Invisible Hand

Regardless of the creeping socialism that Washington seems at both times to pile on us and feign to take away, there is doubtless a fact that 'the invisible hand' that guides our economy exists without their finagling.  The businesses of the future are not being brainstormed right now with considerations of the forests of regulations on file - would they ever come about if they were?  The people who will build the future of American service and industry are putting forth that golden principle in their minds that guides all creative capitalistic ingenuity: How can I get customers? 

It is the pursuit of someone's business that, in the end, will create the greatest curve of innovation and prosperity.  So why flub it up now with regulation, taxes, and wasted subsidy?

Algeria

It's so odd that Algeria's rebels - who are the only dissidents in the last year to appeal strongly to pro-Western secular considerations - are left essentially on their own.  We certainly can't help them, as helpful as they would undoubtedly be to the stability of the region and the fight against terror.  But with three wars ongoing, and the most recent fruitless adventure a political embarrassment, rallying any support behind an intervention would be impossible.  So these rebels - rebels we know, rebels who are are friends - are left to themselves, to lose.

Sell Sell Sell

The market sunk low this morning and has yet to recover.  The S&P cut their long term outlook and the market, wiser than the Congress it seems, has decided that the deficit IS a problem.  The budget deal did not allay their fears as a morning sell off underscored the reality that doing nothing may play to a political base but not to the real state of crisis that exists in our financial market.

59

Fifty-Nine Republicans stood up for what they believed in opposing the mock bill that would "cut" some 38 billion from the deficit.  Whatever real number that is...either it be the 300 million and change as the Congressional Budget Office calls it, or the spin amounts coming from the White House and GOP leadership, whatever the number, it isn't enough.  Not close to enough to solve or even dent our problem. 

This is the facade to hide the truth, the bait-and-switch to distract us, to annoy us with numbers and boring concessions.  We are suppose to slump meeking away, satisfied that something was done.  But nothing was done here, short of rediculous politicking.  59 Republicans stood up for what was right, for what must be done - to face the hard facts, hard reality, and to begin the work towards a real solution.  But they failed.

The rest of Washington were content to live in a dream world.

Bait & Switch

The Congressional Budget Office has come out with some disappointing numbers.  Not so disappointing I suppose for fans of the Leviathon government and its flood of programs and services and branches of the welfare state, but disappointing to us that see our debt problem as cruicial, as the whole crux to our economic problem, and the lever to which will move us into greater prosperity or slight us into obscurity as a second-rate power.

Of the much touted 38 billion concession?  The great comprimise?  A mere 352 million exist as actual cuts.  The remainder, that floating 37.6 billion, has already been spent.  That's right, what we just spent a week bringing the government nigh on halt to SAVE has been spent. The savings?  Oh, they'll appear in a year, or three, or in the next decade.

So here we are again.  Thought this last week was going to change politics?  No chance.  They called us Tea Partyers crazy for demanding larger cuts.  They said it would cripple the economy and U-turn our recovery.  Having seen what 38 billion does, i.e. NOTHING, I think we'd do better now to demand more than our original 100 billion cause.  It is obvious that Washington would rather play games, fund its unsanctioned war games, and earn political clout pandering to its base with the welfare state.

The Tea Party sees what this is, and bait-and-switch is almost too innocent a phrase to use.  We are to be taken as fools, they think.  They don't suspect though, that the best days of our common sense revolution are to come.

GOP Fights Back

The GOP is rightly standing in opposition today to the President's budget plan (to be unveiled in tonight's speech).  Tonight will be Obama's push back to regain dominance.  Last week's down-to-the-wire deal of 38 billion and change noticably hurt the White House, as it stood by silently and ultimately conceded to a plan that was worse than it had expected and had pleased none.  Now Obama will fight it out for tax increases on the wealthy for perhaps no real reason aside from ideological liberalism and to flash his muscles.  Other than this show it will do nothing in the face of monsterous spending or debt management.

Obama also will call for reductions in the Department of Defense, okay.  As Congressman Ryan has said, no program is off the table.  But forgive me if I find it odd that the first program the President is willing to explore cuts for is our national defense.  An almost unashamed play to the left.  I don't have a Harvard degree so maybe there is some reasoning behind this that makes sense - to cut defense in the conduct of 3 wars and an international manhunt against terrorism?  Mr. President, you haven't even asked us if we are OK with operations in Libya yet.  Are we suppose to assume you know the final costs of your adventure there and can make the cuts accordingly?

It is all slight of hand and early campaigning.  Ignore the huge debt behind the curtain.  Republicans have their chance again to fight this.  The weakness of Obama's compromising hand has been shown again and again.  The GOP has its job to do in the upcoming hours: stick to their guns in their opposition to tax hikes.  Our best advantage is now, to keep socialism at bay through showdowns.

Obama to tax our way out of debt.

As we prepare tomorrow for President Obama's anticipated budget speech (even now, no doubt, a team of no less than a dozen must be curling each subtle nuance of every sentence to perfection) already the media and blogs are alight with cries to tax the rich, tax the rich.  As if running to the left will solve our staggering deficit.  As if taxes at all are at the base of our problems.

It seems we are being asked not only to ignore our crazy spending, but to pretend that the problem is so simple that a little bump in taxes will make it all go away so we can have more handouts from some new government agencies, comissions, and committees.

What will it take for us to get on the right track?  If Obama thinks he can walk away tomorrow night, after garnering support from the Left (i.e. wealthy tax increases), after ignoring our debt crisis, after ignoring our credit crisis, than he will be losing more that the support of the independents.  He will be losing re-election for sure.