Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Unicorns, donkeys and marxists
(1) Is he writing about Weis or Barack Hussein Obama?
"Never has so much hope and hype been built from hot air. But when you sell yourself on spec, as Weis did, sooner or later, the finished product comes in."
(2) Christopher Hitchens brings us barack to reality...
"Those who think that they have just voted to legalize Utopia (and I hardly exaggerate when I say this; have you been reading the moist and trusting comments of our commentariat?) are preparing for a disillusionment that I very much doubt they will blame on themselves. The national Treasury is an echoing, empty vault; our Russian and Iranian enemies are acting even more wolfishly even as they sense a repudiation of Bush-Cheney; the lines of jobless and evicted are going to lengthen, and I don't think a diet of hope is going to cover it. Nor even a diet of audacity, though can you picture anything less audacious than the gray, safety-first figures who have so far been chosen by Obama to be on his team?"
(3) Rich Karlgaard on The Great Tax Revolt Of 2012.
"Inflation and progressive taxes are a toxic brew. We haven’t heard the phrase "bracket creep" since Ronald Reagan ran against Jimmy Carter in 1980. Reagan knew that middle-income Americans were being inflated into higher tax brackets designed for the rich and were feeling mightily annoyed about this.
I predict the 1970s will play out again. Revolt against bracket creep will re-emerge as a top political issue soon after the economy recovers, the Fed’s easy money will spill out as high single-digit inflation and Obama will fulfill his election promise to hike taxes on the "rich." Upper-middle-class professional households earning $100,000 to $250,000 a year in 2008 dollars will find themselves inflated into higher incomes and then taxed like Swedes: Their income, payroll, state, sales, dividends and capital gains taxes will all go up--and keep going up, up, up because of inflation."
(4) Barack Hussein Obama votes present on the potential bailout for GM.
"As with all things Obama, we’ve heard every side of the argument, with no suggestion that he’s made up his mind what he actually thinks. But just judging from volume, it looks like he wants General Motors to become a ward of the state, and an investment platform for all kinds of alternative-energy-using vehicles. In the process, he’ll probably avoid rationalizing and shrinking GM’s antiquated labor contracts, healthcare obligations, and other cost structures.
It’s also possible that GM’s management themselves will push the situation to a boil now, and force the outgoing Bush people to deal with it. That would probably suit Obama just fine, as it would allow him to keep looking graceful and not have to make a decision."
Related (Countdown to 2010 and 2012)
Why Obama Looks Like a One Termer
"Never has so much hope and hype been built from hot air. But when you sell yourself on spec, as Weis did, sooner or later, the finished product comes in."
(2) Christopher Hitchens brings us barack to reality...
"Those who think that they have just voted to legalize Utopia (and I hardly exaggerate when I say this; have you been reading the moist and trusting comments of our commentariat?) are preparing for a disillusionment that I very much doubt they will blame on themselves. The national Treasury is an echoing, empty vault; our Russian and Iranian enemies are acting even more wolfishly even as they sense a repudiation of Bush-Cheney; the lines of jobless and evicted are going to lengthen, and I don't think a diet of hope is going to cover it. Nor even a diet of audacity, though can you picture anything less audacious than the gray, safety-first figures who have so far been chosen by Obama to be on his team?"
(3) Rich Karlgaard on The Great Tax Revolt Of 2012.
"Inflation and progressive taxes are a toxic brew. We haven’t heard the phrase "bracket creep" since Ronald Reagan ran against Jimmy Carter in 1980. Reagan knew that middle-income Americans were being inflated into higher tax brackets designed for the rich and were feeling mightily annoyed about this.
I predict the 1970s will play out again. Revolt against bracket creep will re-emerge as a top political issue soon after the economy recovers, the Fed’s easy money will spill out as high single-digit inflation and Obama will fulfill his election promise to hike taxes on the "rich." Upper-middle-class professional households earning $100,000 to $250,000 a year in 2008 dollars will find themselves inflated into higher incomes and then taxed like Swedes: Their income, payroll, state, sales, dividends and capital gains taxes will all go up--and keep going up, up, up because of inflation."
(4) Barack Hussein Obama votes present on the potential bailout for GM.
"As with all things Obama, we’ve heard every side of the argument, with no suggestion that he’s made up his mind what he actually thinks. But just judging from volume, it looks like he wants General Motors to become a ward of the state, and an investment platform for all kinds of alternative-energy-using vehicles. In the process, he’ll probably avoid rationalizing and shrinking GM’s antiquated labor contracts, healthcare obligations, and other cost structures.
It’s also possible that GM’s management themselves will push the situation to a boil now, and force the outgoing Bush people to deal with it. That would probably suit Obama just fine, as it would allow him to keep looking graceful and not have to make a decision."
Related (Countdown to 2010 and 2012)
Why Obama Looks Like a One Termer
