Vice President Joe Biden – Unfair Target?

For his detractors, VP Joe Biden might present the occasional gaffe that makes him an easy target.  And maybe harping over a few sound bits isn’t all that fair.  Such harping likely misses the greater importance of Mr. Biden’s words.

For example, with unemployment now well above where the government said “the stimulus” legislation would cap it, Vice President Joe Biden explained last Sunday (emphasis added):

Everyone guessed wrong at the time the estimate was made about what the state of the economy was at the moment this was passed.

In this case, the Vice President cuts right past politics and straight to honesty — we engaged in guessing on the economy, and guessing can be wrong.  This is refreshing and criticism shouldn’t be heaped upon Mr. Biden.  No, Mr. Biden has just offered up further evidence of why faith in a centralized governmental authority is not the answer.  He has spoken truth to a certain hubris that can creep into the “Big Government” crowd.

Campaign Without End

Discussing the political efforts of the President to get healthcare legislation passed, this passage comes from a Politico article:

To keep the pressure on, the Democratic National Committee embarked this week on a major fundraising campaign for a “Summer Organizer Program” that will hire hundreds of staffers for Organizing for America, the new name for the Obama campaign’s grassroots organization. The plan is to build a summer grassroots campaign around health care, an effort strategists believe will later morph into Obama’s reelection army.

Mobilize the troops.

$787 Billion Price Tag for Guesses ?!?!

Really?  In February, the government proclaimed a crises of such magnitude that debate on the “stimulus” legislation would be a reckless waste of time.  The legislation had to be passed immediately!

But now, with unemployment well above where the government said “the stimulus” legislation would cap it, Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday explained (emphasis added):

Everyone guessed wrong at the time the estimate was made about what the state of the economy was at the moment this was passed.

Though, everyone didn’t “guess” wrong as the IBD article indicates, maybe those who did simply rely on guess work to run the government would have fared better if thinking wasn’t actively discouraged.

*By the way, $787 Billion works out to around $2571 for every man, woman and child in the United States.  And that is just one piece of legislation.

Faith in Economic Guesses from the Central Command

With unemployment now well above where the government said “the stimulus” legislation would cap it, Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday explained (emphasis added):

Everyone guessed wrong at the time the estimate was made about what the state of the economy was at the moment this was passed.

Well, as the IBD article makes clear, everyone didn’t guess wrong.  More interesting though, is the bizarre faith in government to run the economy when the  institution is apparently run on shoddy guess work that is easily foiled in times of “crises”.

There is a better way.  Instead of empowering a central authority, which can obviously lock the entire nation into a wrong decision, let people be free to make their own decisions.  Some will succeed and some won’t, but at least those who are successful might be in a position to help their neighbors.  It is certainly better than the entire nation being worse off because of government guess work!

Obama: Regulations Proved Inadequate II

No, President Obama doesn’t appear to be abandoning his tendency to trust government regulation to solve the road-bumps of life.  He actually seems to be plowing ahead, which is odd considering how readily he listed government’s failures in the recent financial “crisis” (from the AP):

Obama blamed the financial crisis on “a culture of irresponsibility” that he said had taken root from Wall Street to Washington to Main Street, and he said regulations crafted to deal with the depression of the 1930s had been “overwhelmed by the speed, scope and sophistication of a 21st century global economy.”

…

Obama, speaking from the White House, attributed much of the country’s current problem to “a cascade of mistakes and missed opportunities” that occurred over decades. His initiative would reverse a campaign begun in the 1980s by President Ronald Reagan to cut back on federal regulations.

…

The regulatory system either had gaps or overlaps with little accountability, he said.

…

“Millions of Americans who have worked hard and behaved responsibly have seen their life dreams eroded by the irresponsibility of others and the failure of their government to provide adequate oversight,” Obama said.

Well, that about covers it, government was involved in all the failures: government’s regulations were either incomplete or out-of-date; big government of the mid 20th century failed; and late century “deregulation” government failed.  It is really somewhat amazing that there are some who still put their faith in a central regulatory government that history has repeatedly shown to be error prone.

On a side note, will the President’s desire to show such a well-read command of knowledge backfire?  After all, if his presented “facts” are correct, it would be remarkable for someone to pursue even more government solutions.  Knowledge doesn’t equal correct decisions.

Obama: Regulations Proved Inadequate

Without missing a step, President Obama identified a problem (from the AP):

he said regulations crafted to deal with the depression of the 1930s had been “overwhelmed by the speed, scope and sophistication of a 21st century global economy.”

And, proposed to the solve the problem with more of the same:

President Barack Obama proposed sweeping new “rules of the road” for the nation’s financial system Wednesday, casting the changes as a critically important response to the economic crisis and the greatest regulatory transformation since the Great Depression.

So, government regulations failed to work and/or keep up with a changing world, therefore the government must regulate after the fact.  Nevermind government didn’t get it right the first time around.  Just trust that it will get it right this time around.

History’s Moving Target; the New Deal & the Betsy Ross Flag

From President Obama’s press conference in February 2009 (via The New York Times):

And in fact there are several who have suggested that FDR was wrong to intervene back in the New Deal. They’re fighting battles that I thought were resolved a pretty long time ago.

Historians can’t even “resolve” whether or not Betsy Ross actually made the first American flag for the revolution (here and here).  History and myth can often become intertwined, so watch for what you think you know.

Toledo Now Tickets for Parking in Own Driveway

The AP reports Mayor Marty Finkbeiner of Toledo, OH is standing behind issuing citations for parking on unpaved surfaces, including a person’s own gravel driveway.

Give the government power and it will find a way to abuse it.

Public Education, Banking & Now Healthcare?

Really?  On the heals of the huge banking fiasco of this past year, the government wants to get deeper into running the nation’s healthcare system? Remember, the U.S. banking system has been massively regulated by the government for over 70 years!  And it still has a break-down from time to time.

Really?  After various levels of government management of education for a century or more, the federal level now wants to double down on the healthcare system?  Remember, public education is all-but the only game in town.  Only the fairly-well-off can afford to pay for both public education taxes and then tuition for private schools.

Why does the government think it can do everything better, despite evidence to the contrary?  Why does the suggestion that the government back off a bit get ridiculed as radical?  Could you ever imagine suggesting the government not impose central regulation on banking or that people should be free to choose their own school?

After a few decades of public healthcare with all its benefits and failures, will it be radical to propose ending the system?

Blaming Deregulation Misses the True Cause

How many times has it been said, “government didn’t fail,  it was deregulation that caused all the problems”?  Advocates of such a philosophy go on to conclude that government will work when more regulation is reimposed.

This is literally delusional.  If deregulation is to blame, what or whom caused the deregulation?  The government.  Yes, the government, for no other entity can control the regulations imposed by the governing authority.  This is an inescapable fact.

Of course, the big government types will argue, “if only the right person or group of people had been selected for power, these bad policies would not have been imposed”.  Maybe, but history is littered with good political leaders and bad political leaders rising to power.  This is uncontrolable.

The fact remains, government implements failing ideas that from time to time bubble to the top of the political spectrum.  Failing ideas that don’t have the force of government can more easily be avoided by those who realize the ideas are duds.

When government empowers bad policies, government is failing!