Freedom of BLEEP

During his last prime time press conference, President Obama said, “We inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit… That wasn’t me.”

Actually, he did play a part in it. While President Obama opposed the Iraq War, he sure didn’t have a problem funding it. In fact, he only voted against one bill that included money for the war. Democrats have controlled Congress since 2006 and during this time war spending continued to go up. President Obama also voted for the Wall Street bailout. Ultimately, it’s Congress that holds the purse strings of our country but he has refused to accept some responsibility. So next time he tries to blame his administration’s problems on someone else, just remember he might not be telling you the whole truth.

Obama’s Voting History:

May 2005: Congress approved an $82 billion bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and international anti-terrorism efforts. Obama voted yes.

June 2006: Congress cleared a $94.5 billion bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as provide aid to hurricane victims. Obama voted yes.

September 2006: Congress cleared a $448 billion Pentagon funding bill that included $70 billion for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama voted yes.

April 2007: Congress cleared a $124 billion spending bill that provided $90 billion for war costs. Obama voted yes.

June 2008: Congress approved a measure to spend $162 billion for war costs as well as other domestic projects. Obama voted yes.

Source

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.