Archive for June 1st, 2010

Bush was dumb … Obama is smart.

June 1, 2010

This caught my attention last week during the press conference, and was reported in the WSJ’s “Best of the Web”.

An interesting illustration of the the way mass media cut Bush no slack, but constantly gives Obama a pass …

  • Headline #1:
    “With Recession Looming, Bush
    Tells America to ‘Go Shopping More’     ”
    ThinkProgress.org, Dec. 20, 2006
  • Headline #2:
    “Obama: Go to Gulf Beaches;
    Most Still Open, Clean    ”
    Associated Press, May 27, 2010

The prevailing commentary to #1:

Freakin’ moron, that was the same advice you gave us after 9-11.

What an AMAZING grasp of economics you have!!!!

The prevailing commentary to #2:

With the summer tourist season about to start, Obama provided timely encouragement to Americans.

He emphasized that they can help people along the Gulf by continuing to visit their communities and beaches.

Hmmm …

* * * * *

See the Best of the Web post titled “The Thinker”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704596504575272542364164212.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h

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What does $1 trillion (plus or minus) get you these days ?

June 1, 2010

Answer: If perception is reality, then not much.

Stimulus spending has far exceeded $1 trillion (don’t forget Fed actions and bailouts).

Since the 3 to 4 million jobs saved or created was discarded as a metric, we’ve got look elsewhere for performance measurements.

How about how people assess the effect of Obama’s economic programs on them personally ?

Left-leaning CBS conducted a poll and found that:

  • More people think Obama’s economic programs have hurt (18%), rather than helping them (13%)
  • Less than 1 in 4 Dems think Obama’s economic programs have helped them
  • The vast majority — 68% – think Obama’s economic programs have had no effect on them

So, taking the most favorable view, people think that a trillion dollars in added debt has bought us, well, nothing.

Oops.

image
http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/poll_052510.pdf?tag=contentMain;contentBody

Posted in Debt - Deficit, Economics | Leave a Comment »

The difference between price and value …

June 1, 2010

In my courses, I try to emphasize the difference between price and value.

The Sestak affair provides a memorable (I hope) example.

Background: Fed law prohibits offering something of value to someone to impact the outcome of an election. There seems to be common agreement on that.

Obama’s lawyers’ written explanation tried to parse around the law: Yes, there was an offer, but the position offered was to be uncompensated. So, no violation.

Big mistake.

Even accepting their explanation, Sestak was offered something of value: prestige, access to the President, etc. 

Just because something is free  (i.e. uncompensated) doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have value.

Think about it: the Administration’s argument boils down to having a former President offer Sestak nothing to drop out of the Senate race … ‘nothing’ usually isn’t a strong incentive for changed behavior.

* * * * *

Another example: I’m doing this blog post on WordPress.  I pay nothing to use WordPress’ software and storage … but they provide me with enormous value.

Posted in Obama Administration | 1 Comment »