Fred's Thoughts on the Economy

Man, I wish this guy had been our nominee. This video is a little long, but well worth watching.

Thank goodness...

... for Al Gore. If it wasn't for him, not near as many would be as informed about all the global warming going on right now. But we're not doing nearly enought. In fact, my recommendation is that we all ditch our cars and switch to roller skates immediately before we all begin to cook like a Christmas ham.

And to all you cattle ranchers and dairy farmers out there that provide us with milk and meat, listen up. You all better get a handle on your cows and their farting! Don't you know that you're causing the polar icecaps to melt?!?! If you don't give those cows some Gas-X and soon, we're risking the end of life as we know it.

Just a warning...

Quick Note on Obama Appointments

I find two in particular quite amusing.

First, Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. It was Clinton who in the primaries said Obama was naive when it came to foreign policy, which incidentally I agree with. She will now be the major person in charge of implementing that policy.

Second, Bill Richardson as Secretary of Commerce. This is a guy whose state ranks 3rd in people below poverty level, above only Louisiana and Mississippi. Obviously a genious when it comes to the economy and creating conditions which encourage job creation.

Obama....seriously?

New Deal, Part Deux?

It looks like our 44th President has settled nicely into his "Office of the President Elect". Details of Obama's economic recovery plan have started to come out and it seems that he's taken a page from a couple of former presidents named Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. Rather than slash or temporarily do away with taxes for those evil companies that actually create jobs, we're going to have a nationwide, centrally controlled public works program and a plan to increase taxes, or at least let the Bush tax cuts expire (essentially a tax increase in itself). After all, that strategy worked so well in the 30's, didn't it? Not exactly. In fact, I believe the result of this was turning a normal business cycle recession into what we've come to know as the Great Depression.

Really, one of the only differences was that the Fed under Hoover and Roosevelt raised interest rates, constricting the money supply. As seen by our current bailout situation, a possible $1 trillion deficit in 2009, and the current Treasury Secretary trying to reduce mortgage rates to 4.5%, a constricting money supply is not really our problem. It's starting to be quite the opposite.

Nevertheless, a public works program will not solve the problem. It will merely put a Band-Aid, and a weak one at that, on the problem to attempt to mask the symptoms. This isn't change we can believe in. This is a page from an 80-year old playbook which has been proven to fail. One of the definitions of insanity is to attempt the same thing over and over and expect a different result.

One of the best ideas I've seen is by a fellow Texan, Congressman Louie Gohmert. His plan would basically take the $350 billion from the original bailout plan which has not yet been spent and instead give a federal tax holiday to all Americans for January and February. This would include both income tax and FICA. This is ingenious. I don't think it's up for discussion that we can spend (or save) money far more efficiently than Paulson, Pelosi, and Reid. It's also not welfare or redistribution of wealth. It's simply allowing every American to keep what they earn. This would without a doubt provide an unbelievable lift to the economy. Unfortunately, it will definitely require an incredible grassroots effort in a very short amount of time if it stands any chance at all. Most politicians will not be in favor of it, as people will realize very quickly exactly how much money the government has been skimming off the top of their paycheck and it won't make them very happy. Politicians seem to count on most people not realizing the difference in their actual pay and their take-home pay.

To sign a petition on the matter, click here. I've already done so, and if you care about the economy recovering through the power of the people rather than tanking further through the bumbling idiocy of politicians, I encourage you to do so as well.

A quick word of advice to Obama. If you're going to want this country to pull itself out of its current mess, you're going to have to trust the American people. Trust that we, given all of our unique situations, know how to spend our money far better than you ever could hope to. We also know where not to spend our money, mainly at businesses that are not run competently enough to stay afloat. That's one lesson our Congress and current administration have not seemed to learn.

This is Awesome...

I've been meaning to post this for the past week and a half but have been too busy. This is just classic. Some idiot has too much to drink, makes the decision to get behind the wheel, and runs over someone. To find out why this case is so different than what we usually hear about, you'll have to click here.

Sometimes, there is justice in the world after all.