Obama's Radicalism Is Killing the Dow

A financial crisis is the worst time to change the foundations of American capitalism.

By MICHAEL J. BOSKIN

It's hard not to see the continued sell-off on Wall Street and the growing fear on Main Street as a product, at least in part, of the realization that our new president's policies are designed to radically re-engineer the market-based U.S. economy, not just mitigate the recession and financial crisis.

The illusion that Barack Obama will lead from the economic center has quickly come to an end. Instead of combining the best policies of past Democratic presidents -- John Kennedy on taxes, Bill Clinton on welfare reform and a balanced budget, for instance -- President Obama is returning to Jimmy Carter's higher taxes and Mr. Clinton's draconian defense drawdown.

Mr. Obama's $3.6 trillion budget blueprint, by his own admission, redefines the role of government in our economy and society. The budget more than doubles the national debt held by the public, adding more to the debt than all previous presidents -- from George Washington to George W. Bush -- combined. It reduces defense spending to a level not sustained since the dangerous days before World War II, while increasing nondefense spending (relative to GDP) to the highest level in U.S. history. And it would raise taxes to historically high levels (again, relative to GDP). And all of this before addressing the impending explosion in Social Security and Medicare costs.

IMPORTANT: READ THE WHOLE THING!

Today

Today President Obama said that the stimulus is a carefully drawn, fiscally responsible bill...

But consider what is in the final legislation:

Billions in outright pork and wasteful spending:
$300 million for buying cars for federal bureaucrats;$3.7 billion for something called “green research” on military bases;$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts; $2 billion for “neighborhood stabilization” to radical groups like ACORN;$1.3 billion for Amtrak; $10 million for"urban canals"(I'm not making this up); etc.

The Road to Government Run Health Care
$1.1 billion for “comparative effectiveness research” that will establish a federal government board to begin rationing health care by having bureaucrats deciding which medical treatments will be appropriate for which Americans.(Page 52 of final conference report)

Overturning the Historic Welfare Reform of 1996
$264 billion for direct welfare payments while overturning the historic welfare reform of 1996.The Pelos\Reid\Obama bill will reward states with federal welfare funds based on the number of people they put on their welfare rolls – a perverse incentive that will in effect give states “bonuses” for adding more people to welfare rolls AND work requirements are ignored in this legislation.

$53.6 billion for a "state stabilization fund" otherwise known as a slush fund
This massive infusion of our tax dollars is designed to alleviate the need for genuine budget reform and cutting at the state level.

So, when you hear folks saying this Pelosi\Reid\Obama "stimulus" bill was a "compromise" that cut waste to the bone while focusing only on "shovel ready" priorities, call them on it!

A message from NoStimulus.com