Photo Credit: WhiteHouse.gov
By Rick Manning — Tonight President Barack Obama is expected to declare that the job of debt reduction is almost done in State of the Union speech. Combined with his campaign arm, slyly called Campaign for America’s Future, sending an email alert out with the subject line, “Don’t let Republicans destroy the economy” you would think that Obama had turned the corner and he was moving the budget toward balance.
But no, because government spending is baked into the books on how the Gross Domestic Product is arrived at, any real cuts in government spending are, in Obama’s book, a threat to our economy. So, now the same Obama who declared victory when the debt ceiling was increased by $2.1 trillion in exchange for modest spending cuts, is saying the very cuts that he signed into law are a threat to the economy?
Of course, any one who was paying attention knew that Obama had no intention to allow any cuts in spending to occur, and the Kabuki dance of the past two years over cutting the trillion dollar plus annual deficit is now revealed for nothing more than political theatre.
The same Obama who claimed in his campaign ads that he has a plan to lower the national debt, now claims that the only road to economic prosperity is to continue spending trillions of dollars more than we have for as far as the eye can see.
And it is this, now transparent Obama, an out of the closet, unrepentant believer in the magic of massive government deficits against whom Republicans will have to choose whether to make a stand.
I wouldn’t bet my paycheck that our nation isn’t staring higher taxes along with fake “budget cuts” that only reduce the size of the growth of government aren’t the end result of this next showdown ensuring more trillion dollar deficits and putting the House Republicans into a permanent minority.
At least if they choose not to fight for fiscal sanity, Congress could instead do us all a favor and just pass a two year funding measure for the federal government, so we don’t get subjected to their Charley Brownesque attempts to kick a spending cut field goal with Obama playing Lucy VanPelt constantly pulls the ball away.
Instead, Congress should just play the game one more time, get whatever they can, and then, just go home.
While I hope it doesn’t come to Congress declaring victory as they raise the white flag on cutting spending, there is no evidence that any other result is likely to occur. And the world will watch in utter amazement as a nation conceived in liberty, formed from the blood of patriots goes down from the tacit acceptance of this growing leviathan which can never be tamed for fear of “destroying the economy.”
Obama Interior Secretary got Obamacare waiver, after supporting passage
In just another example of the nothing’s changed in Washington, D.C. file, outdoor outfitter CEO Sally Jewell was recently appointed to head the Department of Interior by President Obama.
Jewell’s most significant foray into politics was in her role as CEO in 2009, when she urged that Congress pass Obamacare legislation in a joint appearance with the President.
Not surprisingly, the Obama connected Jewell, then managed to get her company, outdoor outfitter, REI exempted from provisions of Obamacare in 2011.
Now, in 2013, Obama has appointed her to the Cabinet post which overseas our national parks, but also most importantly whether other federal lands should allow for the same kind of energy development that is turning North Dakota into an oasis of economic growth.
Beyond the obvious question of whether the quid pro quo game in D.C. should be that obvious, or is Obama’s binder of competent people so small that he couldn’t find anyone who wasn’t such a blatant hypocrite in urging legislation for the rest of us, so long as her own company got exempted for a while.
Of course, in the world where Obama resides, Jewell’s top qualification is likely that she also sits on the board of an environmental group which currently has a number of lawsuits pending against the Interior Department as well as other federal government agencies.
Hmmm. I wonder how those cases are going to turn out?
Greenie, Enviro protesters destroy park
Remember those friendly Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters who decided to camp out all last winter in some of America’s finest inner city parks?
Not surprisingly, the cost to the taxpayers is now being tabulated and it is reported that one Washington, D.C. park was effectively destroyed by the hippies who look like they got lost on their way to a Grateful Dead concert. The kicker is that the park had just been restored using $400,000 of taxpayer “stimulus” monies.
So, the OWS people protesting the bankers, destroyed a park paid for by federal government borrowing which is at least partially financed by — those very bankers who of course make interest off the lending. Now, the federal government will likely spend another $400,000 to repair the damage, borrowing even more money from the despised Wall Street briefcase carriers.
Next time an OWS protest comes to town, cities need to put up a not welcome sign, and tell them to just go back to playing video games in their parent’s basements.
Rick Manning is the Vice President of Public Policy & Communications for Americans for Limited Government.
