Which economist is right?

This is an awesome video. "Economists say" is a common phrase heard in the media and this video puts two of the most notable economist in a "grudge match" over what theory of economics should be the policy of our government. At the end of the video pay close attention to the type of people drawn to each economist. Which type of person are you? Leave your comments below.

I'd also like to give a great big shout out to @freakonomics on Twitter. They directed me to this video. You can buy their books below.

Calls of Racism are a Red Herring

Image via Wikipedia
Some blacks see racism in 'birther' questions

Yes, that's an actual headline from the AP today. Here is my response to that article and the inane assertions it makes about those loony "Birthers".

As much as I dislike the "Birther" folks and as much as I think they're cracked in the head I still don't think they are racially motivated. I have yet to see someone categorically provide evidence that the "Birthers", the Tea Party, the Republicans, Conservatives, or anyone else labeled racist by the left, have acted purely or even mostly because President Obama is of African heritage. Naming someone racist because they feel like the policies and direction of this administration are wrong is a Red Herring and should be called out as such. 


In many ways it seems the President is trying to change the focus as much as the "Birthers". He claimed that the "Birther Movement" was taking the focus off of the economy...but the stories on the economy eclipsed the "birther" stories by several factors of 10...by bringing this stupid joke to the level of legitimacy that he has he removes the focus from him and the inept management of the economy to the idiots of the "Birther" movement. Good political move...sad...but calculated. Now the media would like to turn this into a racial thing rather than what it is...a calculated political maneuver to distract the public from the bad news on the economy. This collaborative effort on the part of the media and the White House is counter productive and only exacerbates the Presidents real problems in getting a split legislative body to correct the cumulative financial idiocy of the last 3 decades.

Below are some articles that seem to disagree with me.

Related articles

• Yes, Birtherism is Racist (As is Donald Trump): Three Videos Tell You Why - Source: AlterNet (curmilus.wordpress.com)
• Conservative 'Birther' Issue Is All About Racism (dekerivers.wordpress.com)

Gas Prices Climbing Toward $5 Per Gallon...HmHm President Obama?

Recently was reading the comments section of a news post that indicated $5 a gallon for gas by Memorial Day. The comments are from the right and the left. They are almost always extreme and rarely civil. The thing about the story that I found interesting is that they included a poll that asked "At What Price Point Would You Change Your Driving Habits?" with four options $4.50, $4.75, $5.00, and Never. I was looking for the already have option but they didn't have it. This surprised me a little. I have taken to riding my bike on nice days to work because it saves me $3 a day if my wife doesn't have to drop me off and then pick me up later, and I only live 2.5 miles from work. 
The comments section was all about politics...which is understandable since it seems like anything in the news these days is political. The part that I find political in the whole fiasco is that President Obama has escape the excoriation of the press on the rise in oil prices while President Bush was nailed in the news almost daily for failing to "do something" about the gas prices. When he suggested we'd start increasing our drilling prices dropped (of course by then they dropped because we were in a death spiral caused by the mortgage crisis too...but at least he tried something). President Obama has done the opposite of President Bush. He has a by-default ban on drilling in the Gulf and along the coasts. So not only are we subject to the problems plaguing demagogic states like Saudi Arabia, Libya, Yemen, etc. but we aren't doing anything at home to help ourselves with the problem. 
So now my question and the reason for writing this is to pose the question. At what point does the press/media turn on President Obama and start treating him the way they did President Bush? Will it be when he starts ANOTHER war? Will it be when gas hits $10 a gallon? Will it be when a terrorist attacks on his watch? Or will he have to get whiter, richer, and start using a southern accent?


Gas Prices Climbing Toward $5 Per Gallon « CBS Chicago

Government Shutdown...political planning.

I've been following the current budget process in congress (boring crap I assure you) and I've come to a conclusion recently. The current budget problem started the moment the Democrats saw the writing on the wall in the last election cycle. When it became clear that they would retain the Senate but lose the House they decided to punt on the budget. Why? For the political benefit of a Government Shutdown. How does this benefit the Democrats? The clear answer is that the Democrats stand the most to gain by painting the new budget cutting Congress as socially uncompromising and that they are willing to "starve" people in order to cut the budget. Democrats are counting on people to be dependent on Government programs so that they can leverage that for votes in the next election season. They are suggesting the funding Planned Parenthood is more important than paying our troops all while saying that Republicans are willing to let our troops go unpaid just to cut funding to NPR. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle. Certainly there should be cuts to every program. But the Democrats aren't willing to let the bastions of progressivism to get cut and so they will notch as many political points as they can by making the "unreasonable" Republican's out to be the "meanies" that don't want women to have breast exams. Does anyone really believe that any Republican doesn't want women to get screened for cancer? While I'm willing to concede that there are a lot of Republican's that would like to see liberal programs eliminated (PBS, NPR, Planned Parenthood, etc) to suggest that they want to see women die from breast cancer is hyperbole bordering on insanity. In the end the Republican's will be forced to break down politically because they care too much...not just about their political futures, but about the people that are suffering from the inaction that the Democrats calculated from last year. They calculated that they would gain more support for their "causes" by showing the "misers" as being heartless and willing to let VA hospitals shut down to save a couple billion dollars. They would show that they, the Democrats, are more caring and want to spend more on the "needy" than the Republicans, who are heartless and want suffering for the "little guy" and more money for the "nasty corporations" that cause all the problems in the world (that also employ the little guy...but you won't hear that).
Right now I want the Republicans to give in to the Democrats and start the battle for the 2012 budget today. I want them to fight for deep, punishing, painful, cuts to EVERY program. Every program means, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaide, Military (Defense), social programs, foreign aide, everything. I'm also an advocate for dropping EVERY loophole available to corporations and then cut their tax rate so there's no incentive to cheat, if they know they'll have to pay 25%, period, no exceptions, rather than being subject to 30-60% taxes on their profits with the potential to dodge that if they contribute to this fund or hide this much income, or give away that much product etc., then perhaps the end result will be more revenue for our Government.
So in conclusion to an extraordinarily long post I'll say this...Republicans in Congress...Stand Down...and then  grab your boot straps and get to work on next years budget and focus on winning the Senate and Whitehouse back. Don't let political planning on the part of Democrats prevent you from accomplishing that which you were elected to accomplish.

To see how ridiculous this is getting here's a couple links.
http://www.lifenews.com/2011/04/08/democrat-republicans-against-abortion-came-to-kill-women/
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/07/facebook-event-lets-dump-trash-at-boehners-pad/

Paul Ryan has a plan...now what?

Image via Wikipedia

Looks Presidential to me. You?

Do Paul Ryan has been an inspiration as a Freshman Senator from Wisconsin. He has been a leader and a voice of principle since the day he was sworn in. His most recent efforts for America have been astounding. The $6.2 Trillion budget cuts over the next 10 years are incredible. Everyone knew we had that much available to cut but so far not one person was willing to propose such cuts. The President has sat in his Oval Office and has proposed more spending and taxes and done mathematical gymnastics to show a $1.1 Trillion reduction over the same period. Ryan has proposed cuts that are as close to the bone as one would dare make in such a heated political atmosphere. He has no sacred cows and has cut from the military and reformed Medicare and Medicaid spending to make it more lean. He has avoided the elephant in the room, the aging dynamite that no one in their right mind would touch and that's Social Security. But in general he's gone through the books just like any other household and made the cuts needed to get America's balance sheet in the black. 

So all this effort (I know...he managed to put this together in a matter of months and we still haven't got anything meaningful done for last years budget) in getting our collective crap together and what does it all mean? Does it stand a chance once the bleeding hearts and the pork hungry get hold of it and start the debate? In a word, No.
Paul Ryan may be the man that saved America from the grip of economic ruin and his efforts are doomed from the moment he puts this in front of establishment politicians of every stripe. He speaks fluently the politics of personal responsibility and small government. The problem is that America hasn't got the collective will to stand behind him and force their political parties to come to terms on this budget. Too many people like being taken care of, too many people are happy being dependent. Paul Ryan and the committee he worked with to create this budget are heroes that will never see their day in the sun. To a person like me, that is the most tragic part of this whole story. Seeing light in our future just to come to the realization that it was not in fact a lantern on the horizon but rather a star in a distant galaxy and perpetually beyond grasp.
What do you think...does this budget stand a chance? If it does or doesn't do you think it should be passed?

Can Hillary win a Primary against Obama?

So President Obama is the first to declare a campaign for 2012. Of course this is mostly just semantics and technicalities since there are probably half a dozen potential GOP candidates and potentially a couple dissidents in the form of third party (Tea Party) candidates that could declare in due time. With all the speculation of who will match Obama on the Republican side there are some new speculations that Hillary Clinton may enter the race.
So now the speculation begins. How bad does it have to get for Obama before Hillary enters the fray? I just read a great article by John Phillips about how it's inevitable that Hillary will enter the race. His reasoning is sound and I suspect that if Libya becomes the mistake that most of the country believes it is, then Hillary- who has spoken out (and been mostly right) on the subject- may jump into the shark tank as perhaps the biggest fish.
The big question is can she pull off the upset? I think she is strong enough politically to pull it off but only in the event that Obama is weak enough politically. I think the budget crisis, the Libya debacle, and the fact that unemployment is still crazy high is enough to sour the public. The other half of that story could be the price of gas. Gas has more than doubled since Obama took office and his policies haven't helped much given the by-default moratorium on drilling in the Gulf and the wasted time on drilling in ANWR. If things don't make a dramatic turn in the next 6 months Obama may find himself behind in the primaries against a surging and strong Hillary Clinton.

Why we must cut the budget not tax the rich.

A big thanks to Ben Frisk who was so kind as to post this on Facebook. Much appreciated. I'm not going to get all Soap Boxy with this because it speaks for itself. I am going to say that the Republican's are in danger if they don't understand the facts of this video. Cuts must be made and reforms must happen or this scenario becomes the greatest failed democracy of history. Watch and be outraged...then demand that $1 Trillion gets cut this year alone and then don't whine if it means you don't get a handout.

Big thanks to Firewall (producer of the video) and Iowahawk the man behind the math. Awesome job!