Blessings, Blame, American Economy

Why Blame Obama?

The linked article makes the case pretty clear that Obama has a very large share of the blame for the current state of the American economy. The cornerstones that blame rests on:

• Understanding that CONGRESS sets the budget of the US. Slick Willie deserves credit for signing the budgets of the '90s that led to a surplus (under duress), but the Republican congress set them and took the blame for the reduction in the rate of growth of spending that led to the surplus (along with the Internet Bubble). 
• Understanding the difference between TARP and the Stimulus -- W helped engineer and signed off on TARP (which I also didn't like), but BO did the Stimulus with his Democrat congress cronies. 
• Understanding the history of US debt and the truly horrific effect that ONE term by ONE US president ( BO ) has had. 
• Understanding the destruction of the rule of law and it's replacement with crony capitalism and the effect that has on business investment. 

But there is still some mass confusion about "How do we get out of this?".

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/03/opinion/henry-ford-when-capitalists-cared.html

While liberals scream of the Republicans holding a convention that was supposed to be a huge lie about an America that never was by a bunch of evil folks out to hurt anyone less that super wealthy, the left wants to return to Henry Ford and 1914. Well, that's a start.

In 1914, US spending was 2.76% of GDP ...  21% LESS!! than government spending today. No doubt corporate leaders and wealthy people "cared" (as measured in $$$) much more in 1914 than they do today. They could AFFORD TO!!  The US Government forced them to outsource all that "caring" to Washington at the point of a gun and now complains that "Corporations don't care enough"!

Worse, America was highly competitive then. Today we are over regulated, over taxed, federally mismanaged, and our work ethic has been converted to "gimme" ... out of somebody else's pocket, ASAP.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/opinion/sunday/friedman-its-still-halftime-in-america.html?_r=1&hp&src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB

Friedman is pining away for the 60's and like the entire left, he is forced to completely forget the '80s. Yes, JFK set a great goal with going to the moon, and NASA cashed the check. While fondly remembered by Friedman however, we also had a number of assassinations, civil unrest, a losing war in Vietnam, an acceleration in entitlements we couldn't pay for and the beginnings of the end of our economic world dominance.

By the '80s, the left had decided that "America's best years were behind her", and then came Ronald Reagan saying it was "Morning in America" and that the USSR (our competition for Superpower at that point) would be assigned to "The Ash Heap of History". And lo, it came to pass that the USSR was so consigned and the US set off on an economic odyssey that lasted right up through '07.

Perhaps we need to figure out what the game is again until we declare it "Halftime".  America used to be proudly pro-business and business used to be proudly pro-profit. Now what are we?? Pro-entitlement?? But what kind of a game is that?? The winners are the takers rather than the makers?

I'd say we already see how well that works. We have been sliding since 1914 or before and the '07 Democrat congress and BO just kicked in the solid fuel boosters in the wrong direction as we already hung at the edge.

There is STILL no free lunch! Figure that out, realize that competition is like gravity -- it is ALWAYS there, you just get to decide if it is to your benefit or your peril!

Let's get this country up off the mat and get back in the right game ... and then maybe we can talk about "halftime" after a couple decades of defending against the opposition and scoring some solid points!