Deficit Spending

3 trillion! -- Senate, Fed, Treasury attack crisis

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-trillion-Senate-Fed-apf-14318088.html

Judging for the reaction of equity markets today in the US and overnight in China , I'm beginning to think this indiscriminate financial carpet bombing IS the crisis.

When it comes to the macroeconomic/world finance stuff, I defer to folks who live and breathe it.

So when Red State's Francis Cionfrocca calls the supporting documents behind Obama's trillion dollar deficit spending scheme "a marketing piece targeted at the ignorant, rather than a serious argument."  well, I take notice.

Being a former "country banker" I do know when someone throws a "plug number" into a prospectus to make it "work". And by assuming today's bizarre climate of virtually zero interest on federal debt is sustainable, the Obama team has done just that. They also seem to assume, for whatever unstated reason, that a tax rebate in 2009 will be spent when the tax rebate in 2008 wasn't

Given at least one material aspect of the plan isn't credible, how is anything else proposed credible besides the price tag?

Perhaps they are just being irrationally exuberant about this endeavor. But funky balance sheets sorta occasioned every other fiscal fiasco of the past decade---Enron, Fannie Mae, Worldcom, Bear Stearns, AIG....

I used to deal with distressed assets in the 7-8 zero range and the owners were always coming in with deals that would "work"---yeah, if you could charge Greenwich style rents in downtown Hartford. The joke was the appraisals were "MAI" in two senses...the appraiers was "Member, Appraisal Institute" and the work product was "Made As Instructed".

Methinks we'd better read the fine print carefully on the thousand billion dollar bill of goods the new President wants to have signed off on.

Patrick is right when he states that Jon is right in: "Is the Republican Party For or Against Trillion Dollar Deficits?"

A couple or three CPACs ago, I ran into Grover Norquist and chatted with him for a few minutes about GOP priorities.  This was the first time I ever heard Grover say that he wished, in retrospect, that he had placed much greater emphasis on reductions in federal spending.  I later heard him say pretty much the same thing at an event at his house.

I spent much of the evening of July 4, 2007 with the late John Berthoud of the NTU.  He expressed the same general sentiment as we watched the DC fireworks from the Pentagon.  He jokingly suggested that we could reduce quite a bit of cab fare expenses simply by relocating GOP headquarters and the Capitol office buildings to K Street.

During this general timeframe, the WSJ's John Fund walked by a booth I was managing at an NTU event.  I asked John his thoughts on federal spending, and he responded with something to the effect (I don't remember the exact words but Patrick's blog entry reminded me of the conversation) of: The majority of Republicans in Congress probably won't be serious about decreasing spending until the GOP hits rock bottom.

Perhaps the GOP has hit rock bottom.  Perhaps not.  As with alcoholics, I still see a lot of denial out there.

If so, I've got a simple suggestion which should not prove controversial.

Even FDR's own economic team knew that his New Deal interventions had been a complete failure. Here's what FDR's Treasury Secretary, Henry Morganthau, admitted to Congress in May, 1939 . . .

"We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong ... somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises ... I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started ... And an enormous debt to boot!" 

I have just run across a very good article on the relationship between deficit spending and the Great Depression at DownsizeDC, entitled "Mark Twain was right". 

It's conclusion: The government caused the Great Depression. Even Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, agrees.

Now if we can only get the government to agree as well, we just might avoid another Great Contraction.

ex animo

davidfarrar

The Democrats QUICKLY jumped in front of the camera to take FULL CREDIT for any and all 'good' aspects of the new agreement.

You can view the agreement on financialservices.house.gov

YOU WILL NOT BE HAPPY! IT IS COMPLETE AND TOTAL BS!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE TAKE A LOOK....POST YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW TERRIBLE THIS IS AND
SIGN THE PETITION TO END DEFICIT SPENDING NOW!!!

DEMAND AN END TO DEFICIT SPENDING!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION NOW!!

We at "Let's Get This Right" http://www.letsgetthisright.com recognize
that the current economic situation is a bipartisan issue and requires
serious attention.

As President Ronald Reagan once said "You and I are told we must
choose between a left, or right, but I suggest there is no such thing
as a left or right. There is only an up or down."

We at "Let's Get this Right" agree with that statement and we
recognize that the US economy is in enormous trouble. This includes
Wall Street, the US Government, and every American living on
main-street; no one is immune to the impact of the current economic
situation.

When Wall Street needs help it turns to the government, when the
government needs help it turns to the American people and when the
American people need help, it is often too late for us to obtain help
because the government has already over spent the tax dollars, fees
and fines it collects as part of its daily function.

When it needs money for a spending bill, or a financial bailout, the
government either cuts spending somewhere, shifts spending
temporarily, raises taxes on the American people or simply prints more
money.

Sadly, when it prints more money much of it is backed by foreign
governments and investors from countries such as Saudi Arabia, China
and others which do not share our interests, our constitutional
heritage, or our core values.

Regardless, we the people cannot afford to continue to allow the
current reckless spending practices used in Washington, nor should we
allow our country to be in debt or beholding to other nations.
Especially when the average American?s yearly income is on the decline
from which we must all pay for our taxes, insurance, gas,
transportation, groceries, housing, clothing, etc.

So "Let's Get This Right!"

We the undersigned DEMAND that members of the US House of
Representatives, the US Senate and the US President immediately pledge
to commit to the following;

- STOP Any and all deficit spending that is unrelated national defense
until the US budget is balanced.

- START investigating the roll that corporate executives, lobbyists
and politicians played in the current economic downfall to include the
use of subpoena power, and criminal prosecution where necessary.

- CONTINUE to follow these steps until anyone directly connected with
the current economic downfall is no longer in a position to do so
again; especially those who directly benefited from quid pro quo
activity, including political advocacy, legislative action, or
"sweetheart deals" such as low interest loans and campaign donations.

It is time to get back to basics. We the people could not operate our
personal budgets the way that corporations or the federal government
have without ending up out of work and in jail. We the people are not
above the law and those in positions of power should not be either.

"Let's Get This Right" http://www.letsgetthisright.com

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION NOW!!

Shared with the My Fellow McCain Victory 08 Bloggers at
84 Rules,Adam J Schmidt,Agkyra,Agora politikos,Ahwatukee Musings,America For John McCain,Americas Best Choice,Armchair Everything,ARRA News Service,Asian Americans For McCain,Asymmetric,AzaMatterofact,Basils Blog,
Blue And New,Blue Grass Red State,Blue Star Chronicles,Born Again Redneck,Brainster,BroadSideoftheBarn,But I Am A Liberal,California For McCain,Campaign2008VictoryA,Catskill commentator,Chas' compilation,coleCurtis-The McCain Monitor,College Republican Federation of Virginia,Conservative For Change,Curtis Schweitzer,DC Republican,Deomocrats & MediaSpin Vs. Facts,Democrats For Sale,Election 2008,Election Night HQ,Elyery Landavazo,EvangelicalsForMcCain,Falling Panda,Faultline USA,Frog Blog Of Louis la Vache,Generation X Dad,Georgians For McCain,GOP Convention Blog,Hoosiers4McCain,How I Lost My Heart,Il rumore Dei mie Venti-RDM20,Independent Jim,Iraqi For John McCain,Johnny Miller blog,Lee Volger's Political Points,Les Recettes de Louis la Vache,Liberal Republican,Liberalstein Political Limozeen,Libertas01,
M-J in the Republic,MacPac08,The Mad Irish Man's Conservative Consortium,The Mad Irish Man On TownHall.com,
Marathon Pundit,Mass For McCain,McCain Blogette,McCain Blogger Resources,McCain Blogs,McCain Jewish Coalition of Illinois,McCain Mondays,McCain Online Volunteer,McCain States,McCain Talk,McCain Volunteer,McCainHQ08 Yahoo Group,McCainiac,McCainocrats,McCainVictory08,Metaxupolis,
Michael Johns,Missourians for McCain,Moms for McCain,My vast right wing conspiracy,MyMcCainBlog,Myth Debunker,New Jersey for John McCain,New Mexico for John McCain,NH4McCAIN,NJ for McCain,NY for McCain,Official McCain Blog,Ohio for John McCain,Oklahoma for John McCain,Only Electable Conservative,PA Educators for McCain,Pajama Pack,Pardon My French,Partisan American,Pennsylvania for John McCain,Pink Flamingo,Pirate's Cove,Politico Mafioso,Porter County Politics,Primary Cuts,Provocateur,Purple People Vote,Real World Libertarian,Reality Bytes,Right Wing Nation,Right Wing Sparkle,Rudy Supporters for McCain Blog,Rudy Supporters for McCain Yahoo Group,San Francisco Bay Daily Photo,Sanity 102,StandUpForMcCain,Steve Maloney GOP,Thought Stew,Todd Biggs,Tree Hugging Republican,Unite McCain Campaign,Vets 4 McCain,Vets For McCain,Virginia 4 McCain,Voting McCain 08,watersblogged!,Why McCain?,Wisconsin4McCain,With Both HandsSheridan Folger,