http://www.boston.com/news/politics/poli…
NASHUA — Promising jobs and asking for patience, President Obama pitched his economic plan to a receptive New Hampshire audience, defending his plan to cut deficits and ease unemployment even as lawmakers back in Washington picked apart his budget blueprint.
“Because there’s no magic wand that will make economic problems that were years in the making disappear overnight, it’s easy for politicians to exploit the anger and anguish folks are feeling right now,” Obama told a crowd of about 1,600 at a Nashua high school, acknowledging that “folks here in New Hampshire have been tested by the last two years.”
“Exploit” ? Are there any examples of politicians (presumably Republican politicians) “exploiting” the “anger and anguish” of folks stuck in a crappy economy? The one thing I see is Republicans, who (theoretically) ideologically oppose big wasteful government are arguing “see…this is exactly the big wasteful government we’ve been telling you about!”.
But things could have been much worse, Obama said, if his administration had not gone ahead with the financial bailouts and $787 billion stimulus program so reviled by his Republican opponents. “Because of the steps we took, the markets have stabilized. No one’s worrying about another Great Depression like they were a year ago. The worst of the storm has passed,” Obama said.
I stand by the bank stabilization, for reasons that I outlined back at the time.
…but is there any evidence that keeping GM alive, and buying off union votes with specially crafted legislation that preserves their jobs and pensions while screwing the non-unionized folks they worked right along side, is “stabilizing the markets” ?
While Obama repeated his calls for bipartisanship, his message had an accusatory undertone toward Republicans, who have succeeded in holding up health care overhaul and many other items on Obama’s wish-list.
So bipartisanship is apparently defined as “agreeing with the pro-Democrat, anti-Republican strategies that I love and you hate” ?
During a question and answer session, the president almost mockingly welcomed GOP ideas
Wow – the Globe is describing Obama’s tone as scornful and mocking – why, oh why wouldn’t Republicans want to extend a hand to such a great sportsman ?
He noted that they voted nearly unanimously against the Recovery Act
The “recovery act”, by the way is “the stimulus” – which is to say, a massive pork barrel of fraud, waste, and stupidity. We’re doing everything – bailing out bloated state governments, replacing dumbwaiters, and buying door mats.
So – Republicans voted against it?
Sounds good to me!
“It’s one thing to have an honest difference of opinion on something. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Obama said, in shirt sleeves and gesturing companionably to the audience “It’s another to walk away from your responsibilities to confront the challenges facing this country because you think it’s good short-term politics. That’s what we can’t afford.”
If by “Republicans walking away from their responsibilities”, he means that they’re voting against his FDR-style alphabet soup of new programs and spending, then I support that 100%.
The president detailed a plan to help expand lending to small business through tax cuts and assistance to community banks. Under the program, $30 billion in returned cash for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) would be made available to help smaller banks lend to local businesses.
Two years ago my biggest problem was lack of capital – I would have borrowed a million or so on top of the 3/4 of a mill that I was already in hock for.
However, given Obama’s budget, his spending, his attempts to drastically increase entitlements, the spectre of massive tax hikes in the near future, and more, I am no longer looking for capital.
Instead I am:
- laying off all of my salaried staff
- keeping my hourly staff fixed
- paying down my debt as rapidly as possible
- trying to figure out how – aside from taking a government job – to make money in a hostile business climate
Obama’s plans are creating a world so uncertain that I refuse to take on any debt at all. I’ve been throwing away solicitations to borrow funds for the last few months.
“We’re going to start where most new jobs do – with small businesses,” Obama said. “These are the companies that begin in basements and garages when an entrepreneur takes a chance on his dream, or a worker decides it’s time she became her own boss.”
What’s the point of creating wealth if we’re going to return to confiscatory rates of taxation?
Heck, with a massive debt hanging over our heads, growth is going to be a lot slower, and it’s going to be hard to create wealth in the first place.
Back in Washington, Republicans gave the small business initiative a sour reception, saying the returned TARP money should be used to pay down the deficit, estimated to reach a record $1.6 trillion this year and $1.3 trillion next year.
Indeed.
To do otherwise is get the government in the business of borrowing money from Chinese to hand it to banks, in the hopes that they’ll loan it to small businesses that will create jobs.
Why, exactly, do we need the government in that loop?
There’s capital to be had – if small business want to borrow and the Chinese want to lend, it will happen on its own.
The American people don’t need to cosign these debts.
