Character not Capitalism
This issue at hand is neither about Bain Capital, private equity firms, nor about capitalism. It is about Mitt Romney’s judgment, morality and character. It was Romney’s decision to base his candidacy, in large part, on his background as a portfolio manager. Thus, it is entirely legitimate to ask questions about whether he is accurately presenting how he conducted himself during that career. This is of particular note considering Romney likes to wrap himself in the free market flag when his whole political career has been as an anti-business Progressive.
Bain is in the profit making business. They are not in the job creation business. Reports by the Wall Street Journal and others contradict Romney’s claims that it was his goal at Bain Capital to make companies more successful. Instead of accepting the responsibility to answer questions about his business background, the Romney campaign is throwing up a smokescreen about an attack on capitalism. Can someone explain to me how RomneyCare is free-market capitalism?
Electability: Gingrich
If you want to get rid of Obama, you have to first defeat Romney.
Jeffrey Andersen of the Weekly Standard penned an interesting article titled: “The case for Newt Gingrich” on December 31, three days prior to the Iowa caucus, questioning the assertion that Mitt Romney is the most electable candidate in the GOP field. Recall that before Barack Obama trounced John McCain in 2008, Mr. McCain trounced Mr. Romney. The enthusiasm gap does not favor Romney, as the one candidate who has led in the polls all along, is “Anybody But Romney.” The predictive markets still push a Romney victory just as the Washington establishment has chosen Romney as a victory fait accompli. They claim he’s the most electable, the safe bet. Fine; let’s play along.
First of all, let’s stipulate that this election will be about jobs, the economy and ObamaCare. And secondly, lets stipulate there are certain states that are critical to win on the electoral map. Beyond the fact that Obama is culpable to his record on jobs and the economy [Emphasis mine], Andersen points out, if one were to design a Republican opponent tailor-made to Obama’s liking, that opponent would be uniquely vulnerable to Obama’s main rhetorical thrust (making class-warfare arguments), uniquely unsuited to take aim at Obamacare (RomneyCare), and uniquely strong in states that are unlikely to matter in the general election race. In all three of these ways, Romney is made to order for Obama – while Newt Gingrich, is not.
Credentials: Gingrich
“Those who want to concentrate on the baggage in Newt Gingrich’s past, rather than on the nation’s future, should remember what Winston Churchill said: ‘If the past sits in judgment on the present, the future will be lost.’ If that means a second term for Barack Obama, then it means we’ve lost, big time.” - Thomas Sowell
The Introduction
There’s more to picking a Presidential candidate than just conservative platitudes. A President must be a statesman. And to have become President, one has to have earned their credentials. A credential is a specific qualification or achievement that shows you are qualified. A record of achievements. Unique attributes. Evidence or testimonial which bearer’s competence. In picking a President, my candidate has to have an orderly worldview, clarity of vision, proven credentials, and ability to lead and motivate the majority with conviction.
And, when the brilliant Thomas Sowell endorses Newt Gingrich, I sit up.
Gingrich ran the House as Speaker from 1995 to 1999 and was Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995. His accomplishments in government dwarf anything his rivals have managed to achieve nationally. When Newt became Speaker in 1995 congressional approval was about 20%. When he left the Speakership four years later, it was about 60%. Now it’s 11%. When Newt left the Speakership, the national debt was about $3 trillion. Now, its $15 trillion. When Newt left the Speakership, unemployment was 4.2%. Now, its roughly 9.0% for three years standing.
The crowd who are excoriating Gingrich are the exact same misfits that helped add $12 trillion to the debt, driven-down congressional approval to 11% and increased unemployment by a staggering 5%. Why do I care what the hell these people have to say? Who are they to deride Gingrich’s lack of leadership when they have showed none themselves? They’ve shunned conservative policy for over a decade, and favored Beltway influence-peddling at the expense of the people long after Gingrich exited. Gingrich’s agenda is a serious threat to the central planning mentality that permeates the ruling elite inside the beltway.
Jobless Report: 8.6 percent?
From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: BLS
The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 120,000 jobs last month and claimed that the unemployment rate fell to 8.6% in November. Specifically, private employers added a net gain of 140,000 jobs last month while governments, meanwhile, shed 20,000 jobs, mostly at the local and state level, resulting in a net gain of non-farm payroll employment rise of 120,000.
Employment trended up in retail trade, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. More than half the jobs added were by retailers, restaurants and bars, a sign that holiday hiring has kicked in. Retailers alone added 50,000 jobs. Leisure and hospitality added 22,000, with food service and bars up 33,000. In all, growth in non-farm payroll employment (+120,000) was lower than the 12-month average (+131,000).
Romney Fiscal Plan: Hypocrisy or Idiocy?
Romney Fiscal Plan: Hypocrisy or Idiocy?
Rome is burning. The federal government has a spending addiction. Our nation has made more than $63 trillion in unfunded promises, to be paid for by future generations. Those who are awake, agree we have to cut spending in a major way. It is what drives many of us. The solution is to reduce federal spending.
Explanation: The Economy Q3
GDP is made up of: Y=C+I+G+{(X-M)} …where Y=GDP.
C=Consumption, I=Investment, G=Government Spending, (X-M)=Net Exports, X=Exports, M=Imports.
[PRNewswire] — The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis today reported 2.5% growth in real gross domestic product [GDP] – the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States – for the third quarter [Q3] of 2011 according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis [BEA]. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.3%.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis goes on to say that the acceleration in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected accelerations in personal consumption expenditures
[PCE] and in nonresidential fixed investment and a smaller decrease in state and local government spending that were partly offset by a larger decrease in private inventory investment.
Mitt’s GOP Plank
Mitt’s GOP Plank – Talking Points
Mitt Romney opposed the two most successful conservative policy efforts of the last 30 years… the Reagan policies of the 1980`s and the Contract With America of the 1990`s. I have always been impressed with any so-called ‘self-proclaimed conservative’ or ‘Republican’ who parrots discredited Keynesian economic thinking, believes in man-made climate change and embraces government ‘mandates’ and social engineering.
There is nothing in Mitt Romney’s record that indicates that he is anything other than a liberal progressive Republican ‘masquerading’ as a palatable conservative. Mitt Romney represents everything that is wrong with the Republican Party and everything that has left us dying in a ditch. Pretend conservatives are what got us to where we are and are what will completely destroy us if allowed.
Romney: 47th Place in Jobs
“Romney went further than any other governor in trying to wring money out of corporations. Romney’s tax policies were not helpful for many small businesses. When Romney took many IRS subchapter ‘S’ businesses in Massachusetts and almost doubled their tax rates, it was an important disincentive to investment, growth and job creation.” - Peter Nicholas, founder of Boston Science Corporation CEO
Romney: 47 outta 50 – Fiscal Fail
In Massachusetts, Romney passed a host of new tax and fee increases, hitting the corporate world hard and devastating job creation. Mitt Romney has represented himself as a tax cutter. But HE IS NOT. He is a ‘fee’ increaser. A liberal Republican who governs like a progressive and disguises himself as a palatable conservative. The power to tax is the power to destroy. High tax rates destroy the incentive to invest and work and destroy economic growth and job creation.
Know Your Frequency
Know Your Frequency
The congeniality competition within the Republican ranks and the political hypocrisy from candidates reflects the problems of sincerity and truth in politics today, and how we deal with it reflects our own slipping into hypocrisy ourselves.
There’s just one requisite for being a conservative voter, and that is that you actually are one. Lying or fabricating about being one doesn’t make you one. And, the world seems to be full of those who helpfully want to redefine conservatism.
Well, thanks, but no thanks. The death of conservatism has always been a touching illusion of the left. The canyon between conservatism and Progressivism is vast and wide and having any rational discussion of the merits of big government with one who is blinded with Statist ideology is nonsensical.
Election 2012: 44′s Tipping Point
Tipping Point.
The distinction between personal popularity and job approval is central to understanding the nuances of polling. Samples too, are important when taking, and therefore understanding, these polls. Is it Adults? Likely voters? Registered voters? If it’s RV, what is the demographic mix? Women, college graduates, 24-30 age group, black, Hispanic, seniors? Etc, etc, etc.
Gallup’s final poll before the 2004 election showed Kerry was ahead among registered voters by 2 points, while Bush was ahead among likely voters by 2 points. The final election result? Bill Clinton had high personal unfavorables but high marks for job approval. He was re-elected (thanks Ross Perot) because people approved of his job performance even though they had a very low opinion of Clinton as a person. Obama appears to be the polar opposite of Clinton.
The Un-545 People
This article won’t make sense unless you have read the “The 545 People.”
It’s understandable why people love “The 545 People” article written by Charley Reese so much when we feel helpless to change our government.
I have never voted for an politician on the basis that I’d love him or her to show up at my next party. But, both admiration and self-contradiction has always been part of our history. Yet, today is a good day to contemplate the future of our country.
The 545 People – Charley Reese
George Carlin once said…”If you don’t like your elected officials, take a look in the mirror!
100 Senators, 435 members of the U.S. House, 1 President, and 9 Supreme Court Justices. = 545.
Velocity of Money: GDP Unplugged
GDP Unplugged.
If you use the Federal Reserve definition, the Velocity of Money is “a ratio of nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a measure of the money supply (M1 or M2). Simply put, it can be thought of as the rate of turnover in the money supply – that is, the number of times one dollar is used to purchase final goods and services included in GDP.
This is best understood by thinking about the concept of the Economic Multiplier Effect. Essentially, if I earn $100 and I save (say) $10.00 then I will spend the other $90.00. The person who receives the $90.00 will spend some and save some. In the same manner, a $100 injected into the economy by the Central Bank grows to become a multiple of the original $100.
So, you calculate the velocity of money by dividing the total GDP (a measure of the nations output) by the money supply.
If I haven’t bored you already yet, stay with me…
Downgrade to AA+
Downgrade to AA+ Ramifications
From Standard and Poors:
“The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.”
This is huge.
S&P lowered its AAA rating. And, adding insult to injury — S&P even attached a negative outlook to the new AA+ rating. But this decision has now taken place, and now the global system will have to adjust. There are consequences though – and uncertainties.
Election 2012: The States
The election…
Republican strategist Karl Rove, in his column in The Wall Street Journal June 23, made a compelling case why he thought President Obama would likely lose his reelection bid in 2012. Whereas, Rhodes Cook, in Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball, points out that amidst all the carnage, there is a big asset in Obama’s favor that has long been associated with presidents who successfully win reelection: a clear path to renomination.
