WHEN OBAMA HANDS YOU A LEMON

Make lemonade. At least that’s what I think is happening. Consider the chart below. It shows the percentages changes in Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ, and my retirement accounts, as of last Friday, all normalized to January 1, 2009. The dashed lines are second-order least-squares curve fits to the data points and the trend lines are clearly on an upward trajectory.



What does it mean? One plausible explanation is that the bubble has burst, the market collapse is complete, and the present value of the market indicators is the “real value” of the stock market.

I don’t think that’s true, however. I think the stock market – and business in general – has taken a careful look at Congress and the Obama administration and found them wanting. Some states have refused to accept stimulus money; business are appearing more and more inclined to refuse federal “assistance”; and some financial institutions are actively seeking to give back stimulus funds they had previously accepted.

It appears that business and financial institutions would rather take their chances in a less regulated economy and risk bankruptcy in a well-ordered court process than risk the whims of an obviously incompetent administration and Congress.

NO MORE WAR ON TERROR?

The Obama administration has decided to forgo the War on Terror for a “kinder, gentler” term: Overseas Contingency Operation.

And so now we are engaged in a great Overseas Contingency Operation, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. And be assured: if the Overseas Contingency Operatives succeed in pulling off another Contingency Operation on American soil on the scale of 9/11, or more than one, we will indeed be sorely tested -- and utterly unprepared to meet the multifaceted cultural, military, political, and spiritual challenge the enemy presents.

So now Jihadists are now overseas contingency “operatives."

DAMN, THAT’S ONE BIG BUS

Wall Street gave to Barack Obama and other Democrats only to be thrown under the bus when the going got rough.

via Don Surber.

THIS IS A SURPRISE?

[NYC mayor Michael] Bloomberg said "51, 52 percent of our taxes come from people making $500,000 or more."

"Five thousand people back in 2006, it's probably a little more diverse today, but in 2006, 5,000 people paid 30 percent of the taxes in New York City.

"If only 1,500 of that 5,000 people move to Connecticut, that would cut 10 percent of our tax base, that's another $3.5 billion," added Bloomberg, who has repeatedly warned that higher income taxes will damage the city's already reeling economy.

MORE ON THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN

In an earlier post, I suggested that the Obama administration’s proposal to limit charitable deductions by the wealthy does nothing more than take money away from those that need it most. That argument is based on a (realistic, I believe) assumption that charitable contributions are affected by the marginal tax rate. [At least they are for me – I have to pay taxes; I don’t have to donate to charity.]

We know that the Obama administration is committed to “social justice” – President Obama’s told us that often enough. And that’s what bothers me about his proposal.

As the law currently stands, a wealthy taxpayer has complete control to direct his/her charitable contribution, including, as I have shown, the Government’s contribution. Under the Obama proposal, that same taxpayer has effective control of only 89% of his/her contribution, while the Government – committed to social justice – has control of the rest and can designate it as it wishes, not as the taxpayer wishes.

Given the incredible lobby influence in Government – and the Obama administration’s penchant for “social justice” – it strikes me as an opportunity to buy votes.

I’d like to believe I’m wrong, and there’s an old saying that one should not attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity, but here I’m leaning toward malice.

CHANNELING ANGER

Cal Thomas on “channeling anger”:

Next week, millions of tourists will begin the annual ritual of visiting Washington to see the cherry blossoms bloom. They might wish to organize a bus ride up to Capitol Hill and make their blooming idiot senators and congresspersons feel their wrath. Then they should go home and organize tea parties and anything else that will unite them with others in the fed-up community, and then vow to throw these bums out come the 2010 election.

No political fish should be too big to touch and goodness knows fish like these have been stinking up Washington for far too long. Showing the most powerful the door is the only way we can liberate the country (and ourselves) from these overpaid, egotistical, self-centered, corrupt, uncaring pack of rats.

So, Cal, tell us what you really think.

BLIND FAITH AND IGNORANCE

Many years ago in a graduate math class I had a professor who attributed success to “main strength and awkwardness.” Today we have a governing class who appear to attribute success to blind faith and ignorance.

"We liberals are going to do what we've been itching to do for decades, and even though our policies will place greater burdens on the economy, retard economic growth, and cause the debt and deficits to further explode, we'll end up with a surplus anyway because we are so doggone virtuous with our liberal compassion that fate will have to reward us."

Change you can believe in.

HOW A RECESSION BECOMES A DEPRESSION

Scott Johnson is depressed “because the president of the United States is a fool who will immiserate us, render us wards of the state and lose us our life and liberty .... “

Yes.

SMART, REALLY SMART

From James Taranto’s “Best of the Web” (scroll down):

There are other indications that last week's fury [at Wall Street and particularly AIG] may be calming. The Wall Street Journal reports that "over the weekend, the White House worked to tone down its Wall Street bashing and to win support from top bankers for the bailout plan announced Monday." It seems the administration "has concluded that it needs the private sector to play a central role in fixing the economy." Brilliant, guys. We could have told you that.

Problem: "Weeks of searing criticism by politicians and the public had left bankers leery of working with the government." Isn't Obama among those who spent years arguing that President Bush's arrogant my-way-or-the-highway attitude toward foreign policy harmed America by alienating friend and foe alike? Whatever you think of that insight, did it not occur to the new president that it might have some applicability in domestic politics?

It looks that the Obama administration may be a little late “toning down its Wall Street bashing.”

GREEN JEALOUSY

Environmentalists are turning green (with jealousy):

For huge numbers of people in India the imminent introduction of the world’s cheapest car – the Nano – is a boon to families all over the developing world that currently speed around town on overloaded two-wheelers, often with an infant perched precariously on someone’s lap.

Environmentalists, however, have decried the Nano and its low-cost imitators as an impending disaster. ... Last year, the Nobel Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri, who is head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, was quoted as saying he was “having nightmares” about the car.

How dare the poor have the effrontery to despoil their “pristine” environment!

IS BARNEY FRANK A HETEROPHOBE?

“After Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, admitted he feared a Supreme Court ruling on homosexual marriage because ‘that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current Court’, the associate justice called on all Americans to ‘have patience with Rep. Frank as he struggles with his heterophobia.’”

Scott Ott rocks.

REVISITING THE WIZARD OF OZ

After President Obama’s appearance on 60 Minutes, one feels he is the "anti-amalgam" of Dorothy’s sidekicks in the Wizard of Oz - no heart, no brain, no courage.

But he does have a diploma.

The interview highlights are here; the interview is here.

SOMETIMES PRAYER DOESN’T WORK

The headline: Crash pilot who paused to pray is convicted.

As the pilot who forwarded this link commented, “If praying was listed at the bottom of the EP [emergency procedures] then this would have been avoided.

I QUIT

This is what happens when the demonization of capitalism continues:

I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down.

Read the whole letter; then ask yourself if the US is better off. Somehow I don’t think so.

IGNORE THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Ed Morrisey thinks President Obama may have inadvertently endorsed the flat tax last night.

I don’t. I think it’s much worse. Here’s Obama on reducing the charitable contribution deduction for “the rich.”

People are still going to be able to make charitable contributions. It just means, if you give $100 and you’re in this tax bracket, at a certain point, instead of being able to write off 36 percent or 39 percent, you’re writing off 28 percent.

Now, if it’s really a charitable contribution, I’m assuming that that shouldn’t be the determining factor as to whether you’re giving that $100 to the homeless shelter down the street. And so this provision would affect about 1 percent of the American people. They would still get deductions. It’s just that they wouldn’t be able to write off 39 percent.

In that sense, what it would do is it would equalize — when I give $100, I’d get the same amount of deduction as when some — a bus driver who’s making $50,000 a year, or $40,000 a year, gives that same $100. Right now, he gets 28 percent — he gets to write off 28 percent. I get to write off 39 percent. I don’t think that’s fair.

His explanation is slick, glib – and wrong. Absolutely, flatly wrong.

Here’s what actually happens. If Joe Sixpack decides to give that marginal dollar to charity, what happens is this: Joe gives 72 cents and directs Uncle Sam (through the charitable deduction) to give 28 cents to the charity Joe specifies. The same is true for Jane Upscale: she gives 61 cents of her marginal dollar to charity and directs Uncle Sam to give 39 cents.

Now under Obama’s proposal, Joe Sixpack’s charitable contribution remains the same. But now Jane Upscale gives 61 cents, directs Uncle Sam to give 28 cents, and pays Uncle Sam 11 cents for his trouble!

David Copperfield would be proud.

BUSH DEFICIT VS OBAMA DEFICIT

The picture. See the Heritage Foundation website for details.

Thanks to Instapundit for the tip.

ROVE ON O'REILLY

Karl Rove made an interesting point on the O'Reilly Factor. President Obama wants to hold down the cost of health care by increasing the Federal budget. Sort of like robbing Peter to pay Paul (with a little skim off the top for Uncle Sam).

OFF STAGE

TOTUS was in the back of the briefing room tonight. I guess the President felt he was being upstaged.

via twitpic.

LIVEBLOGGING OBAMA

8:06 PM - So far he's used the word "investment" repeatedly. So taxes are now investments in "liberalese."

8:08 PM - He's got a list of people to call on. Can't recognize the individual reporters? Or is he calling on the friendlies?

8:10 PM - Can we trust you with the authority to take over other financial institutions? No answer.

8:11 PM - Why not ask the public to sacrifice? Answer: folks are sacrificing already; we have to make sure that the "rich" make sacrifices. We're going to "invest" in the future. Don't want to return to the "false prosperity" of the last several years.

[UPDATE} Jonah Goldberg comments on sacrifice.

8:12 PM - American people must continue to "volunteer." Huh?

8:16 PM - Will you veto the budget if there is no cap-and-trade? Answer: it in Congress's hands; I'm sure they'll come through. But no threat to veto.

8:21 PM - Obama: if we don't invest, we won't grow. We'll still have trillion dollar deficits. No recognition that the deficits are a result of the spending which is occurring on his immediate watch.

8:24 PM - Don't look behind the curtain ... those future deficits are just current estimates. Next year (when no one's looking) we'll give you a better number.

8:26 PM - Now it's Mexico. Should the military be sent to the border? Uh, well, uh ... the Mexican government is doing very well.

8:28 PM - Blame Bush. "Over the last several years ... veterans have been neglected."

8:30 PM - He's now trying the Defense Department "fraud, waste, and abuse" argument. As a former Defense contractor, I've been through this before -- it's nonsense.

8:31 PM - Asked about the deficit (again), the President turned the answer to health care. If I understand him (hah!) then the health care crisis is the cause of the deficit.

8:37 PM - Did I hear him right? The deficits will persist beyond our 10-year forecast? Is he seriously suggesting running the US into complete bankruptcy?

8:44 PM - Why is the President always talking about layoffs of "teachers and policemen?" What about people employed in the private sector? So far, I can't recall him ever saying word one about secretaries and plumbers.

8:55 PM - It's over.

9:55 PM - Two last thoughts. First, the arrogance. Approaching the podium, President Obama didn't walk; he strutted. Second, no matter what the question, the answer was "investment" in health care, energy, and education. The financial crisis is just an opportunity to invest.

EXACTLY!

Chris Muir strikes!
(March 23, 2009)