Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Obama really does believe Americans are idiots

I've always found President Obama to be arrogant and condescending. Watch any speech he gives and he is always pointing and lecturing as if he knows all. My opinion of his attitude was reinforced when I read this quote of his given at a recent fundraiser:
"And so part of the reason that our [Democrat] politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time, is because we're hard-wired not to always think clearly when we are scared." (emphasis mine)
We are in an anti-Democratic mood because of
"having gone through this trauma."
So, what our dear leader is telling us is that those who oppose his policies are just scared, and scared people don't think straight. What other reason could there be for America to reject his wise and grand vision? Can you say 'arrogant and condescending'? I thought you could. Actually, the President may be on to something. I do believe that people are scared. We're scared that his health care monstrosity is going to swallow up the medical field and reduce quality and quantity. We're scared that his grand spending programs are going to bankrupt the country, turning us into Greece. We're scared that his support of public sector unions and the European style corporate state is going to turn us into France. In short, were scared that his policies are going to make us all worse off. Unlike our President, however, I don't think being 'scared' is making us think less clearly. Instead, I think we are starting to think more clearly. More people are seeing the destruction caused by Washington, by both Democrats and Republicans. We still have a ways to go, however. Too many people are still swayed by politicians who claim they can 'fix' things. Government cannot 'fix' things, it typically makes things worse. The Founders had the right idea in creating a government with a limited set of powers. They saw first hand the destruction of freedom that government power causes. I believe we are starting to learn what the Founders knew. What this country needs are representatives (I refuse to call them 'leaders') who understand that government is force, and as such it should only be applied in very specific circumstances. We don't need a bunch of technocrats in office who believe they can harness the power of government to do their definition of 'good'. Instead, we need representatives who recognize that the true power that drives this country is freedom, not government command and control. A free society has no place for arrogant technocrats like our President and most members of Congress. Time to vote them all out. Then maybe we can all be less scared.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Outsourcing

We're coming into the final stretch on the mid-term elections and it seems that not a day goes by that I don't receive some mailing from the Democratic party denouncing the other candidate for the crime of supporting 'outsourcing' or having had worked for a company which 'ships jobs overseas'. You can see the same narrative coming out of our so-called leaders in Washington as well. Outsourcing is one of those tough topics, like foreign trade, which requires careful thought rather than a knee-jerk reaction. On the surface, opposing outsourcing seems rational, after all some jobs are lost here while others are gained in a foreign country. When our country is going through tough economic times it seems wrong to be 'shipping' these jobs overseas. Of course, those who are opposed to outsourcing are guilty of only looking at what is seen, not what is not seen. What is seen are jobs that have disappeared from this country. What is not seen are the benefits of outsourcing. Companies outsource as a way to manage costs. If a company can save costs by moving some activity off shore they are going to do it. By lowering costs, they increase their profit. This gives the company more resources to grow. When the company can grow, it can afford to hire additional workers in different parts of the business. In the end, outsourcing creates increased and better job opportunities in this country. According to a 2007 study by Matthew Slaughter, an economist at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, when U.S. firms hired lower-cost labor overseas through foreign subsidiaries, the parent companies in the U.S. hired even more people in the US to support expanded operations. For example, between 1991 and 2001, foreign employment of U.S. subsidiaries grew by 2.8 million jobs, but during the same time frame, the parent firms in the U.S. increased employment by 5.5 million jobs. Effectively, for every outsourced job, two new jobs were created in the U.S. There is no doubt that if you lose your job because it is outsourced to another country it is bad for you. However, this really isn't any different than if your job was 'outsourced' to another state, or if your job was eliminated due to automation. Companies will always find ways to lower costs and on aggregate this is a good thing for everybody. It lowers the costs of goods and services, freeing resources to be applied to other goods and services, driving their costs down as well. This 'creative destruction', as described by economist Joseph Schumpeter, is the engine behind increased prosperity. If Democrats, and those who mindlessly oppose 'outsourcing' , succeed in impeding outsourcing, we will all be worse off. Rather than opposing a candidate who understands the benefits of outsourcing, they should be supported. We need people in Congress who actually understand business and economics, not a bunch of lawyers who think they can control the world at the stroke of a pen.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Stimulate Consumer Spending? Why?

In an excellent article in the Sacramento Bee, Robert Higgs discusses some interesting facts about spending in the economy. We are told by politicians that we need to stimulate consumer spending so the economy can get back on track. Yet, according to data presented by Higgs, consumer spending during the downturn actually increased and is currently at 71% of GDP. However, investment spending fell some 36% from a peak in 2006 and has yet to recover. From the article:
When private domestic investment last peaked, in the first quarter (January-March) of 2006, it was nearly $2.3 trillion (in dollars of 2005 purchasing power), or 17.5 percent of GDP. When it hit bottom in the second quarter of 2009, it had fallen by 36 percent to $1.45 trillion, or 11.3 percent of GDP. It is still far below the 2006 peak. By contrast, in the second quarter of this year, personal consumption was actually at an all-time high, at nearly $9.3 trillion (in 2005 inflation-adjusted dollars). If stimulating consumption were the key to an economic recovery, we would have achieved one already.
Investment is crucial to growing an economy and it is lagging. Consumer spending, while important, is already at an all-time high. But what do our brilliant solons keep pushing? More consumer stimulus. What else are they pushing? Higher taxes on investment. At the same time they wonder why the economy isn't performing better. It's far past the time to send these idiots packing.