As panic sets in, Obama spins from one vague idea to another

John E. Sununu, a regular Boston Globe contributor, is a former US senator from New Hampshire

Whirling economics

The truth is that the role of government isn’t to create jobs; it’s to create an environment where entrepreneurs, businesses, and investors can make investments that create new opportunities for others. Yet elected officials, most with little private-sector experience, have a hard time seeing the difference between policy that creates a good environment and policy that simply subsidizes a particular behavior. The two are not created equal.

But the very changes that would promote a more competitive environment — tax reform that widens the tax base and eliminates deductions and credits, more restraint in promoting new regulations, and reform of the legal system — are not presidential priorities. In a sad irony, any meaningful tax reform would almost certainly raise the tax bill for Immelt’s GE.

Will Obama, McCain, Dodd Return Contributions From AIG Employees?

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance reports, more than $120,000 of that money was donated after AIG received its first $85 billion in federal bailout funds in September...This raises two key questions: Was any bailout money used to make political contributions? And will the politicians who received AIG cash give the money back?

1. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., $103,100
2. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., $101,332
3. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., $59,499
4. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., $35,965
5. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., $24,750
6. Former Gov. Mitt Romney, (R) Pres $20,850
7. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., $19,975
8. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn, $19,750
9. Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., $18,500
10. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) Pres $13,200
11. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., $12,000
12. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., $11,000

This is just a big taxpayer-funded orgy of politicians raping the public...except that most Republicans (except for 3) did NOT vote for the stimulus!