We may owe Nancy Pelosi an apology. We laughed at her back in February when she said 500 million people might lose their jobs every month.
We may owe Nancy Pelosi an apology. We laughed at her back in February when she said 500 million people might lose their jobs every month.
But we’re now nine months into the Obama economy and it’s beginning to look like that number may be accurate.
Please accept our humblest apologies, Speaker Pelosi.
The United States has already this year alone achieved a 6% reduction in emissions simply because of the downturn in the economy, so we are effectively saying we need to go another 14%.
Massachusetts Democrat Senator John Kerry may have the face of a horse, but he lacks horse sense.
The Massachusetts Democrat is backing Cap-and-Trade, a mindboggling waste of money designed to combat so-called global warming by slapping taxes on energy.
“Let me emphasize something very strongly as we begin this discussion,” Kerry said. “The United States has already this year alone achieved a 6% reduction in emissions simply because of the downturn in the economy, so we are effectively saying we need to go another 14%.
C’mon, America. Join John Kerry’s quest to achieve lower greenhouse gas emissions by sinking into a never-ending state of economic depression.
But, you may ask, how can the country survive when it’s unable to produce anything of any value?
Simple. We’ll do it the same way John Kerry does it. By marrying a homely, rich widow nation that will give us all the money we need.
Maybe Norway would like to be our sugar momma.
Source: Wall Street Journal
CNN reports the contradictory news that, “The job market is showing signs of improvement, according to the latest economic reports. But for those out of work and pounding the pavement, there are few signs of a turnaround.”
CNN reports the contradictory news that, “The job market is showing signs of improvement, according to the latest economic reports. But for those out of work and pounding the pavement, there are few signs of a turnaround.”
We are still trying to make sense out of the job market “showing signs of improvement’ with ‘few signs of a turnaround.” Perhaps the jobs that are not available now are better jobs than the ones that were previously not available.
CNN explains the signs of improvement with salient snippets like: “In fact, almost 70% of U.S. companies surveyed expect no change in their fourth-quarter hiring plans, according to a recent study by employment services company Manpower Inc.”
We are waiting for CNN to publish more contradictory news, such as “CNN is the most trusted name in news even though everyone knows we’ve lost our relevance and sold our journalistic souls.”
Source: CNN.com
– Written by Patrick Michael
Here’s the problem: Obama’s estimate of trillion dollar annual deficits is all based on his crack economic team’s estimate of 3.8% growth in 2011 and greater than 4% growth the following three years. Problem is, growth in the last expansion topped out at just 3.6%.
The Obama administration announced last week that its ten-year deficit estimate – you know, the one for which it bears absolutely no responsibility – had increased from $7 trillion to $9 trillion in just five months.
They tried to bury the news by releasing in late on a Friday afternoon just as the Obama family was preparing for a week in Martha’s Vineyard. This may explain why the President announced that he didn’t want to talk business while he was on vacation.
Continue reading “Why Obama’s estimated $9 trillion deficit is far too rosy”
It looks like Paul Krugman of the New York Times has an accuracy percentage that’s approaching baseball’s Mendoza line. So it must be particularly galling for Krugman when his lack of accuracy is exposed by his own newspaper.
Is anyone keeping a scorecard? Because it looks like Paul Krugman of the New York Times has an accuracy percentage that’s approaching baseball’s Mendoza line.
So it must be particularly galling for Krugman when his lack of accuracy is exposed by his own newspaper:
“There’s a problem: conservative politicians, clinging to an out-of-date ideology–and, perhaps, betting (wrongly) that their constituents are relatively well positioned to ride out the storm–are standing in the way of action. No, I’m not talking about Bob Corker, the Senator from Nissan–I mean Tennessee–and his fellow Republicans. . . . I am, instead, talking about Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and her economic officials, who have become the biggest obstacles to a much-needed European rescue plan.”
– former Enron adviser Paul Krugman, New York Times, Dec. 15, 2008“Why is Europe falling short? Poor leadership is part of the story. European banking officials, who completely missed the depth of the crisis, still seem weirdly complacent. And to hear anything in America comparable to the know-nothing diatribes of Germany’s finance minister you have to listen to, well, Republicans.” – Paul Krugman, New York Times, March 16, 2009
“The European economy bounced back with unexpected strength in the second quarter, buoying hopes that a worldwide recession was drawing to a close. The sharp improvement from the first quarter underscored just how far Europe and indeed the global economy had come since a harrowing free fall in late 2008. Underlying the strong reading were solid performances in France and Germany, each of whose economies grew slightly in the second quarter, according to government data released Thursday.” – News story, New York Times, Aug. 14, 2009
For those of you who aren’t baseball fans, here’s how Wikipedia defines the Mendoza Line:
“The Mendoza Line is an informal term used in baseball for the threshold of incompetent hitting. Even though Mario Mendoza’s lifetime batting average is .215, the Mendoza Line is said to occur at .200, and when a position player’s batting average falls below that level, the player is said to be below the Mendoza Line. It is often thought of as the offensive threshold below which a player’s presence in the Major Leagues cannot be justified despite his defensive abilities.”
We would call Krugman the Mario Mendoza of columnists, but we don’t wish to offend Mendoza.
Source: WSJ.com
Harvard had a $36.9 billion endowment, the largest in academia. The endowment has imploded, and the university faces the worst financial crisis in its 373-year history.
Unemployment is at record levels and growing. The tsunami of commercial loan foreclosures still hasn’t begun. The “stimulus” money is sitting unspent in bank vaults across America. The national debt is spiraling out of control. Yet there is a ray of sunshine.
“Only a year ago,” Vanity Fair says in its latest issue, “Harvard had a $36.9 billion endowment, the largest in academia. Now that endowment has imploded, and the university faces the worst financial crisis in its 373-year history. Could the same lethal mix of uncurbed expansion, colossal debt, arrogance, and mismanagement that ravaged Wall Street bring down America’s most famous university?
One can only hope.
Source: Vanity Fair
Cuba’s economy sucks donkey. In layman’s terms, fifty years of Communism has brought them to the latest in a long series of serious economic crises. For god’s sake, man, they’re running out of toilet paper.
We are highly-trained economists here at IHateTheMedia.com. So we apologize if you’re confused by our use of this technical jargon: Cuba’s economy sucks donkey.
In layman’s terms, fifty years of Communism has brought them to the latest in a long series of serious economic crises.
For god’s sake, man, they’re running out of toilet paper. And officials on the Communist-ruled island say the situation might not improve until the end of the year.
Reuters reports from the People’s Paradise of Cuba:
Continue reading “Bad timing: Cuba runs out of toilet paper just as its economy goes into the toilet”
Dueling Headlines: How’s the economy? “1,200 R.I. businesses face closure over sales tax” and “The Recession is Over”
“1,200 R.I. businesses face closure over sales tax”
Source: Providence Journal
“The Recession is Over”
Source: Newsweek
Consider it another step toward Armageddon: It’s reached the point that Communist China is lecturing the United States about it’s massive deficits.
Consider it another step toward Armageddon: It’s reached the point that Communist China is lecturing the United States about it’s massive deficits.
President Obama dispatched little Timmy Geithner to China to calm the frayed nerves of the Chinese government. It holds $8901.5 billion in U.S. Treasury debt, more than any other nation, and they’re worried that our skyrocketing deficit will trigger massive inflation and/or devastate the dollar. Either scenario is bad news for their investments.
“We sincerely hope the U.S. fiscal deficit will be reduced, year after year,” Assistant Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said.
“The Chinese government is a responsible government and first and foremost our responsibility is the Chinese people,” he continued, “so of course we are concerned about the security of the Chinese assets.”
Geithner reassured them by saying, “Where can a guy find some good mu shu pork around here?”
Source: AP
The Associated Press reports that the Cuban Revolution Day is not off to such a great start in Havana.
The Associated Press reports that the Cuban Revolution Day is not off to such a great start in Havana.
Oh, sure, there’s still the sea of olive drab uniforms, the Che Guevara souvenir t-shirt shops, the parade of antique cars (because that’s all the people can afford), and the display of homemade boats created to leave the country.
But the economy’s been hit hard this year, according to the AP.
It’s the global credit meltdown, U.S. relations, and a failure of economic “reforms” that are causing this ho (chi minh) hum celebration. Interestingly, they don’t report that the failure of the Cuban revolution might…might…have something to do with the fact that for the last 50 years, the country has been run — and ruined — by a group of authoritarian, communist thugs who imprison people for daring to speak their minds and wreck the economy with state-run, communist principles that only work in select Oliver Stone movies.
The article does mention, however, that Cubans have – nudge, nudge, wink, wink – free health care. Something Americans could have, too, if they were just willing to live on $20 a month.
Freud said that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but in Cuba, a cigar is a symbol of a stupid, repressive, communist system that enslaves a proud, smart people.
Written by Sven Waring of DotPenn.com
Source: Associated Press
In what appears to be an effort to postpone the day of reckoning for President Obama’s insane spending spree, the administration is delaying the release of updated economic numbers for 30 days.
In what appears to be an effort to postpone the day of reckoning for President Obama’s insane spending spree, the administration is delaying the release of updated economic numbers for 30 days.
The Associated Press reports:
The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today’s bleak landscape.
The administration’s annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits and unemployment and slower growth than projected in President Barack Obama’s budget in February and update in May, and that could complicate his efforts to get his signature health care and global-warming proposals through Congress.
The release of the update – usually scheduled for mid-July – has been put off until the middle of next month, giving rise to speculation the White House is delaying the bad news at least until Congress leaves town on its August 7 summer recess.
The administration is pressing for votes before then on its $1 trillion health care initiative, which lawmakers are arguing over how to finance.
Got that? The president is going to delay release of the bad numbers until after congress has a chance to approve ObamaCare, an additional trillion dollar expenditure.
We think we just figured this out.
Obama’s got a gambling addiction. ObamaCare is his attempt to double down on the trillion dollars he’s already lost. He’s knows he only has a few chips left on the table and he’s willing to make wilder and wilder bets, thinking to himself, “If I just win this bet I’ll be even and the wife will never know I’m gambling with the kids’ college money.”
This explains why he came out so strongly against Las Vegas conventions. It’s what psychologists call projection – ascribing his own personal attributes onto other people.
Of course, we are able to make this diagnosis because we are highly-trained clinical psychologists.
Which also allows us to say that this guy’s spending is absolutely insane.
Source: Associated Press via Ace of Spades
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says this economy, inlcuding unemployment, is very healthy, Easy to say when you have a government job.
There’s an old joke that says, “When you neighbor loses his job, it’s a recession. When you lose your job, it’s a depression.”
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner still has his job, so things are a-ok in his book.
“What the economy is going through is a necessary and very healthy adjustment as families and the government of the United States goes back to living within their means. That is causing a greater contraction in demand for credit than we normally see in recessions. And you’re seeing a very healthy increase in private savings behavior and partly in response to that. I think those are necessary, healthy dynamics although they will produce a slower recovery.
We would like to propose the Corollary to Geithner’s Law:
When your neighbor loses his job, it’s a recession. When you lose your job it’s a depression. And when Tim Geithner loses his job, it’s a celebration.
We have a vice president who misreads the economy, a president who misreads Teleprompter and a Democratic Party that misreads the electorate.
We have a vice president who misreads the economy, a president who misreads Teleprompter and a Democratic Party that misreads the electorate.
Source: ABCNews.com
“Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on six out of 10 key issues, including the top issue of the economy.”
Must have been a whole lot ‘o hyperventilatin’ goin’ on over at MSNBC when they read that Rasmussen Reports summary of its latest national telephone survey.
Rasmussen found that 45% of likely voters now have more confidence in Republicans’ ability to handle economic issues. Only 39% favor Democrats. And to twist the knife a little more, independent voters now trust the GOP by a two-to-one margin.
This is the first time in more than two years that Republicans have come out on top.
“The latest survey was taken just after General Motors announced it was going into bankruptcy as part of a deal brokered by the Obama administration that gives the government majority ownership of the failing automaker,” Rasmussen continued.
Unemployment is skyrocketing. The national debt is exploding. The dollar is collapsing. Interest rates are rising. Inflation is rearing its ugly head. We’re just surprised it took this long for the voters to figure out these guys don’t know what they’re doing.
Source: Rasmussen Reports
We love the DrudgeReport. It provides a window on the world that’s just not available anywhere else. If President Obama happened to look at Drudge on Sunday, his view through that window was very hazy. We doubt that he enjoyed it very much. Because it looks like a lot of people are catching on to the scam that is Obam.
US sales of PRIUS fall 45% so far in ’09
OBAMA PLANS FOR NEW BANKING REGULATIONS…DEVELOPING
NYT MONDAY: TENSIONS GRIP OBAMA ECONOMIC TEAM…DEVELOPING
Unemployment Rate Gallops Ahead of Expectations
Obama Seeks Tax on Wealthy to Fund Health Overhaul
Tax on international air travel could fund ‘climate change’ fight
NDakota city sees first June snowfall in 60 years
Green Bay breaks 1943 cold record
Obama’s global warming bill ‘patently absurd’; ‘How do you control the weather?’
EU LEANS RIGHT; NEW ELECTIONS SHOW SHIFT
Merkel, Sarkozy Triumph in European Election
Far-right gains from Britain’s Labour turmoil
Schwarzenegger suggests state consider flat tax
Big government spending programs — having opposite desired effect
Defiant settlers build ‘Obama huts’ in West Bank
Canadian cities angered over ‘Buy American’ rule
Canada passes ‘Buy Canada’ resolution
“Wholesale Prices Rise More Than Expected”
Source: FoxNews.com
“New Jobless Claims Rise More Than Expected”
Source: FoxNews.com
We predict the headline trifecta will be completed when the following headline runs about this time next year:
“Taxes Rise More Than Expected”
Honesty-challenged Vice President Joe Biden told rosy tales of an economic recovery on Wednesday. But even the liberal Assocated Press says the facts tell another story:
It is not disputed that Washington is spending historic amounts of money at a rate far faster than normal. Workers are getting tax breaks, Washington is picking up a greater share of state Medicaid costs and road construction projects are beginning.
Even Recovery.gov, the Web site that has yet to live up to its billing as a one-stop way to track every penny, offers more information than typical government programs, and faster.
But the effect of that spending is less clear. Many of the claims the White House is making are based on anecdotes selected to fit the Obama administration’s message. For instance, the report cites a newspaper article about workers being rehired at a factory in Chicago. That account is true, but is no more an accurate snapshot of the nation’s economy than a story, not cited in the report, about a Roanoke, Va., railcar factory closing.
Capturing the full effect of the stimulus at this early stage is difficult, but the administration has set high bars for success. In championing those successes, however, the White House plays a little loose with the facts.
You can see the specifics of the Associate Press fact check here.
Joe Biden playing a little loose with the facts? We are shocked that the Associated Press would make such a baseless accusation. Shocked, we tell you.
Source: Associated Press
There’s nothing funnier than actually looking at the “internals” of liberal polls. Because they often reveal truths the summaries gloss over.
For example, here’s what the summary of the latest CBS/New York Times says:
Americans have grown more optimistic about the economy and the direction of the country in the 11 weeks since President Obama was inaugurated, suggesting that he is enjoying some success in his critical task of rebuilding the nation’s confidence, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
It continued:
(J)ust 31 percent of respondents said they had a favorable view of the Republican Party, the lowest in the 25 years the question has been asked in New York Times/CBS News polls.
Now here’s what the summary didn’t tell you. Look deeper into the poll at the demographic breakdown of who was actually questioned and you quickly see how skewed the results are. Who participated in the poll?
39% Democrats
23% Republicans
30% Independents
Say what? 69.6% more Democrats than Republicans? President Obama only got 53% of the vote. In the recent House election in upstate New York a Democrat only got 50% of the vote in a Democrat district.
So how about if you make this closing paragraph the new opening paragraph of the New York Times/CBS poll summary:
“The latest fraudulent CBS/New York Times poll kept questioning Democrats until we got the answers to line up with the story we had already written. Here are the results of that bogus poll.”
Source: TimesWatch.org
According to Rasmussen Reports:
Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans say the U.S. economy will be helped more by the decisions of U.S. business leaders to grow their own businesses than by the actions of world leaders on behalf of the global economy.
Thirty percent (30%) say decisions made by world leaders to help the global economy will benefit the U.S. economy more. Fifteen percent (15%) aren’t sure in the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
In an IHateTheMedia.com survey, 100% of tinhorn dictators said they believe capitalism is overrated.
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Thanks to John Romano over at BigHollywood.com for digging out this old YouTube video of Milton Friedman teaching dumbfounded liberal Phil Donahue a few things about how capitalism and the real world work.
You can help but love the crestfallen look on Donahue’s face.
Source: BigHollywood.com
The President took time out from his busy schedule of magazine cover photo shoots and late night TV appearances on Tuesday and made his NCAA men’s basketball tournament picks for ESPN. And that didn’t sit well with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“Somebody said that we’re not in President Obama’s Final Four,” Krzyzewski said, “and as much as I respect what he’s doing, really, the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets.”
We say back off, Coach K. The more time this guy spends on basketball, the less time he’ll have to “stimulate” the economy.
This is the most honest, remarkable, refreshing speech you’ve ever heard on the floor of the House of Representatives.
We’ve never heard of Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, a Republican from Michigan, until now. But we have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from him in the future.
Here’s how McCotter ends his speech:
“Here’s the sad reality of where we are today. In a time of crisis they passed the Wall Street bailout, the nightmarish prognostications of myself and others have been exceeded. Now what we find is an attempt to cover ones tracks with another bill in a time of crisis that will leave no one–no one–safe from the hand of the taxman when the politicians come to cover their tracks at your expense. The public deserves better. The public deserves transparency. We cannot fail them again.”
Anyone seen our checkbook? We’re thinking of sending a McCotter a campaign contribution. This is the kind of guy we need to keep in Washington, DC.
Source: Breitbart
The economy has dealt a vicious blow to one of Matt Lauer’s coolest perks.
No more gallivanting around the world during the Today Show’s annual “Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?” promotion. It’s been axed by producers who say the extravagant trip sent the wrong message in today’s tough economy.
The new plan calls for Lauer to spend five days trudging around “affordable” vacation spots in the United States.
If the Today Show really wants to save money, here’s another idea: Have Lauer stay right in New York and broadcast directly from his home.
Instead of lounging on the beach in the Seychelle Islands, he can lounge on his couch. Instead of dining at fine restaurants in Paris, he can eating pork and beans out of the can while standing at the kitchen sink. Instead of sleeping in five star hotels, he can catnap in a La-Z-Boy recliner in his den. Instead of interviewing exotic foreigners, he can interview his illegal Guatamalan housekeeper.
That’s what Hollywood types call riveting TV.
Source: Breitbart.com
Remember the movie “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark?” Indy found an ancient artifact that had been lost for thousands of years.
Well, slap a snappy fedora on the president and call him Indiana Obama, because he’s discovered socialist Saul Alinsky’s long-lost 13th Rule for Radicals. It is “Create successes that cannot be measured or disproved.”
Presidents used to say, “My plan will create X jobs?” Our new president says, “My plan will create or save X jobs.”
Every time he says it, the compliant media nod enthusiastically, scribble down that day’s number, and hope like hell reporters are among the ones that are saved.
For God’s sake, people, would someone please ask this guy how to measure this new statistical category he’s invented called “Jobs Saved.”
Thanks to this magical new “Jobs Saved” category, Obama can make up any number he damn well pleases. Even if jobs don’t budge an inch in the next four years, he’ll happily announce, “Due to our policies, we have saved 4 million jobs.”
To complete the analogy, Indiana Jones was afraid of snakes. So are we. Especially when they’re in the White House.
You’ll be glad to know your tax dollars are being fiercely protected over at National Public Radio.
The publicly-supported broadcaster recognizes the tough times in which we live, so they’ve taken the radical step of slashing newspaper subscriptions from their budget. Here’s how the tragic news was broken to the staff:
As of April 1 NPR is canceling all newspaper subscriptions. We are making some arrangments to get the Wall Street Journal either on line or hard copy. You have until tomorrow to appeal this if there is a solid reason why you should be exempt. This is a cost saving measure company wide.
No word yet on whether they cut any of the exorbitant salaries paid to talent and producers. How exorbitant? How’s this:
Barbara Rehm, Managing Editor: $383,139
Robert Siegel, Host, All Things Considered: $350,288
Renee Montagne, Host, Morning Edition host: $332,160
Steve Inskeep, Host, Morning Edition: $331,242
Richard L. Harris, Afternoon Program Director: $190,267
So at a time when real world radio companies — those that don’t wallow in your tax dollars — are bleeding money, slashing salaries and laying off people left and right, NPR is cutting newspaper subscriptions.
Your tax dollars at work.
Source: NewsBusters.org
