Biden: Obama Was Wrong About The Economy

So now VP Biden is saying that everyone was wrong about how bad the economy really was:

Biden tells "Meet the Press" that "everyone guessed wrong" on the impact of the stimulus, economy was worse off than anyone thought.

Backs away from the estimate that the funds could create or save 3.5 million jobs, instead promises 600,000 by the end of the summer.

So, all the geniuses like Tax Cheat Timothy Geitner, who just HAD to be confirmed because NO ONE ELSE could POSSIBLY handle the economy like he could...was wrong.

Naturally, this means that we need ANOTHER massive stimulus package.

The numbers don't lie. The Obama economic plan is a failure.

Is the MSM Finally Catching On To Obama?

The venerable Associated Press had a story out Monday about Obama's plan to slash the budget. The headline: SPIN METER: Saving federal money the easy way.

It goes on to say that Obama's proposed "cuts" are the equivalent of reducing your latte intake by one or two per year. Or asking a family making $60 000 to reduce spending by $6.

Even the New York Times says that, upon hearing of Obama's budget slashing, "budget analysts promptly burst out laughing."

Former labor secretary Robert Reich even said "this is pretty small potatoes. I mean, it's the beginning. It's at least a gesture, an important gesture."

Rahm Emanuel's damage control: “This is a symbol of a new attitude and a new perspective."

Well, yes, it's all gesture and symbolism. No substance at all.

Good roundup of the reactions is at US News & World Report.

National Insurance Crisis!

According to WGN-TV (I think it was on WGN), in these times of layoffs and economic hardship, people are saving money by committing criminal acts in order to save money: They are dropping their automobile insurance!

So a significant portion of the driving public (~10%) is causing the uninsured motorist portion of insurance rates to rise. Once again, responsible people are paying for the irresponsible.

You know what this means, right?

There is a National Automobile Insurance Crisis(tm)!!

Naturally, it can only be solved with a massive federal automobile insurance program, where all people are forced to get expensive government supplied insurance!

Never let a crisis go to waste.

Obama vs The Public On Taxes

Back to Rasmussen again: 63% of U.S. voters now say tax cuts would help the economy. This is the highest level recorded since Rasmussen began tracking this issue back in the mid-1990's.

In related news, 51% of voters believe increasing taxes will hurt the economy, while only 23% say it would help the economy.

And, in news that the directly contradicts Obama's plans(1), 54% of voters what to see a tax policy that benefits the economy, rather than one that makes people pay their "fair share".

(1) In one of the Democratic primary debates, hosted by Charlie Gibson, (transcript) Obama said that he would raise the capital gains tax not for the purpose of increasing revenues to the treasury, but "for purposes of fairness."

The Contradictions of Obama's Economic Plans

On February 9th, President Obama visited Elkhart, Indiana, the American community with the country’s highest unemployment rate, 15.3 percent. (It had been only 4.7 percent the year before.) He was there to sell his stimulus bill, then moving through Congress and since signed. He noted that the bill would provide help for the workers who had lost their jobs and, more important, help them get their jobs back by reviving the economy.

The jobs that have vanished in Elkhart are predominantly in the recreational-vehicle industry, which is concentrated in the city of 52,000. With the severe recession the country is now experiencing, it is hardly surprising that this industry has been devastated. After all, an RV is expensive both to purchase and to operate and is hardly a necessity. But when the economy recovers, will those jobs come back as demand for RV’s returns? Or, in the meantime, will new environmental regulations championed by Obama work to impede the sales of vehicles that get only a few miles to the gallon and thereby make job growth in Elkhart an impossibility?

The latter seems to be the case.

A must read.