By William Warren
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They’ve said it before. And now they’re saying it again. And again. And again…
Act now or the country is doomed. Spend now or the economy will immediately spiral into an irreversible apocalyptic ruin.
It’s become such an enduring, oft-repeated mantra that by now one would think President Obama would no longer need his ubiquitous teleprompter to cue the language. Either way, he keeps on saying it. And the American people keep listening. And his glassy-eyed minions keep on listening—and mindlessly chanting—in lockstep response.
For instance, as Mr. Obama warned in his Tuesday night, prime-time press conference:
“At the end of the day, the best way to bring our deficit down in the long run is not with a budget that continues the very same policies that have led to a narrow prosperity and massive debt. It’s with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest…
That’s why this budget is inseparable from this recovery — because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.”
And there it is again.
According to the President, his unprecedented $3.6 trillion budget is inextricably linked to economic recovery. Hence, if the budget is not passed, the country is doomed and the economy will immediately spiral into an irreversible apocalyptic ruin.
Sound familiar? That’s the point.
Such language and logic was used to push the $787 billion “stimulus” package as well as the $3.325 trillion spent on the bank bailout—thus far, of course. It’s also worth noting that Mr. Obama’s budget calls for yet another $750 billion for TARP funds—even though last year’s “urgently needed” TARP was supposed to do the trick.
The facts are clear enough—President Barack Obama has spent more money—more quickly—in the name of Big Government than any prior President. And that is why this Administration has continually relied on fear and paranoia and the propagation of outright myths to push its agenda forward—all the while neglecting sound logic and simple economic sensibility.
On House Minority Leader John Boehner’s website, a number of such myths are outlined in full. One of the refuted claims made by Barack Obama is that his $3.6 trillion budget will miraculously cut the national deficit in half by his first term. If the outright lunacy of such a claim wasn’t already clear enough, Representative Boehner further articulates the point as follows:
“A report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released last Friday demonstrates that President Obama’s budget – and the massive new spending it entails – will cost taxpayers $2.3 trillion more than initially claimed by the White House. By any measure, this unprecedented spending binge will have significant consequences for taxpayers now and future generations for decades to come…
The Obama budget lays the foundation for heaping massive amounts of debt on our children and grandchildren. According to the CBO, the President’s budget will add $9.3 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. This would lead to unprecedented borrowing, with debt held by the public increasing from 41 percent of GDP in 2008 to 82 percent of GDP in 2019.”
Simply put, the nation cannot spend, tax, and borrow its way out of this economic recession. Such a modus-operandi spells disaster faster than a high-speed teleprompter. Mr. Obama’s handlers know full well that sooner or later simple logic and level-headed thinking will expose this timeless truth. Hence, his bum’s rush fear-mongering.
Ironically enough, however, Americans should be scared—only not of what Barack Obama wants them to be scared of. They ought to be scared of the unquestioned authority and unbridled power a leader can seize when manipulating the fears of a populace. As Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel said:
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”
So as Mr. Obama, Timothy Geithner, and Rahm Emanuel continue preying on the fears of the country and doing things they “could not do before,” hopefully the American people will rise up and do what they’ve done many times before: resist the blatant encroachment of their freedoms—economic or otherwise.
The only thing they really have to fear is fear-mongering itself.
William Warren is a contributing editor of ALG News Bureau.
