Freedom of BLEEP

Remember when President Obama promised the stimulus package would have an immediate effect? Well, the Associated Press reports that the counties hurting the most from job losses are actually getting the least immediate aid from the allocated funding. It’s hard to understand how hundreds of earmarks were considered more important than actually stimulating the economy.

Meanwhile, the budgeted deficit continues to grow. Now the White House is projecting a $1.8 trillion deficit for 2009 - four times the 2008 deficit.

The Obama Administration’s analysis also assumes our economy will be growing at a rate of 3.5 percent by the end of the year. The more realistic report by the Congressional Budget Office predicts that the gross domestic product will actually decline 3 percent this year, and increase only 2.9 percent next year.

Nevermind that, the Obama Administration is too busy explaining how nothing is ever their fault. But we already know that isn’t true.

The White House has also been busy publicizing that they have created 20,000 new jobs in the Pentagon. What they didn’t tell you is that they actually destroyed 11,000 private sector jobs in the process. Reuters reports:

“The remaining 11,000 new hires would come from the conversion to federal civilian slots of jobs that had been outsourced to contractors.”

Another problem is that many of the jobs created by the government are only temporary. 60,000 jobs were created for the 2010 census. In about a year these people will be jobless again, and economic data suggests unemployment will still be a huge problem at that time. But hey, that’s alright. After these workers are done skewing the census data, they’ll probably just go back to ACORN and cast votes for their new imaginary citizens.

In a very public manner, President Obama has promised to cut the federal budget by $100 million. This is equivalent to asking someone that makes $60,000 a year to save only $6. But our president calls it “tightening the belt” and he thinks you’re dumb enough to fall for it.

It’s great that he is cutting the budget, but this $100 million is only about 0.0028% of the budget. Borrowing for February’s stimulus package alone will cost about $100 million a day for the next decade. Furthermore, much of the “savings” he demanded from his cabinet are already under way and are included in the calculation (and the budget).

If you look closer, the legitimacy of speculated savings is more than questionable. Will buying multi-purpose office equipment (such as a combined copier, printer, and fax all in a single unit) really save the Homeland Security Department $2 million a year? Also, an estimated $52 million will be saved buying office supplies in bulk. You mean it took our government decades to realize this is possible? Next Obama will be telling us that the public sector is more efficient than the private sector. Oh wait, he already did tell us that.

Thanks for playing, Mr. President.

Tax dollars at work

CNBC’s Rick Santelli said that Obama’s bailout plan is promoting “bad behavior” and correctly pointed out the American people do not support foreclosure bailouts. He even called for a “Chicago Tea Party,” since our elected officials clearly aren’t representing us.

CNBC did a poll and 90% of the 63,000 Americans surveyed said they agree: they don’t like Obama’s plan.

Politicians are not representing their constituents anymore; they are representing the lobbyists and special interest groups that keep them in power.

Even the high school students Obama visited this week realize his plan is a bad idea:

“The spending bill he just passed is just progressing the Democratic agenda rather than addressing the economic issues in the country.” said senior Maaike Albach.

“This puts us more into debt,” said Daudfar, 18. “It’s a horrible situation we’re in.”

“I think it’s cool he’s here,” said Miller, 18. “I just don’t believe all the things he’s telling us.”

Instead of developing a plan to save their company, the brainiacs at GM spent their last resources on a huge ad campaign to increase support for their initial bailout. And they are already asking for more money!

If you checked your Gmail or AOL account prior to the first bailout, you might have see ads that looks like this:

In the end, their efforts only served as another reminder that this company is a sinking ship, and the first 17 billion they received only delayed the inevitable. Now they want a second bailout for twice that amount - another $39 billion!

How is GM losing so much money? Well for one thing, their workers currently make about 44 percent more than Toyota workers in the United States. The average worker wages at GM amount to $69 per hour, while American-based Toyota facilities average only $48 per hour. Toyota doesn’t allow unionized labor.

While bailout bargaining, the United Auto Workers have repeatedly said they would be willing to renegotiate their current contracts. But truth be told, all concessions the unions have made are trivial. They’ve only agreed to reduce medical benefits for retired workers by less than 10 percent, and temporarily suspend pay to laid off workers (who previously got 95% of their pay indefinitely). This policy was muscled in by the union and basically made it impossible for GM to cut their payroll. Now the company finally won’t have to pay for workers that aren’t working… Yeah, those union leaders are really bending over backwards.

Fearing that they will lose their power, the unions have also propagated a myth that filing for bankruptcy won’t help GM. In reality, chapter 11 allows companies to restructure their contracts and internal organization. GM would no longer be obligated to provide extravagant benefits to their overpaid employees, and they would not have to fulfill supplier contracts they can’t afford to meet. Just look at United Airlines - they emerged to be an even stronger company after filing for bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy would probably help GM even more than the measly $17 billion band-aid, especially since they lost $39 billion in a single quarter last year.

Still, many are worried about what could happen if GM goes completely out of business. People seem to love bad news, and so the media has been reporting that a total of 2.5 million jobs will be lost if GM disappears. These projections are greatly exaggerated, however. First of all, the derivations assume that all of The Big Three go out of business (not just GM), which is unlikely since Ford has enough cash to last a year and a half.

Additionally, several innovative American car companies have been able to rise in the wake of The Big Three Failures. Carbon Motors, for instance, will have their E7 on production lines this year. This vehicle is essentially a ready-made police car that’s loaded with features and offered at a price that beats the competition. For years, state governments have been purchasing Big Three models only to transform them into police cars and emergency vehicles. So why didn’t GM, Ford, or Chrysler come up with this idea?

During his campaign, Obama said he would run the most transparent government we’ve ever had. But the new stimulus bill is up for vote today, and the Republican congressmen still haven’t even seen it - let alone the general public!

The day after inauguration, our President said, “Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency. Our commitment to openness means more than simply informing the American people about how decisions are made.”

Well at least we know how decisions are made… Congressmen will have only a few hours to read hundreds of pages of legislation before 9 AM!

What happened to the democrats’ promise that the new stimulus bill would be posted on the internet at least 48 hours prior to the vote? They flat out lied. Why are they are so afraid of letting the American people know what’s in this bill?

Furthermore, our President has been telling lies left and right to get this bill passed. According to Obama, the CEO of Caterpillar “said that if Congress passes our plan, this company will be able to rehire some of the folks who were just laid off.”

But Jim Owens actually said the exact opposite! “I think realistically no. The reality is we’re going to have more layoffs before we start hiring again.”

What else is Obama lying about?

Amid the doom and gloom of the tanking stock market (thank you, Mr. Geithner), Americans have another thing to worry about…their health. More specifically, our health care system is getting a government overhall, and it’s enough to make me sick.

Buried within the birth control and TV coupons are provisions that will give the U.S. government broad control over the way the system is run. Tom Daschle, an ardent supporter of socialized medicine, has provided the framework for the new healthcare system. If you have any knowledge of his stance on this issue, I’m sure that your insides just turned (assuming you also have a brain).

The procedures we are able to receive and drugs that we can buy will be determined by a government “board,” giving unaccountable beauracrats the right to play God with American lives. The bill specifically says that the government will “guide” doctors’ decisions. The idea is to make health care more affordable by restricting access to only those procedures and treatments that are “cost-effective.” What the plan fails to take into consideration is that each of us respond differently to treatments: “one-size-fits-all” medicine doesn’t work. If an cancer drug is in the experimental stages, it may turn out to be “effective” and save many lives; but the government may step in and determine that it won’t save enough lives to justify the cost.

Another major problem is the control that the board will have over Medicare. Currently, if a doctor believes that a procedure is necessary, Medicare usually covers it. However, now the government will determine whether the procedure is “cost effective.” Meaning, if you are 70 and in need of a life-saving and/or prolonging procedure, you’re probably set to check out soon anyway. What’s another 10 years of life when the government can save millions and provide digital television to many “non-working” Americans! Plus, senior citizens are living too long and collecting too much Social Security already - they need to save some for the rest of us!

The end result will look something like Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE, what a joke!) and National Health Service (NHS), a health care system that many liberal congressmen drool over. It’s telling that this same system has been accused of causing 17,000 preventable deaths every year and destroying the hopes of the many dying cancer patients. Once a health care system that foreigners would flock to, ours may soon be much worse that anyone could imagine.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled his financial sector rescue plan today… Immediately afterward, stocks plummeted across the board - down almost 500 points in all today.

To investors, the incompetence of this man is obvious. They want to know why “critical details of the plan remained unanswered, despite the weeks of planning leading up to Tuesday’s announcement.”

Geithner’s best response is, “We are not going to put out the details, until we get it right.” What does that even mean? Blind trial and error, without even telling the American people what the government is up to?

Geithner also said they will “try things we’ve never tried before. We will make mistakes. We will go through periods in which things get worse…” That sounds exactly like something Wall Street likes to hear.

Again, you can probably guess who we have to thank for this pinhead appointment. What was Obama thinking? This guy is one of the reasons we are in the crisis we now face. He’s a total moron. He even cheated on his taxes, and now he’s in charge of the IRS! He’s employed an illegal immigrant. He’s a crooked thief like all of Obama’s other friends.

FEAR. It’s the only apparatus that democrats have left to get their “stimulus” bill passed, especially as the general public becomes more aware of their idiotic plan. According to the latest poll, only 37% of the nation supports the stimulus package in its current form.

Now democrats have resorted to the drastic measures of making up statistics. Nancy Pelosi said “every month we do not have an economic recover package 500 MILLION Americans lose their jobs.” 500 million? As in 200 million more than the entire U.S. population? Could she have meant 500 thousand? That figure would still be inaccurate. It’s just smoke in mirrors, a scare tactic to make people support her.

President Obama is using the same tactics, saying if the bill isn’t passed now we will enter into a depression which “we may not be able to reverse.” But remember, this is coming from the same guy who said the national deficit doesn’t matter.

Apparently the Democratic Caucus agrees that the deficit doesn’t matter. They are spending $100,000 of taxpayer money on a trip to the country club this weekend…

Over 70% of U.S. businesses have announced freezes on hiring and/or pay increases. My employer is included in this figure, which is frequently hailed as one of the most recession-resistant companies in the world.

And it looks like the freezes will be around for a while. In the words of ADP’s CEO, this will “likely continue [...] into 2010.” Why do businesses in the United States expect this economic crisis to last so long? Isn’t the government about to pass out an $800 billion stimulus package?

Well, the Congressional Budget Office says only 25% of the money will go out this year. Most of it won’t be spent until 2011 or 2012. How is this supposed to help the economy?

It won’t. An analysis by the Wall Street Journal indicates that only 12% of the stimulus package legislation could plausibly be considered an economic stimulus. No wonder CEO’s have said they won’t be hiring for awhile.

It sure is convenient for the politicians though, as their porkbarrel money will be spent right before elections. And if you still think your government cares about you, think about what will happen to the economy when we print $800 billion dollars and just put it into circulation as if it were mana from heaven. Over the next four years, we’ll see inflation skyrocket while we are stuck with stagnant wages. But we’ll save the economics lecture for another post.

As a side note, the stimulus package could fund all of the soup kitchens in America for about 15 years if we eliminated the wasteful spending. And considering the direction that our government is taking us, this would probably be a good investment.

No one said it better than House republican leader, John Boehner. “Oh…my…God.”

He was commenting on the current stimulus package that House democrats have introduced, just in time for Obama’s rise to the throne.  The phrase ”stimulus package” is being used very loosely, as most of the bill is going towards ridiculous welfare programs and liberal spending that will do little to get our economy out of the trouble it’s in.  At best, it will encourage people to sit lethargically in front of their new taxpayer funded Digital TVs and eat more government subsidized food.

A great deal of the money will go to extending unemployment benefits for out-of-work Americans and creating new “green jobs”  (i.e. lightbulb changers).  While retrofitting government offices, building energy efficient infrastructure, and investing in a green energy grid are all noble causes, there is a disconnect between these projects and stabilizing our economy.  This massive spending may create temporary jobs, but what happens when these projects are finished?  Will we continue to keep these “green collar” workers on the taxpayers’ payroll ad infinitum?

Also hidden in the bill among the other random allotments are the Obama “tax cuts.” Funny how the tax cuts were promised to families making under $250,000, yet the bill only rewards those that make less than $150,000.  By the time the bill is passed, it may be down to $75,000 or even $50,000, since it has become a liberal mentality that all the “wealthy” people should be punished for their hard work and success.  Let’s discriminate against those who create jobs, and see how this stimulus works.  Additionally, the “tax cuts,” as promised, are refundable. This article explains, “[b]ecause it’s refundable, Americans without income could apply for it.”. Without income?  Meaning, non-working Americans?  Meaning, welfare?  Someone explain this, because it doesn’t sound like a “tax cut” to me. But I digress…

Other funding includes: $20 billion to increase the food stamp benefits, $87 billion for an increase in the Medicaid matching rate, $1 billion to aid states in the collection of child support, another $1 billion toward preparations for the 2010 census, $4 billion to support local law enforcement, and $800 million to clean up toxic waste sites.  How exactly does this stimulate the economy?  Anyone can B.S. some tangential economic benefits from these programs, but at the heart of this “stimulus package” is porkbarrell spending on social welfare programs that would give any liberal a wet dream. In the words of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”