So what's the big deal about QE3? Dr. Jeffrey Herbener, chair of the department of economics at Grove City College, and Lee Wishing of the Center of Vision and Values shed some light in this video:
Main Street USA and the Fed from Center for Vision and Values
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label economy. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Government slows recovery
Dr. Tracy Miller, one of my old professors at Grove City College, has a good piece in Forbes entitled "Government Policy Restrains An Economic Recovery Launched by the 2008 Recession." It lays the problems with government interference in the economy out well. It's great to see such clear thinking in a mainstream publication.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Liberal agenda and Perception
I've watched the first few episodes of a new series on TNT called Perception. It is about a troubled genius and neuroscience professor Daniel Pierce (similar situation to the movie A Beautiful Mind) who helps the FBI solve cases using his knowledge (and personal experience) of psychology, mental disorders, and human behavior. While I find it fascinating and I like the actors, my husband can't stand to watch it because of the extreme liberal agenda. I just finished watching the episode from Monday night, which involves a Monsanto-like agricultural company that forced farmers out of business and into foreclosure. The corporate giants are evil and the "little man" may in fact be somewhat justified in taking extreme vengeance.
While I have heard there may be some problems with Monsanto's business practices (I don't know much about this issue), that doesn't justify murder and they are not necessarily the corporate norm. Television shows like this want us to sympathize with the downtrodden, the 99%. We can sympathize, and certainly there are situations in which people are taken advantage of by big business, but this isn't the fault of the capitalist system. This is a function of living in a fallen world and of too much government intervention in business.
Spoiler Alert: Just in case the liberal bias wasn't glaring enough for the viewer, at the end of the episode the producers throw another hint out. Pierce is trying to talk the murderer down from a hostage situation and prevent him from blowing up two innocent people, himself, and the professor. Pierce understands how this man feels and how he's been wronged and is trying to prevent more lives lost. The FBI SWAT team is outside, and they have a sniper in position ready to shoot this poor wronged individual (and save 3 other lives in the process) as soon as he goes in front of a window. The sniper is wearing a "Don't Tread on Me" baseball cap. Hmm, you think they got their point across?
While I have heard there may be some problems with Monsanto's business practices (I don't know much about this issue), that doesn't justify murder and they are not necessarily the corporate norm. Television shows like this want us to sympathize with the downtrodden, the 99%. We can sympathize, and certainly there are situations in which people are taken advantage of by big business, but this isn't the fault of the capitalist system. This is a function of living in a fallen world and of too much government intervention in business.
Spoiler Alert: Just in case the liberal bias wasn't glaring enough for the viewer, at the end of the episode the producers throw another hint out. Pierce is trying to talk the murderer down from a hostage situation and prevent him from blowing up two innocent people, himself, and the professor. Pierce understands how this man feels and how he's been wronged and is trying to prevent more lives lost. The FBI SWAT team is outside, and they have a sniper in position ready to shoot this poor wronged individual (and save 3 other lives in the process) as soon as he goes in front of a window. The sniper is wearing a "Don't Tread on Me" baseball cap. Hmm, you think they got their point across?
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Illinnoyed?
I thought this Washington Times article about the stark economic differences between two neighboring states, Indiana and Illinois, was fascinating. States are an interesting microcosm of the country as a whole, and comparing the economic results of different policy approaches taken by different states should be instructive for our federal politicians as they try to figure out how to get our country out of its current economic mess. Months ago, I posted a link to an online Forbes article discussing how draconian environmental regulations had damaged the economy of California and driven businesses out of the state in large numbers. Like California, Obama's home state is dominated by left-wing Democrats, and those Illinois Democratic politicians are doing their very best to follow in California's footsteps.
About a year ago, Illinois's Democratic legislature, with support from its Democratic governor, forced through huge tax increases -- 67% increases for individuals, 30% increases for businesses -- on a party line vote (in a lame-duck session, no less). Since then, the state has lost 89,000 jobs. Over the past year it has competed with neighboring Indiana for new investment and jobs 45 times, and lost 42 of those contests to Indiana. The state has also had to turn around and offer tax incentives to large corporations based in the state to keep them from moving out, which has understandably enraged the public. And ironically, the revenue gained from those massive tax increases, supposedly needed to pay down the state's debt to avoid fiscal insolvency, has simply been used to pay bloated public employee pensions and as an excuse to continue to increase spending. Of course, out-of-control spending is the reason why both the federal government and many state governments are tetering on the brink of insolvency, but Democrats (and some Republicans as well) have no interest in reining in spending. They want to raise taxes instead, which hurts businesses, kills job growth, and drives away investment, which in turn makes the budget crisis even worse, which results in added debt. It's a vicious cycle that has left Illinois's economy in shambles and threatens our entire country as well.
By contrast, Indiana is headed by a fiscally responsible Republican governor (Mitch Daniels) and a conservative legislature that has succeeded in balancing its budget, reducing spending, and keeping taxes low. This is why the state has been so effective at stealing new business and investment from Illinois that it has started an ad campaign called "Illinnoyed?" that explicitly targets Illinois businesses.
Next November, our country has to decide whether to re-elect Barack Obama, another Democratic politician obsessed with raising taxes on the rich and on the evil corporations but completely uninterested in taking any meaningful steps to reduce federal spending and reform entitlements. I hope that, unlike Illinois, we make the right choice.
About a year ago, Illinois's Democratic legislature, with support from its Democratic governor, forced through huge tax increases -- 67% increases for individuals, 30% increases for businesses -- on a party line vote (in a lame-duck session, no less). Since then, the state has lost 89,000 jobs. Over the past year it has competed with neighboring Indiana for new investment and jobs 45 times, and lost 42 of those contests to Indiana. The state has also had to turn around and offer tax incentives to large corporations based in the state to keep them from moving out, which has understandably enraged the public. And ironically, the revenue gained from those massive tax increases, supposedly needed to pay down the state's debt to avoid fiscal insolvency, has simply been used to pay bloated public employee pensions and as an excuse to continue to increase spending. Of course, out-of-control spending is the reason why both the federal government and many state governments are tetering on the brink of insolvency, but Democrats (and some Republicans as well) have no interest in reining in spending. They want to raise taxes instead, which hurts businesses, kills job growth, and drives away investment, which in turn makes the budget crisis even worse, which results in added debt. It's a vicious cycle that has left Illinois's economy in shambles and threatens our entire country as well.
By contrast, Indiana is headed by a fiscally responsible Republican governor (Mitch Daniels) and a conservative legislature that has succeeded in balancing its budget, reducing spending, and keeping taxes low. This is why the state has been so effective at stealing new business and investment from Illinois that it has started an ad campaign called "Illinnoyed?" that explicitly targets Illinois businesses.
Next November, our country has to decide whether to re-elect Barack Obama, another Democratic politician obsessed with raising taxes on the rich and on the evil corporations but completely uninterested in taking any meaningful steps to reduce federal spending and reform entitlements. I hope that, unlike Illinois, we make the right choice.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Happy Baracksgiving!
A friend shared this video on Facebook, and I found the statistics quite interesting. I have definitely noticed the increase in grocery prices. In a few cases I have had to adjust my personal/household "don't buy unless it's less than x dollars" rules, and in some cases I just don't buy things (cheese?) as often. I had forgotten that the price of gas was so low just under 3 years ago. Now it seems we get excited when it's below $3.30 per gallon.
And now I realize I have left you on a very negative note. Still, it's worth noting. Hopefully a more positive post is to come later on in the day!
(Disclaimer: I know nothing about the organization that made the video.)
And now I realize I have left you on a very negative note. Still, it's worth noting. Hopefully a more positive post is to come later on in the day!
(Disclaimer: I know nothing about the organization that made the video.)
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Obama's Disastrous Keystone Pipeline Decision
Check out this excellent editorial by Dan Henninger of The Wall Street Journal regarding Obama's decision to delay building the Keystone pipeline. Apparently Obama is fine with unemployment in any industry relating to carbon production. This president's policies are job killers, pure and simple. As Henninger puts it, "Why should any blue-collar worker who isn't hooked for life to a public budget vote for Barack Obama next year?" Good question.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Peter Schiff Testimony Before the House
Here are a couple excellent videos of excerpts from Peter Schiff's testimony and answering questions before the House committee on the jobs bill and the economy.
Here is the text of his testimony entitled "How the Government Can Create Jobs." If more politicians and inviduals were listening to this well-reasoned and intelligent businessman and others like him we would not be in the mess we are today.
Here is the text of his testimony entitled "How the Government Can Create Jobs." If more politicians and inviduals were listening to this well-reasoned and intelligent businessman and others like him we would not be in the mess we are today.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Fighting Back Against Obama's Job-Killing Policies
As the economy continues to flounder, I continue to hear Obama and his administration deny any responsibility whatsoever for the terrible economic conditions. He and his people continue to tout their "job proposals" and take credit for supposedly turning things around and saving us from a depression. The truth is, Obama's job-killing policies are directly responsible for the economic mess we are in today. The new taxes and regulations his administration has pushed for are toxic to private sector job growth and have stunted what should have been a normal recovery from the 2008-2009 recession.
The two most pressing political problems facing our country right now are the poor economy and the ballooning national debt. These issues are not unrelated, as the deficit grows much more quickly in a sluggish economy. Obama has failed miserably on both counts. He has made no effort whatsoever to address entitlement reform or to push for serious debt reduction and spending cuts. After all, attacking the GOP plan for wanting to throw granny out on the street is much easier than bothering to present your own plan! Under his "leadership," our country has lost its AAA bond rating -- a well-deserved downgrade. He has pushed for tax increases, played political games with the debt ceiling, masterminded huge stimulus bills full of waste and corruption, and pushed through a health care bill that puts a tremendous financial and regulatory burden on employers. Under the "leadership" of his crony Harry Reid, the U.S. Senate went for years without passing a budget (one of the most basic duties given to Congress is to pass a budget annually).
Most of the above items should be common knowledge to people with a passing familiarity with politics and current events. What is not common knowledge to many people, I fear, are the many job-killing regulations that Obama's administration is putting into place behind the scenes. Many of Obama's top administration officials are "czars" who were never confirmed by Congress to begin with and have a free hand to reshape our country's regulatory policies in a radical direction. I highly recommend reading this article in National Review, which highlights 10 of the worst Obama economic policies and what Republicans in Congress are trying to do to stop these policies from taking effect. The Wall Street Journal is another great source for understanding why Obama's policies are hurting our economy so much.
It is vital for Obama to be defeated in 2012. But in order for that to happen, people need to know just how destructive his policies have been to our country economically. They need to know that he isn't just unlucky; there is a direct link between his policies and our current problems. I would encourage you to take the opportunity to bring up some of the facts from the article linked to above next time you are in a conversation with someone about the economy. By educating ourselves and others about how the economy works and what policies create jobs and what policies kill jobs, we can make a difference for our country. If our country is going to have a future of freedom and prosperity, we MUST get someone in the White House with fiscal sanity who understands how a free market economy works.
On a somewhat related note, National Review published a great article last week discussing the issue of global warming. The myth of man-made global warming, or "climate change" as it is now officially designated, has become a political club in the hands of power-hungry politicians. It is the basis for myriad anti-growth economic policies that are contributing to our national joblessness, including several of the ones mentioned in the previous article. I recommend this article as a relatively concise summary of the problems with the "science" behind Obama's global warming policies.
The two most pressing political problems facing our country right now are the poor economy and the ballooning national debt. These issues are not unrelated, as the deficit grows much more quickly in a sluggish economy. Obama has failed miserably on both counts. He has made no effort whatsoever to address entitlement reform or to push for serious debt reduction and spending cuts. After all, attacking the GOP plan for wanting to throw granny out on the street is much easier than bothering to present your own plan! Under his "leadership," our country has lost its AAA bond rating -- a well-deserved downgrade. He has pushed for tax increases, played political games with the debt ceiling, masterminded huge stimulus bills full of waste and corruption, and pushed through a health care bill that puts a tremendous financial and regulatory burden on employers. Under the "leadership" of his crony Harry Reid, the U.S. Senate went for years without passing a budget (one of the most basic duties given to Congress is to pass a budget annually).
Most of the above items should be common knowledge to people with a passing familiarity with politics and current events. What is not common knowledge to many people, I fear, are the many job-killing regulations that Obama's administration is putting into place behind the scenes. Many of Obama's top administration officials are "czars" who were never confirmed by Congress to begin with and have a free hand to reshape our country's regulatory policies in a radical direction. I highly recommend reading this article in National Review, which highlights 10 of the worst Obama economic policies and what Republicans in Congress are trying to do to stop these policies from taking effect. The Wall Street Journal is another great source for understanding why Obama's policies are hurting our economy so much.
It is vital for Obama to be defeated in 2012. But in order for that to happen, people need to know just how destructive his policies have been to our country economically. They need to know that he isn't just unlucky; there is a direct link between his policies and our current problems. I would encourage you to take the opportunity to bring up some of the facts from the article linked to above next time you are in a conversation with someone about the economy. By educating ourselves and others about how the economy works and what policies create jobs and what policies kill jobs, we can make a difference for our country. If our country is going to have a future of freedom and prosperity, we MUST get someone in the White House with fiscal sanity who understands how a free market economy works.
On a somewhat related note, National Review published a great article last week discussing the issue of global warming. The myth of man-made global warming, or "climate change" as it is now officially designated, has become a political club in the hands of power-hungry politicians. It is the basis for myriad anti-growth economic policies that are contributing to our national joblessness, including several of the ones mentioned in the previous article. I recommend this article as a relatively concise summary of the problems with the "science" behind Obama's global warming policies.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
This Is What You Get When You Elect Somebody Who Never Even Ran a Lemonade Stand
“By reaching into virtually every sector of economic life, government is injecting uncertainty into the marketplace and making it harder to raise capital and create new businesses."
That statement didn't come from Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh. It came from Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, a big supporter of Obama and the president of the Business Roundtable which has been one of Obama's closest allies in the business community. Seidenberg went on to say that he was "troubled" and had to speak out because "the negative effects of [Obama's] policies are simply too significant to ignore." Another pro-Obama business leader, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, has also recently spoken out against Obama's policies, saying that Obama doesn't get along with the business community and is not working with them effectively. Of course, it would have been nice if these CEO's had spoken out BEFORE the health care bill passed instead of after it had already become law.
Read more about Obama's anti-business, anti-employment policies here. To paraphrase Reagan, "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job. And recovery is when Obama loses his job."
That statement didn't come from Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh. It came from Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, a big supporter of Obama and the president of the Business Roundtable which has been one of Obama's closest allies in the business community. Seidenberg went on to say that he was "troubled" and had to speak out because "the negative effects of [Obama's] policies are simply too significant to ignore." Another pro-Obama business leader, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, has also recently spoken out against Obama's policies, saying that Obama doesn't get along with the business community and is not working with them effectively. Of course, it would have been nice if these CEO's had spoken out BEFORE the health care bill passed instead of after it had already become law.
Read more about Obama's anti-business, anti-employment policies here. To paraphrase Reagan, "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job. And recovery is when Obama loses his job."
Friday, November 20, 2009
Economic Non-Recovery
Check out this great article in the Wall Street Journal about what Congress and the President are doing to ensure a non-recovery from this recession.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574537490451978558.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574537490451978558.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion
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