IT SEEMS THAT A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS WE FACE ARE A "LACK OF LEADERSHIP"
The President likes to "leak" a lot of things he seems to be "for," but when it comes to actually putting any kind of plan out there, he is mute, silent and then critical of anything others propose. That isn't leadership. That is "playing politics." Now he is into his "blame shifting" mode---blaming the Republicans for walking away from his amorphous, ill-defined, and never once written down "wishes." John Boehner put it well when he said that, "working with the White House is like working with Jell-O." Obama is shifty and shiftless--and is cleverly forcing the GOP to "negotiate with itself." Good for Boehner for walking out. WARNING: The so-called cuts Obama is referring to are "suggested cuts," which are non-binding. Calling Obama "Two-faced" would be a compliment. He has at least 3-4 faces, maybe more. Anybody want to bet that most of those suggested budget cuts would never happen? Not while Obama is in the White House! That is so much B-S!
THE DANGER OF MISINFORMATION--A HUGE PROBLEM
We are all forming opinions based on the information we get--from media: print, cable TV, the Internet, and correspondents we speak or email with--or research we do independently (which still has the challenge of verifying its accuracy and content). The problem of misinformation is HUGE! For example, here in OH, a law named SB5 (Senate Bill 5) was passed, which dramatically affected the rights of public unions and their members. Its intention was to rein in the runaway costs of wages, benefits and other rules that have elevated public union employees to much higher than their (taxpayer) counterparts in the private sector. This is a similar action to those being taken in IN, NJ, WI, etc. It is way past due and very necessary.
We are all forming opinions based on the information we get--from media: print, cable TV, the Internet, and correspondents we speak or email with--or research we do independently (which still has the challenge of verifying its accuracy and content). The problem of misinformation is HUGE! For example, here in OH, a law named SB5 (Senate Bill 5) was passed, which dramatically affected the rights of public unions and their members. Its intention was to rein in the runaway costs of wages, benefits and other rules that have elevated public union employees to much higher than their (taxpayer) counterparts in the private sector. This is a similar action to those being taken in IN, NJ, WI, etc. It is way past due and very necessary.
BUT--THE UNIONS AND MEDIA HAVE DISTORTED ITS REAL PURPOSE AND CONTENT SO BADLY--IT MAY BE REPEALED BY REFERENDUM, COME NOV.2011
Few people really know what SB% contains. Many have mistaken impressions formed by Union advertising campaigns and word of mouth from Union members who are trying to protect their "overpaid" and "overprivileged" positions against being reduced to "competitive" levels. AND IT IS WORKING! THAT IS BAD. The challenge is to get the public in general to consider the fact and alternative outcomes, and not just "feel sorry for the poor public employees." These are people who have been earning much higher (from 125% to 200%) wages and benefits than comparable jobs in the private sector--which are the taxpayers who pay for the higher wages and benefits. Talk about an issue of fairness.
IF YOU DO NOT VOICE YOUR OPINION ON THIS ISSUE, THE REFERENDUM WILL REPEAL SB5, AND WE WILL BE RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED--WITH UNFAIR, UNEVEN WAGE & BENEFIT PAYMENTS--(TEMPTING TO JUST CONTRACT THEM OUT TO PRIVATE FIRMS AND SAVE TAXPAYERS MILLIONS)
Sure, teachers and firefighters and police are important in our society--but these groups are not the only public employees. There are more administrators, clerical folks, bus drivers, janitors, maintenance people, toll collectors, etc. etc. all of whom are "overpaid" when compared to the competitive marketplace. These jobs could (and might be, if SB5 is repealed) outsourced to private contractors. The liquor stores, toll roads and some prisons are well along to that path. Why not school administrators? For that matter, why not entire school systems. Privately operated schools are performing miracles with some tough, inner city kids (when parents are supportive).
BACK TO SCHOOL SPENDING WILL NOT DECLINE MUCH--STAY ABOUT THE SAME--A RELATIVE "NECESSITY"
Families with students in kindergarten through 12th grade plan to spend an average of about $603.63 on apparel and supplies, down less than 1 percent from $606.40 a year earlier, the National Retail Federation said, citing a survey of 8,684 consumers conducted by BIGresearch from July 1 to July 6. Slowing US economic growth and the 9.2 percent unemployment rate may weigh on shopping in the season, which trails only the holidays as retailers’ second-largest sales period of the year. About 44 percent of shoppers said the economy was forcing them to spend less, the group said. “Families aren’t opposed to spending on what they need, but parents want their children to take a good look around at what they already have before deciding what to buy for back to school this year,” said Matthew Shay, president of the Washington-based NRF, said in a statement.
NOW HERE IS A VIABLE SOLUTION!
NOW HERE IS A VIABLE SOLUTION!
"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for re-election." —Warren Buffet July 8, 2011
THE RECOVERY--IT'S NOT HAPPENING--AND WON'T FOR A LONG TIME, AT LEAST NOT LIKE WE USED TO KNOW THEM
If you want to learn something enlightening, check what growth assumptions the Obama planners are using to project the deficits we will be running in the years ahead (record deficits at that). The assumptions on growth are "pie in the sky" high--4-5%. That is simply not going to happen anytime soon--at least not until our government "gets real" about what it plans to do and quits torturing businesses and the American people with fear, uncertainly and doubt. Yes, it's the old FUD Factor still with us. Consumers afraid to spend because the jobs outlook stinks; businesses afraid to hire because the demand outlook stinks; and the government creating large does of doubt (that it knows what to do to help the situation), uncertainly (about what new taxes and regulations Obama's agency heads will enact next), and fear that the growth outlook is not good; this leads to starting the cycle all over again...afraid to spend, afraid to hire, afraid of government intervention, etc. etc. etc.
WHEN THE PEOPLE IN A COUNTRY SEE THEIR ELECTED LEADERS UNABLE TO DO WHAT THEY KNOW MUST BE DONE
They simply shake their heads and hunker down. What do you do in your home (or business) life when the money runs out? YOU QUIT SPENDING! Sure, you look for loans to tide you over, but those are hard to find, expensive and temporary. Sure, you look for new revenue--a second or third job (hard to find, maybe impossible), a higher paying job (fugettaboudit), or more sales revenue (you better have a great, innovative new idea).
HOW DO WE BREAK OUT OF THIS? TURN THE OUTLOOK POSITIVE: CUT GOV'T SPENDING TO REIN IN DEFICITS, CUT TAXES TO GIVE CONSUMERS MORE OF THEIR INCOME TO SPEND, REMOVE A TON OF REGULATIONS THAT DON'T NEED TO BE THERE.
Watch the economy start to grow--still not as fast as in the past because there have been large structural changes: jobs eliminated by productivity and technology, some jobs gone forever (low skill factory jobs), others a reduced to a small fraction of before (travel agents, proof-readers/editors), and many others a victim of bad policies (minimum wage workers too expensive for the lowest tier of jobs).
MIDDLE CLASS JOB LOSSES--AN INTERESTING ASSORTMENT
The middle class jobs with the largest decline in recent times might (or might not) surprise you: Travel agents (the least drop--only down 14% over past 5 years), Vocational Education Middle School Teachers, Broadcast News Analysts, Ag Engineers, Transit & Rail Police, Law Clerks (down 23% over 5 years), Proofreaders and Copy Markers, Math Technicians, Advertising and Promotion Managers (down 32%), Comp & Benefits Managers (down 34%). Surprised? I was. Not factory workers, not truck drivers, and not even construction workers, which I think surely dropped a lot more than 1/3 (but probably weren't counted as "middle class" jobs).
SEE THE STRUCTURAL SHIFTS? WANT TO GUESS WHICH JOBS INCREASED FASTEST?
No surprises here: Of the top 18, 15 involved health-care related jobs (13 for humans and 2 for animals--Vets and Vet assistants!): Biomedical engineers, Network systems/data analysts, Home health aides, Financial examiners, Medical scientists, Physician assistants, Biochemists/biophysicists, Athletic trainers, Physical therapist aides, Dental hygienists, Vet techs, Dental Assistants, Computer software engineers, Medical assistants, Physical therapist assistants, Veterinarians. I guess now you know where to look for jobs. It's not in factories, or retail shops either.
THAT'S PLENTY FOR TODAY
Stay cool, and hope that the circus in Washington comes to some sort of useful conclusion... like cutting a lot of spending and not increasing many taxes.
BEST, JOHN
PS: For another good column, read on....
---------------------------------
BUY IT NOW: THE CHINESE CONSPIRACY
http://www.thechineseconspiracy.com
Come see me on Forbes.com and on American Express Open Forum. Just search for Mariotti.
BUY IT NOW: THE CHINESE CONSPIRACY
http://www.thechineseconspiracy.com
Come see me on Forbes.com and on American Express Open Forum. Just search for Mariotti.
John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959 http://www.mariotti.net, http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
========================HERE'S THE PROBLEM WITH THE DEBT CEILING AND THE NATIONAL DEBT IN GENERAL--KRAUTHAMMER SAYS IT WELL
President has done nothing to fix the debt
BY CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, Sunday, July 10, 2011 03:10 AM
Here we go again. An approaching crisis. A looming deadline. Nervous markets. And then, from the miasma of gridlock rises our president, calling upon those unruly congressional children to quit squabbling, stop kicking the can down the road and get serious about debt.
This from the man who:
• Ignored the debt problem for two years by kicking the can to a commission.
• Promptly ignored the commission's December 2010 report.
• Delivered a State of the Union address that didn't even mention the word debt until 35 minutes in.
• Delivered in February a budget so embarrassing that the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected it 97-0.
• Took a budget mulligan with his April 13 debt-plan speech. Asked in Congress how this new "budget framework" would affect the actual federal budget, Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf replied with a devastating "We don't estimate speeches." You can't assign numbers to air.
President Barack Obama assailed the lesser mortals who inhabit Congress for not having seriously dealt with a problem he had not dealt with at all, then scolded Congress for being even less responsible than his own children. They apparently get their homework done on time.
My compliments. But the Republican House did do its homework. It's called a budget. It passed the House on April 15. The Democratic Senate has produced no budget - for two years running. As for the schoolmaster-in-chief, he produced two 2012 budget facsimiles: The first (February) was a farce and the second (April) was empty, dismissed by the CBO as nothing but words untethered to real numbers.
Obama has run disastrous annual deficits of around $1.5 trillion while insisting for months on a "clean" debt-ceiling increase, i.e., with no budget cuts at all. Yet suddenly he now rises to champion major long-term debt reduction, scorning any suggestions of a short-term debt-limit deal as can-kicking.
The flip-flop is transparently political. A short-term deal means another debt-ceiling fight before Election Day, a debate that would put Obama on the defensive and distract from the Mediscare campaign to which the Democrats are clinging to save them in 2012.
A clever strategy it is: Do nothing (see above); invite the Republicans to propose real debt reduction first; and when they do - voting for the Ryan budget and its now infamous and courageous Medicare reform - demagogue them to death.
And then up the ante by demanding Republican agreement to tax increases. So: First you get the GOP to seize the left's third rail by daring to lay a finger on entitlements. Then you demand the GOP seize the right's third rail by violating its no-tax pledge. A full-spectrum electrocution. Brilliant.
And what have been Obama's own debt-reduction ideas? In last month's news conference, he railed against the tax break for corporate jet owners - six times.
I did the math. If you collect that tax for the next 5,000 years - that is not a typo - it would equal the new debt Obama racked up last year alone. To put it another way, if we had levied this tax at the time of John the Baptist and collected it every year since - first in shekels, then in dollars - we would have 500 years to go before we could offset half of the debt added by Obama last year alone.
Obama's other favorite debt-reduction refrain is canceling an oil-company tax break. Well, if you collect that oil tax and the corporate jet tax for the next 50 years - you will not yet have offset Obama's deficit spending for February 2011.
After his Thursday meeting with bipartisan congressional leadership, Obama adopted yet another persona: Cynic-in-chief became compromiser-in-chief. Highly placed leaks are portraying him as heroically prepared to offer Social Security and Medicare cuts.
We shall see. It's no mystery what is needed. First, entitlement reform that changes the inflation measure, introduces means testing, then syncs the (lower) Medicare eligibility age with Social Security's and indexes them both to longevity. And second, real tax reform, both corporate and individual, that eliminates myriad loopholes in return for lower tax rates for everyone.
That's real debt reduction. Yet even now, we don't know where the president stands on any of this. Until we do, I'll follow the Elmendorf Rule: We don't estimate leaks. Let's see if Obama can suspend his 2012 electioneering long enough to keep the economy from going over the debt cliff.
Charles Krauthammer writes for the Washington Post Writers Group.
[email protected]
President has done nothing to fix the debt
BY CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, Sunday, July 10, 2011 03:10 AM
Here we go again. An approaching crisis. A looming deadline. Nervous markets. And then, from the miasma of gridlock rises our president, calling upon those unruly congressional children to quit squabbling, stop kicking the can down the road and get serious about debt.
This from the man who:
• Ignored the debt problem for two years by kicking the can to a commission.
• Promptly ignored the commission's December 2010 report.
• Delivered a State of the Union address that didn't even mention the word debt until 35 minutes in.
• Delivered in February a budget so embarrassing that the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected it 97-0.
• Took a budget mulligan with his April 13 debt-plan speech. Asked in Congress how this new "budget framework" would affect the actual federal budget, Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf replied with a devastating "We don't estimate speeches." You can't assign numbers to air.
President Barack Obama assailed the lesser mortals who inhabit Congress for not having seriously dealt with a problem he had not dealt with at all, then scolded Congress for being even less responsible than his own children. They apparently get their homework done on time.
My compliments. But the Republican House did do its homework. It's called a budget. It passed the House on April 15. The Democratic Senate has produced no budget - for two years running. As for the schoolmaster-in-chief, he produced two 2012 budget facsimiles: The first (February) was a farce and the second (April) was empty, dismissed by the CBO as nothing but words untethered to real numbers.
Obama has run disastrous annual deficits of around $1.5 trillion while insisting for months on a "clean" debt-ceiling increase, i.e., with no budget cuts at all. Yet suddenly he now rises to champion major long-term debt reduction, scorning any suggestions of a short-term debt-limit deal as can-kicking.
The flip-flop is transparently political. A short-term deal means another debt-ceiling fight before Election Day, a debate that would put Obama on the defensive and distract from the Mediscare campaign to which the Democrats are clinging to save them in 2012.
A clever strategy it is: Do nothing (see above); invite the Republicans to propose real debt reduction first; and when they do - voting for the Ryan budget and its now infamous and courageous Medicare reform - demagogue them to death.
And then up the ante by demanding Republican agreement to tax increases. So: First you get the GOP to seize the left's third rail by daring to lay a finger on entitlements. Then you demand the GOP seize the right's third rail by violating its no-tax pledge. A full-spectrum electrocution. Brilliant.
And what have been Obama's own debt-reduction ideas? In last month's news conference, he railed against the tax break for corporate jet owners - six times.
I did the math. If you collect that tax for the next 5,000 years - that is not a typo - it would equal the new debt Obama racked up last year alone. To put it another way, if we had levied this tax at the time of John the Baptist and collected it every year since - first in shekels, then in dollars - we would have 500 years to go before we could offset half of the debt added by Obama last year alone.
Obama's other favorite debt-reduction refrain is canceling an oil-company tax break. Well, if you collect that oil tax and the corporate jet tax for the next 50 years - you will not yet have offset Obama's deficit spending for February 2011.
After his Thursday meeting with bipartisan congressional leadership, Obama adopted yet another persona: Cynic-in-chief became compromiser-in-chief. Highly placed leaks are portraying him as heroically prepared to offer Social Security and Medicare cuts.
We shall see. It's no mystery what is needed. First, entitlement reform that changes the inflation measure, introduces means testing, then syncs the (lower) Medicare eligibility age with Social Security's and indexes them both to longevity. And second, real tax reform, both corporate and individual, that eliminates myriad loopholes in return for lower tax rates for everyone.
That's real debt reduction. Yet even now, we don't know where the president stands on any of this. Until we do, I'll follow the Elmendorf Rule: We don't estimate leaks. Let's see if Obama can suspend his 2012 electioneering long enough to keep the economy from going over the debt cliff.
Charles Krauthammer writes for the Washington Post Writers Group.
[email protected]
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