Depths of "Progress"

George F. Will - Jobs report a nightmare for Obama progressivism

Another good Will column, although I disagree with his assertion that BO cares about how badly his takeover hurts America, except to the extent that it diminishes his ability to load more and lasting destruction on the US system that he loathes.

At any time, some economic conditions would be better than others, but the more certainty about conditions the better. Today investors and employers are certain that uncertainties are multiplying.

They are uncertain about when interest rates will rise, and by how much. They do not know how badly the economy will be burdened by the expiration, approximately 200 days from now, of the Bush tax cuts for high earners -- a.k.a. investors and employers. They know the costs of Obamacare will be higher than was advertised, but not how much higher. They do not know the potential costs of cap-and-trade and other energy policies. They do not know whether "card check" -- abolition of the right of secret-ballot elections in unionization decisions -- will pass, or how much the economy will be injured by making unions more muscular. They do not know how the functioning of the financial sector will be altered and impeded by the many new regulatory rules and agencies created by the financial reform legislation. The economy has become dependent on government stimulation of demand, and no one knows what will happen as the stimulus spending wanes.

Uncertainty is a consequence of hyperkinetic government, which is a consequence of the governmental confidence that is a consequence of progressivism. The premise of progressivism is that all will be well if enough power is concentrated in Washington, and enough Washington power is concentrated in the executive branch, and enough really clever experts are concentrated in the executive branch. This is why the government's perceived impotence concerning the gulf oil spill is subversive of the Obama administration's master narrative.

Lots of business is about reducing and sometimes profiting from uncertainty -- the kind of uncertainty that is part of existence; when you might die, will crops be good or bad, where will prices be in the fall? next year? what is the demand for orange juice likely to be? etc.

As Will covers above, more and more government "experts" flailing around with no profit motive to encourage good or losses to limit evil, makes for a a world with ever multiplying uncertainty -- unfortunately, other than the boom in government, the uncertainty is really just about how low we will sink.