“The worse, the better,” Vladimir Lenin is said to have observed. What Lenin meant was that the worse social conditions became in Russia, the more likely he and the Bolsheviks could foment a communist revolution. President Barrack Obama’s White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recently updated Lenin’s maxim, saying, “Never allow a crisis to go to waste.”Last Friday, the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives took those maxims to heart when they pushed through their 1,200-page American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act by a vote 219 to 212. The bill is supposed to address the twin crises of economic recession and climate change by creating millions of new “green” jobs. Instead of an old-fashioned Soviet-style five-year plan, ACES can be thought of as 50-year plan to radically transform how Americans produce and use energy.
…Well, look, Ron Bailey, this entire administration seems to me to emulate the tactics of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, in all things, not just energy… and in my view we’ve not seen nearly the worst of it yet. (A Depressing thought as we come to July 4th, isn’t it?)
So why should Energy be any different? Energy, after all, is the key to our country and it’s prosperity. Which of course was why I raised such holy hell when the first thing Obama did upon being sworn in was to reverse President Bush’s sign off on offshore drilling. That action is the major reason oil prices have better than doubled in the last 6 months.
The question that Ron asks, though, seems to me pertinent:
Will Americans tolerate such sweeping interventions into their lives and workplaces?
…
The 1994 mid-term election became a referendum on [...]
I am disturbed, but not surprised by some of the comments made by Barrack Obama as regards the role of a Justice of the Supreme Court and thereby, what we will get in the replacement for Justice David Souter, who is retiring, next month. Those comments give us a frightening view of what we have in store from anyone Obama might nominate.
Alas, the once-dominant species of liberal proponents of judicial restraint has relatively few surviving members. Obama should find them – why not Jose Cabranes, the excellent judge whom President Clinton appointed to the 2nd Circuit? – and help revive the species.
It appears that Obama will be moving in the opposite direction, making that restraint even more of a rarity. Comments made while Obama was still just a candidate, as early as 2001, in an WBEZ interview, are exemplary:
But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as its been interpreted and Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can’t do to you. Says what the [...]
This is good. It’s less than 3 minutes, the winner of a contest put on by The Fairtax folks, and makes the point about the importance of the Fairtax and the distinct value of American Capitalism. Watch it.
You have never seen a majority party more desperate to take advantage of its position of power, knowing that their days are probably numbered. Democrats in your state have probably already tried:
Giving in to Unions with Prevailing Wage and Fair Share
Giving in to attempts to minimize the value of the family by elevating gay unions as marriage
Giving in to solutions lacking real problems, such as Worker’s Compensation Physician’s Choice
Giving in to their lust for spending, a long-term need for greed that feeds a push to raise taxes… yes, your state government is probably trying right now to raise your taxes!
If you don’t believe all this, just look to Iowa. Smack dab in the middle of the country, normally expected to be a follower, Iowa politicians (that is, the Democratic majority party in the Iowa General Assembly) have been trying their darnedest to do all of these things.
Iowans are watching this year. Very closely. Republicans are taking a strong stand on these and other issues, and some of the more conservative Democrats are also helping stem the tide despite the strong-arming of party leaders. Keeping these [...]
Or is it change for a hope? I admit my confusion on this issue. The American public was told during the 2008 Presidential campaign that things would be different. So far, it’s more of the same, only worse. It seems like the entire country has gone stark, raving mad.
To wit, as the Obama Administration’s Cabinet nominees wind their way through the approval process, we find that not one, not two, not three, but four have a prior history of not paying their taxes. What is going on here? The best thing to come out of this mess is that the American taxpayer, at last count, is ahead some $176,000. Could this be President Obama’s plan to fund this massive “economic stimulus” package that is being ramrodded through Congress? Just collect the back taxes owed by his nominees? I’m not sure that the IRS, Congress or the American public would be as forgiving if I were the one to not have paid my taxes. But then again, I try to live a life of integrity.
I’ve read a lot about the economic stimulus package making its way through the bowels of Congress and I’m confused about that too. Or maybe I’m not the one who’s confused. To me, economic stimuli are those things that stimulate the economy. Immediately. Not three years from now. So, as one of the conditions for accepting TARP money, The Brains in Washington [...]
The headline on the front page of yesterday’s (Monday, January 12, 2009) Wall Street Journal read “Obama Plans to Keep Estate Tax”. This is the opening salvo of President-Elect Obama’s tax hike and wealth redisribution plan.
In 2009, estates of less than $3.5 million per person and $7 million per couple are exempt from taxation. The value of estates over that are taxed at 45%. Under current tax law, signed by President Bush in 2001, there is no estate tax in 2010. As I joke with my clients, if you’re going to die, do it in 2010, because under current law, in 2011 the estate tax reverts to Clinton-era levels–a $1 million exclusion, with the rest taxed at 55%.
Here’s why the estate tax, in and of itself is wrong. Congress has the Constitutional right to tax any and all sources of income. Sources of [...]
From the New York Times late last night:
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders and the Bush administration reached a tentative agreement early Sunday on what may become the largest financial bailout in American history, authorizing the Treasury to purchase $700 billion in troubled debt from ailing firms in an extraordinary intervention to prevent widespread economic collapse.
Officials said [...]
I’m surprised there has not yet been a run on my bank. The way that Bush, Paulson and Congressional Leaders are reacting to the liquidity angst on Wall Street would make you think there’s no money left, and we only have days or perhaps hours to get our money safely out of the hands of [...]
On Sunday I shared some initial thoughts about the Fed take-over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If you read it, you know I’m not exactly happy about the outcome. My friend Bithead shared some great thoughts Monday, and I don’t disagree that something needed to be done. He and I both agree [...]
Today US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced plans for the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to take Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae into conservatorship. The power to do this was provided in HR 3221 which was passed in July.
The move includes replacement of the CEO of both organizations, and an infusion of about $200 [...]
As goes Energy, so goes the country.
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