Obamanomics: A Recipe for a Depression

Obamanomics:  A Recipe for a Depression 

Barack Obama wants us to believe that his policies have created an economic upturn.  He promised that his “stimulus” package would keep unemployment under 8%.  Tell that to the 10% of unemployed Americans.

Our President must have been born on opposite day, because his policies are exactly opposite of what America needs to do to return to prosperity.  His policies are a recipe for creating an economic depression that could make the Great Depression look like child’s play.

In order to turn a recession into a depression you have to first create a recession and that’s exactly what the party of Carter, Clinton, and Obama did when they passed the Community Reinvestment Act (Carter).  Then you change the act to encourage subprime loans to people who cannot afford the loans (Clinton with the help of Chris Dodd and Barney Frank), and then refuse to make changes proposed by President Bush to avert the collapse of Freddie Mac (Reid and Pelosi with the support of then Senator Obama).

President Obama is now doing his best to turn a recession created by misguided liberal policies into another economic depression.  His formula consists of liberal policies that have never worked before and are guaranteed to fail again.

1.          Spending.  Spend billions and now trillions of dollars we don’t have to on failed “stimulus” programs that only make the economy worse and that our children and grandchildren will be forced to pay.

2.          Inflation.  Create runaway inflation through more government spending of money that we have to borrow from China and other non-friendly lenders.

3.          Bailouts.  Bail out Wall Street banks with the money of hard working Americans.  Bush helped with this too, and Obama voted for it as a US Senator.

4.          Takeovers.  Without any Constitutional authority whatsoever, take over failing businesses like Chrysler and General Motors, giving half of the business to the unions who were the primary cause of the business failure in the first place.

5.          Taxes.  Raise corporate and capital gains taxes making it harder for companies to prosper and expand, and driving many of them out of business. 

6.          More Taxes.  Raise taxes on all working Americans by letting the Bush tax cuts expire.

7.          Even More Taxes.  Propose “carbon taxes” that will raise gasoline prices to European levels of $7 to $10 per gallon and drive up the cost of heating and air conditioning, all in pursuit of solving a problem that doesn’t exist, global warming.

8.          Socialist Schemes.  Instigate a massive socialized medicine program against the wishes of the American people that will cost billions and perhaps trillions of dollars more, and cause the rationing of medical services, doctor and nurse shortages, lower quality medical care, less innovation, and higher mortality rates.

9.          Regulations.  Impose massive regulations on businesses and the banking system that will further stifle economic growth.

10.      Unions.  Bail out the unions that have bankrupted states like California by sending “stimulus” money.

11.      Raises.  Increase the pay and benefits of government workers (including members of Congress) while those who create goods and services in the free market continue to suffer.

12.      Expand Government.  Hire tens of thousands of additional government employees, including 10,000 new IRS employees, to further burden the taxpayer and to hinder and destroy yet more productive jobs in the free market.

We’ve been here before, folks.  By the fall of 1932 the United States was coming out of a depression.  But it was at that point that the wild spending, government expansion, and social engineering schemes of the Roosevelt administration kicked in.  The result?  The United States was in an economic depression for eight years longer than the rest of the world.

There is only one way to get out of a recession and Ronald Reagan proved that once and for all:

1.          Reduce Government Spending.  Cut government spending 10% across the board.  This will reduce our indebtedness to non-friendly nations, spur economic growth, and stabilize the dollar.  It will also end the threat of runaway inflation.  Ronald Reagan only reduced the rate of increase (falsely reported and still recounted today as cuts), but even that sped economic recovery.

2.          Cut Taxes.  We must cut taxes across the board, stimulating economic growth and creating jobs.  It worked for Calvin Coolidge, it worked for John F. Kennedy, and it worked for Ronald Reagan (who faced much more difficult economic circumstances than this recession).  Who can forget the 22% home interest rates, 11% unemployment and 16% inflation brought on by the misguided liberal policies of Jimmy Carter?  Tax cuts not only spur economic growth, but actually increase tax revenues as they did under Ronald Reagan.

3.          Shrink Government.  Reduce the size of government across the board (except for the military and the judicial system) by 10%.  The last thing a weak economy needs is more bureaucrats harassing businesses with crippling regulations in the middle of a recession. 

4.          Enterprise Zones.  Create enterprise zones in severely depressed areas that reduce corporate taxes by 75%.

5.          End Socialist Schemes.  There is never a good time for social engineering and this is absolutely the worst time.  Americans don’t want socialized medicine in any format and Obamacare will only make health care and the economy worse for all Americans.  Free market solutions are the only approach compatible with the philosophy of our Founders and with the United States Constitution.

6.          No More Bank Bailouts.  Banks that fail through mismanagement should fail.  If there is a liquidity problem, do three things that will flood the economy with much needed capital:

A.          Suspend capital gains taxes.

B.          Declare a tax holiday on foreign earnings by American companies.

C.          Suspend corporate taxes.

7.          No More Business Bailouts.  Businesses that make bad decisions should fail.  When government interferes in the marketplace it only causes problems and hurts the economy. 

8.          No More Union Bailouts.  States that agreed to collective bargaining, like California (under Jerry Brown), need to solve their own problems by shrinking the size of government, cutting taxes, and through pension reform.

9.          End Global Warming Schemes.  Scientists (real, not political) now know that global warming and cooling is a result of a natural cycle.  Schemes based on faulty science lead to economic disasters and a loss of individual freedom. 

10.      Energy.  Create energy independence and economic growth by allowing domestic drilling for oil and gas.  Tens of thousands of jobs would be instantly created benefiting all Americans and ensuring ample supplies of low cost energy for all Americans.

11.      Power.  Allow the construction of safe, pollution free nuclear power plants, thereby creating jobs, low cost electricity, and greater energy independence.

12.      Reduce Red Tape.  Government interference by Dodd and Frank set off the banking crisis by encouraging loans to people who could not afford them.  The new banking regulations should be repealed and further deregulation of the marketplace will spur economic growth.

13.      Cut Government Pay.  Cut the pay of all government employees, including members of Congress and the White House, by 10%.  Those who are a burden on the economy as government employees should share the burden of hard economic times.  The last thing America needs is more government employees who create no consumer goods and services, but instead hinder economic growth.

The old, tired, worn out, failed policies of Franklin Roosevelt that exacerbated the economic crisis of the 1930s are not the solution.  Calvin Coolidge, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan showed that prudent common sense—smaller government, lower taxes—which places its confidence in the American people is the answer to solving America’s precarious economic situation. 

Will we be able to end the misguided policies of President Obama before he successfully creates another Great Depression?  We’ll find out this November.