Saturday, April 04, 2009

Great Depression?

Interesting news coming down the wires today. The U.S. unemployment rate soared from 8.1% to 8.5%.

The stunning thing is, this is the highest it's been since 1983, at the height of the Great Depression!

Oh - wait - that's not during the Great Depression, that was back in the 1930s, not the 1980s. I guess they're hoping no one notices that we're still not as bad off as we were about thirty years ago, when the unemployment rate was higher, interest rates were all in the double digits, and inflation was a real thing - not something to be held off by risking deflation.

This reminds me of the Global Warming dopes who moan that it's now the warmest it's been since the 14th Century (back in the heyday of unjustifiably huge SUVs, right?). Nice headline to scare the sheeple, as long as they don't think about what they've been told ... and sheeple don't think, they follow - to the slaughter.

grr.

Monday, March 30, 2009

His Royal Highness

All hail King Barack the first of the People's Republic of Amerika!

Showing no respect for persons or property, our fearless leader has fired the CEO of a private corporation, has encouraged ex post facto bills of attainder, has handed over unborn children to the ministrations of modern-day Mengeles, all in the name of Hope and Change.

With the fall of the Constitution, the last vestiges of limited government have finally been shaken off the titanic shoulders of our anointed leader. There is no longer anything to limit our progress toward effective government.

I tremble at the thought of what comes next. After all, if there is nothing in the Constitution itself that can stop the federal government from running rough-shod over the people, why should any of the Amendments - especially the Bill of Rights - matter to them either?
  • Out of control legislators in Connecticut attempt to run the Catholic church
  • The White House - with the benefit of several weeks of "study" - seeing itself as vastly more qualified to run an automotive firm than the folks who've been there restructuring them to meet the confluence of circumstance and misregulation pouring into the heartland from DC
  • Hypocritical politicians (please pardon the redundancy) posturing their outrage at the bonuses they specifically authorized
  • The list - disturbingly - seems only to grow with each passing day.
OK, I've calmed down a little. Here's a quote from the president's statement regarding GM and Chrysler:
"We cannot, and must not, and we will not let our auto industry simply vanish," Obama said at the White House. "This industry is like no other, it's an emblem of the American spirit ... And we cannot continue to excuse poor decisions. And we cannot make the survival of our auto industry dependent on an unending flow of taxpayer dollars. These companies -- and this industry -- must ultimately stand on their own, not as wards of the state."
Therefore, the federal government will now make all decisions for these companies?
A few observations:
"We" don't have an auto industry. There is an auto industry, part of which is based in these United States, but it's owned by the shareholders of the various companies - NOT by the people. Sill, it's hard to disagree with the president's assertion that we cannot continue to excuse poor decisions - and one hopes that each and every self-serving ersatz statesman in public "service" who's up for reelection will be bounced out on his or her ear at the earliest possible opportunity.

According the the Washington Post (not one of my usual news sources, in case you were wondering), one of the key points of contention between the companies and the Obama administration is just how large the U.S. auto market will be in the future. General Motors has offered a more optimistic scenario and shaped its business plan accordingly. So, the president is upset that GM is planning not to shrink enough for his taste - all while bloviating about the necessity of "our" maintaining "our" auto industry. Well done.

Of course, in the meanwhile, Treasury's printing presses are being prepped for a workout, the proportions of which haven't been seen since the days of the Weimar Republic. "We'll inflate our way out of debt; yeah, that's the ticket." Can't wait for the wallpapering parties to come: "Anyone have an extra $5? I've got a little space left here on the wall, and I'm out."

grr