Archive for August, 2009
Congress Oblivious to Economic Reality
The August 7th WSJ headline proclaimed “Congress Gets an Upgrade”–$500 Million Slated for Purchase of Eight New Planes as Lawmakers’ Travel Soars. The Pentagon did not request five of the additional planes, “We’ve always frowned upon earmarks an additives that are above and beyond what we ask for,” said Geoff Morrell the Pentagon press secretary. Yes, there are earmarks in bills passed this year in the midst of the worst recession in recent memory. No mention needs be made of the Cap & Trade give-aways, or of the bank busting Obamacare bill reported by Pelosi’s house committee. Congress is truly a class apart with better healthcare plans and retirement plans than most of their constituents, with expense accounts that would be the envy of most executives, and with junket travel in their new unnecessary private planes.
With safe incumbent status most of these so-called servants of the people are untouchable. Only concerned with being reelected, they are detached from constituents and oblivious to economic reality. It’s time for a change, but is change possible?
Tom Motherway, tom@renohayek.com
Junket update: Ten members of Congress and some of their wives took a $500,000 jaunt to tourists hotspots.
Is the System Broken? Where is the Common Good?
Posted by Tom in Foreign Trade, Politics on August 6, 2009
Today’s (8/6/09) WSJ editorial page discussed Obama’s courtship of Republican Chuck Grassley’s vote on the Obamacare package. Seems like a straightforward persuasion attempt. But in a totally off-point issue, Grassley’s desire to support the flagrantly protective tariff against Brazilian sugar based ethanol in favor of the less effective corn ethanol supported by the tariff for his constituents, becomes the trading point, the political point, the unseen point of so-called “compromise.” The editorial hopes that Grassley won’t make Americans pay twice! Good luck!
There is no more common good. This ingrained political behavior is economically called “rent seeking.” For the fat cat corn growers the mandates and tariff bases price supports feed the revenue that would otherwise be non existent. Growers would otherwise need to get an honest, read “economic,” job. That’s too much trouble when the government is there to fund them! For the politicians, the Grassley’s of this world, this “rent seeking” is “contribution seeking” and ultimately “vote seeking,” to sustain them in office.
The Republicans are just as bad as the Democrats in this regard. Frank Murtha logically argues that if he didn’t get the earmark for his district some other Congressmen would get the money for his! It’s a way of life. I fear, it’s unchangeable. The lesson: join the rent seekers or perish? No, that’s not morally correct. That’s not competitive. That will not bring out the best! And, in the end, we will ultimately lose.
By the way, in the same August 6th WSJ, Chad P. Brown has a good op-ed called “Protectionism Exposed.” In it he touts a World Bank website which he helped organize that set outs the various protectionists measures which if unchecked will bring the demise to world trade. It’s worth the look.
Tom Motherway, tom@renohayek.com
No Doubt Obama Wants Government Control of Healthcare
Posted by Tom in Nationalized Health Care on August 4, 2009
C4C–The Latest Obama Scam
Posted by Tom in Centrally Managed Economy, Environment on August 4, 2009
Cash for Clunkers is just another immoral Obamanomics scam. He has dished out a cool billion and plans to dish out another couple of billion of your children’s and grandchildren’s money so that some clunker drivers can have their perfectly good clunkers destroyed for some mythical mileage improvement on the order of 3 MPG! The religious environmentalists fail to point out the carbon costs of destroying perfectly good assets to manufacture other assets. This makes no sense either economically or environmentally.
The winner again is the UAW which seems to hold him captive. The liberals who advocate C4C spin it to the unwashed masses as free money. Yes, there is a free lunch, Rube! In fact, it is simple theft, robbing Peter to pay Paul with Obama as the fence extorting his vigorish.
The simpletons who buy into this program fail to see that the several billion could have been privately employed to invest in innovation, wealth creation, and jobs for a depressed economy. Those same simpletons fail to understand that the money must come from somewhere, that would be taxes and debt; that debt must be repaid with interest; it will be repaid by their children and grandchildren. Obama’s intergenerational immorality at it sleaziest!
Tom Motherway, tom@renohayek.com
What’s in the Healthcare Proposal — line-by-line analysis (it’s worse than you imagined)
Posted by Tom in Nationalized Health Care on August 3, 2009
What follows are Peter Fleckstein’s interpretations of the House Healthcare Bill reported out of committee. You can read H.R. 3200, “To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes,” here. It’s those “other purposes” that should concern us! With enough public outcry over the August recess, this will die a rapid death.
Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill – THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benes u get
Pg 58HC Bill – Govt will have real-time access 2 individuals’ finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 ur banks accts 4 elect. funds transfer
PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan 4 retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange 2 bring priv HC plans under Govt control.
PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill – Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs 4 priv. HC plans in the Exchange
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps 2 sign up indiv. for Govt HC plan
pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill – Doctors/ #AMA – The Govt will tell YOU what u can make.
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into pub opt plan. NO CHOICE
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay 4 HC 4 part time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll
pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll btw 251k & 400k who doesnt prov. pub. opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesnt have acceptable HC accrdng 2 Govt will be taxed 2.5% of inc
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from indiv. taxes. (Americans will pay)
PG 203 Line 14-15 HC – “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax” Yes, it says that
Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician svcs 4 Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected
PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr’s time, prof judg, etc. Literally value of humans.
Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals 4 what Govt deems preventable readmissions.
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Drs, treat a patient during initial admiss that results in a readmiss-Govt will penalize u.
Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy – Telehealth Advisory Cmtte. Can u say HC by phone?
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides apprvd list of end of life resources, guiding u in death
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 – The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt into your marriage
Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those svcs
Peak Oil Update
Posted by Tom in Energy Facts & Policies on August 3, 2009
The following from Don Parsons on the dramatic changes in the peak oil assessment:
The IEA, for the first time, has done a comprehensive survey of 800 oil fields covering three-quarters of the world’s existing production. Note their new estimate of the global decline rate of 6.7%, nearly double their previous estimate. This is truly an alarming rate of depletion, equal to 5.5 million bopd, which must be replaced each year just to keep production stable. This amounts to new discoveries of the magnitude of 15 billion bbls per year. We haven’t found that much oil in a single year in the last quarter century. In the last 15 years, discoveries have averaged less than half that amount. As the aging super giant fields, most of which were discovered pre-1970, go into decline, the global decline rate is likely to worsen.
Here’s the report, Warning: Oil supplies are running out fast.
Our Freedom Is At Stake
Posted by Tom in Nationalized Health Care on August 2, 2009
It’s all about creating dependency for the socialist governing class because dependency keeps these leftists in control. From Tammany Hall patronage, thru FDR’s New Deal, to LBJ’s Great Society the lesson was repeated, handouts create dependency and dependency insures votes and continuity in office, and, as is all too obvious, continuity in office is what it’s all about, the ultimate wealth creator.
President Obama is no dummy, while he may be historically and economically challenged, he is a masterful politician. He knows that once he gets any healthcare legislation with a government option, no matter how bad, no matter what compromises, that it is the first step to ultimate control of the most basic human instinct, survival, the will to live. He also knows it can be subsequently amended and re-amended. The government will be in control of the most basic human instinct and voters will vote for whoever promises what they want to insure survival.
Once in control of welfare, patronage, mediocre education from the teachers union, and the very care that determines life and death, Obama becomes the Orwellian Big Brother. Freedom is gone, responsibility is gone, and the government provides and decides all.
Honest workers who are responsible for themselves and their families, may resent Barney Frank’s deadbeats who default on their mortgages, some may object to paying for people who choose live an alcoholic lifestyle, some may resent Pelosi’s welfare given to the druggies who steal to support their habits, some may think obesity is freely chosen and not a taxpayer sponsored disease, and some may feel it morally objectionable that their hard earned tax dollars are spent to fund late term abortions. Those resentments and objections will fall on deaf ears because Big Brother will be firmly in control; he has the votes since he makes the promises.
So we can and have given up a lot to these statists, but once we surrender this most basic need to the government, this most personal decision, this ultimate survival instinct, there will be no turning back. Government will expand exponentially. Government control will take over every other phase of our lives. The freedom that our forefathers fought so hard to obtain will be relinquished, traded for a false promise.
Obama, Pelosi, Reid and their ilk are the antithesis of our American way of life. They are better suited to the European, Islamic and Dictatorial Latin American nations they seek to cultivate by groveling an apologizing for our sacrifices and innovation.
I urge readers to contact all Congressmen and Senators and ask that they strongly oppose this leftist takeover of our lives. Our freedom and the freedom of our children and grandchildren are at stake.
Tom Motherway, tom@renohayek.com