drawn to the official White memo authored by economist Larry Summers that shows the Obama administration purposely hid costs of Obama’s healthcare legislation and his overall agenda. Ryan Lizza at The New Yorker released the full document.

James Pethokoukis | The Enterprise Blog (see the analysis for each point).

1. The stimulus was about implementing the Obama agenda.

2. Team Obama knows these deficits are dangerous (although it has offered no long-term plan to deal with them).

3. Obamanomics was pricier than advertised.

4. Even Washington can only spend so much money so fast.

5. Liberals can complain about the stimulus having too many tax cuts, but even Team Obama thought more spending was unrealistic.

6. Team Obama wanted to use courts to force massive mortgage principal writedowns.

7. Team Obama thought a stimulus plan of more than $1 trillion would spook financial markets and send interest rates climbing.

8. Greg Mankiw, economic adviser to Mitt Romney, was dubious about the stimulus.

9. But the Fed was a stimulus enabler.

10. IPAB was there at the very beginning.

11. The financial crisis wasn’t just Wall Street’s fault.

The Politico

The president prided himself on honesty in his first budget proposal, including the real estimated costs of spending, but Obama later shifted his stance and approved the use of budget gimmickry, according to The New Yorker.

When his aides suggested in late 2009 that he should abandon the honest approach on estimated spending on disaster aid, for example, the president signed off, The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza reports. Obama also approved of fanciful budget numbers on his signature health care legislation.

Pirate’s Cove follows Pethokoukis’s line of thinking in seeing that the economic stimulus was only partly orchestrated for the purpose of stimulating the economy. The rest was rewarding campaign contributors, cementing Obama’s progressive agenda while emboldening its advocates, and showed without a doubt that his administration was anything but "post-partisan."

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A Headline That Was Destined to Happen

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

Politico | Rand Paul detained by TSA

Claims American police state out of control.

Commentary

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