Why redistribution is bad for the Economy

In a nutshell, this is why Democrats’ economic policies will fail: Because their system of taking from the haves to give to the have-nots will eventually over-burden those who are society’s most productive. The sequence of events laid out in John Hawkins’ post will be further exacerbated as the current generation of super-productives retires… you know, those tens of millions of baby boomers? Yeah – they’re hitting retiring age NOW, and the generations coming up behind them are smaller in number. So not only will taxes on the productive eventually suck them dry, there’ll also be far fewer of them feeding the system.

Can Obama keep up with all his promises?

Well let’s see, in his first week as President-Elect, Barack Obama has already learned a few critical lessons:

• MoveOn.org probably expects a significant return on their investment (pdf download)
• Involuntary servitude is so 150 years ago
• It isn’t really “change” when your transition team is made up entirely of big donors and Clintonistas

In the days after the election, I began to get a sense of just how beholden Obama would be to the “special interests” (that’s what happens when you choose private campaign funding), by reading through the congratulatory news releases that were issued by various professional associations across the country. These releases (and there were dozens of them) generally started out with a “(Name of group) congratulates President-Elect Obama…” statement, followed by a “We are eager to work with him” statement. Those to whom he had promised something specific were more than happy to reiterate exactly what they had been told by the candidate:

For example, the American Nurse’s Association says:

“Barack Obama has promised to work toward improving working conditions for nurses, including limiting mandatory overtime, improving nurse-to-patient ratios, providing additional support to training and incentive programs, and continuing to recognize and support nurses’ right to organize. In addition, Obama supports reauthorization of Title VIII training programs with greater financial incentives for students and nurse faculty, including scholarships and loan repayment.”

 

Meanwhile, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has some expectations too:

“Over the course of his campaign, President-elect Obama has focused his education reform efforts around strengthening accountability and choice in public education, especially through the expansion of high-quality public charter schools… His bold proposal to double federal funding for public charter schools signals his strong commitment to making high quality public school options available to families who need them most.”

 

Finally, we have Americans United for Life, a group which notes that Obama talked centrist when he was around them, but then -

“… he promised Planned Parenthood that his first act as President will be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act… (which)  stands in contradiction to the common ground, common sense abortion regulations that the majority of Americans support and that this radical legislation would eliminate.”

 

Now, all of this is not just to say that Obama made a lot of promises - certainly, every politician does that. The point is, there’s simply no way he’s going to be able to make all these people happy, and a whole lot of folks are going to end up disillusioned by “Change.”

This litany of news releases also serves to help us get to know Obama, a responsibility which the mainstream media shamefully abdicated early on in the election cycle in favor of outright fanaticism and hero-worship. More on this in the near future.

For now – happy Week One, Mr. President-Elect, I hope someone on your team is keeping track of all this stuff, because you know MoveOn’s not gonna forget 88 million dollars.

"Change" indeed – the first 'pass' for Barack Obama

In the first example I’ve yet seen since last Tuesday’s election, of “feds” being scared into inaction, the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) is unlikely to audit Barack Obama’s massive campaign fund because a). they’re not required to since he didn’t accept public funds; and b). how embarrassing would THAT be for a sitting President?

Timeline, if you care:

First Obama makes a vow to use public funds for his campaign, so he and McCain will be on equal footing.

Then he realizes he can out-spend McCain and raise obscene amounts of private money if he doesn’t accept the public funds, so he breaks the original vow…

Then he disables all the security-check measures on his website so he can take millions in untraceable credit card contributions…

And now the FEC says it likely won’t audit him for the reasons noted above.

Wow. Just… wow. So much for accountability, transparency, and honesty. If he was truly about change, Obama would insist on an audit so America could see that none of his campaign contributions came from Winkle Paw.

After the vote – what next?

I’m embarrassed to take such a shortcut here, but the fact is I wanted to do a very thoughtful “how I feel post-election” post and simply do not have time due to a major event at work today. However, I did manage to whip through my feed reader earlier this a.m., and found that Sister Toldjah precisely reflects my feelings: Yes, the election’s outcome is historical – I can appreciate that, but I still believe this is the wrong man for the job for several reasons. And yes, I still fear what will become of this nation under his leadership, with the Congress we’ve given him. (“Uniting us” doesn’t just mean uniting Democrats – the half of this nation that voted for McCain should also feel united.) Anyway, here’s a well-written piece that made me wag my head in agreement from start to finish.  

Also, just had to link to both of these posts from my feed reader this week, answering the question, “After the vote, now what?”

Tim Johnson encourages the President-Elect to approach the job like a project manager, not like a politician.

Mashable, a blog that normally covers new and evolving social media tools, has an informative article about the role of the transition team and the importance of two-way communication between outgoing and incoming administrations.

Now back to work.

America elects Barack Obama

Fox News called the election for Barack Obama just a few seconds after 10 p.m. John McCain delivered his concession speech around 10:25 p.m.

While I can’t say I’m pleased with the outcome of the Presidential election, I can say I’m proud of this nation for the historic nature of the contest.

Make no mistake, I will be keenly interested in every step our new President takes. And I will be keenly interested in protecting my pocketbook.

But I will say this: for my country I wish peace, prosperity and unity. For Barack Obama I wish wisdom and humility. For John McCain, I say thank you for the decades of service you have given to your country – would that we can go forward with your “Country First” theme firmly in mind. For my party, I wish the kind of soul-searching it’s going to take to fully understand its implosion and, ultimately, its rebuilding. And for myself, I wish for the opportunity to continue pursuing my American dream.

Congratulations, America.

Intimidation, voter fraud, fairness doctrine all in the name of Obama

Post-election, here are a few of the things I’ll be interested in following up on:

Black Panthers intimidating voters who look like they might vote Republican…

Republican poll watchers thrown out in PA precincts…

Pre-marked ballots for non-English speakers in California…

Attempts to revive the “Fairness Doctrine,” a decades-old piece of legislation enacted when Radio was king which mandates that radio – and only radio, which coincidentally is now dominated by highly successful conservative talk show hosts – present “balanced” views on political and social issues. No such need for this “fairness” on television, apparently. Great example of Obama thuggery (silencing the critics), as if we needed more examples of this.

And of course the campaigns of Cindy Sheehan and Al Franken.

Update 11/5: Sheehan lost, Franken is now in a re-count til December.

Make your choice – Vote!

Today’s the day when we as Americans set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. We are fortunate to live under a system which not only ensures that all eligible citizens have the right to vote without fear and according to their own convictions, but also ensures that results are not decided by a few large metropolitan areas. This means, EVERY VOTE COUNTS! Indeed, the world is watching. Be sure to vote!

1)      Polls are Open from 7AM to 9PM

2)      To find your polling place go to http://www.sos.state.ia.us and click on “find your precinct.”

3)      You can register to vote at your polling place. Bring identification and proof of residency.

4)      All Counties in Iowa use “bubble ballots” – read the instructions and fill out your ballot completely!

5)      You can wear campaign a button or apparel but you must leave the polling place after you have voted – you can’t hang around and influence or harrass other voters.

***

Updated to link to this amazing story over at Essential Estrogen – yes, people DID sacrifice so you (I) could have this right.

Never thought I'd say this: Please Vote McCain

What a difference a few months make.

Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

Someday you’re going to eat those words.

These clichés essentially sum up my political journey over the past few months. Admittedly I’ve been on the sidelines as the Presidential campaign has heated up, but you see, now there’s a problem: instead of Hillary Clinton, the Democrats nominated Barack Obama. And John McCain is the Republican alternative.

I’m disgusted and even alarmed by the unchecked (and unstudied) Obama adoration going on in this country. Time and time again, Obama supporters are asked why they support him. Unable to name even one significant accomplishment or bold idea that belongs to their candidate, they talk instead about “hope” and “change” as if these ideals can take any form at all and magically become the right path. 

But, no matter what challenges the next President faces, the path Obama would set for America is wrong. In fact, his path would fundamentally shift the principles on which our government – and our daily lives – are based. Hope and change under Obama are synonymous only with waiting around for more and bigger government, increased government control over every aspect of our lives, harsh punishment for those who dare to disagree with him or, God forbid, make him show his true (foolish) colors… and more taxes paid in by hard-working Americans to be mis-managed (“redistributed”) by a tax-and-spend Congress run amuck.

To be sure, as a Republican, I don’t know how John McCain got to be my party’s nominee for President – certainly I disagree with him on some very important issues, enough to have said previously that I wouldn’t vote for him.

But as strongly as I disagree with McCain, I believe even more that Barack Obama’s vision for America must be loudly defeated. For that reason, I guess I won’t be voting my true convictions on Election Day, because I won’t be staying home to shun two candidates who don’t represent my views.

But I will be voting, and it won’t be for Obama.

When Hillary says "mandatory," she means it

I have said it before and will say it again:  If leadership under Hillary Clinton doesn’t scare you, it should. In case you were curious just how she would enforce her plan for mandatory health care, you can now rest assured she has that covered. She’ll garnish your wages if you don’t see the wisdom of paying for it voluntarily.  (Hat tip to Liberty Pundit.)

When last we left our Presidential candidates

Short version: If it all comes down to a Clinton-McCain contest, I’m screwed.

Last time I blogged about the Presidential race, our intrepid candidates were just leaving Iowa and looking forward to the New Hampshire Primaries. (I think they mostly missed the Wyoming caucuses…) Since that time, the cast of characters has changed considerably – turns out a few of them weren’t so “intrepid” after all.

Fred Thompson left the same way he came in – without much fanfare. I always thought his attitude toward his own candidacy was interesting: “I am the only true conservative in this race. I don’t want to be President, but my party needs me to save it from itself, therefore I am running. I am not exciting, but I have substance. If my substance doesn’t trump your need for excitement, that’s your problem.”

John Edwards left and I was frankly relieved. His message of class warfare was downright sickening, especially given his own lavish lifestyle.

There is much speculation that Rudy Giuliani will also drop out of the Republican race. (Update 2/1: Okay, apparently he DID drop out?? How did I miss this? Where was the fanfare?) Mike Huckabee, a big winner in the Iowa Caucuses, is faltering nationally. And John McCain is now the sort-of front-runner over Mitt Romney because he’s got Arnold Schwarzenegger’s endorsement (consider it payback for that whole Chuck Norris/Mike Huckabee deal).

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is fighting for her political destiny with Barack Obama. Snubbed by Democratic patriarch Ted Kennedy, wrangling her out-of-control, finger-pointing ex-President husband, and finding that neither blacks nor women (two groups she thought she could count on) really support her, Hillary just can’t believe she’s having to work this hard to win the nomination. Personally, I hope Obama knocks it out of the park. I absolutely positively do not want “that woman” to be my President.

And you know who else I don’t want in the White House? McCain. I will not vote for John McCain. Cripes, he’s only slightly more Republican than Ralph Nader.

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