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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Bob Herbert and reality

In the New York Times, the ever-left Bob Herbert is lamenting that the "recovery" has not included those who voted Obama into office, namely the victim list of Democratic politics: blacks, single women, union/blue collar workers, etc. Instead, according to Herbert, it is the financial elites who have proclaimed the "recovery" and who are feeling no pain as they watch their investment portfolios soar. After reading Herbert's views, one would fairly ask if Herbert is somehow living in an alternate reality.

First, the so-called "recovery" is not being claimed by financial elites; rather, it is the Obama Administration that never misses an opportunity to tell us all how we have turned the corner and things are getting better (and how it is all due to those jobs that were created or "saved" due to the stimulus.) Indeed, after listening to Robert Gibbs speaking non-stop about all the great economic news, you expect him to suddenly burst inito a chorus of "Happy Days are here Again"! Most of the financial firms are talking about signs that things are not getting as bad as quickly as they were a few months ago. There is also discussion of the fact that the GDP increase in the last quarter for the first time in quite a while (although there is a question how much of this increase is just activity pulled forward from later quarters due to cash for clunkers and housing tax credits.) In fact, those whose economic position Herbert laments are basically the unemployed and underemployed. According to the latest government figures, over 16% of the working population falls into this category. Obama's stimulus was passed with the express promise from Obama himself that the program would keep unemployment under 8%. After the program was passed, the unemployment rate sailed way past that figure and is still rising. We may soon see the highest rate since the Depression.

Strangely, Herbert does not ask why so many jobs are being destroyed and so few created. He just puts forth his usual class warfare harrangue and leaves it there. The truth is that Obama and the Obamacrats have injected a great deal of uncertainty into the economy on top of the recession itself. Will employers have to give health insurance to all workers? Will the required health insurance be more expensive than the plans now offered? Will energy costs soar once cap and trade is passed? Will state and local governments now living off of stimulus funds be forced to lay off thousands with the resulting contraction of the economy pushed out into the future? Will tax rates on capital investments go up so that one needs a surer and bigger return to make job creating investments profitable? Will an Obama appointed Czar come into more industries to set pay levels? Will card check pass so that many more industries will be forced to unionize on the strength of the appearance of union thugs? Herbert seems oblivious to all of this, but the truth is that these concerns have frozen investment in business, particularly in small business which generates most of the new jobs in this country.

On top of this, Obama and the Obama crats have spent the USA into enormous debts, all but unthinkable in 2008. The government is now borrowing nearly 50% of what it is spending. Will this debt at some point soak up all the capital available for investment? Will China and India and other nations stop buying dollar denominated bonds from the Treasury, thereby driving up interest rates and choking off investment? Will the sinking dollar, fear of inflation (resulting from the deficits) and uncertainty as to the economic future drive people into investin in hard assets like gold and other commodities -- thereby taking away funds which could otherwise be used for investment in the economy?

The problem with all of these question is that they relate to problems created by Obama and his team together with the Pelosi-Reid democrat team in the Congress. In truth, this dream team is a nightmare.

Herbert should open his eyes, recognize the extraordinary damage that Obama and the Obamacrats have done and then state this clearly.

I am not going to hold my breath, however, waiting for him to do so.

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