The problem's not the banks

NY Post ^ | December 17, 2009 | MARK A. CALABRIA

[Scanian]

When he met Monday with the CEOs of the nation's largest banks, President Obama's message was simple: We gave to you, now you give to us. That assumes that a lack of bank lending is holding back the economy, undermining job creation.

Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the president's own policies that are holding back the economy.

Recessions are first characterized by significant job losses. At some point, these taper off, as the boom's excess corrects. For instance, the almost 2 million construction jobs lost after the housing bubble burst are probably most or all of the job losses we'll see in that sector. With the exception of continued longterm declines in manufacturing, we're likely past the job-loss phase of this recession.

[dawn53]

Obama’s policies are scaring people into not spending. Bush tax cuts are going to expire, you may be forced to buy health insurance you don’t want, the threat of inflation or devaluation of the dollar from too much spending in Washington, etc....these issues don’t allow “thinking people” to go out and spend, even though they might have a job and money at their disposal. Of course, no spending by those with a job leads to loss of jobs for other people, it’s a vicious circle.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

“Nothing could be further from the truth. It is the president’s own policies that are holding back the economy.”

And the policies of his Demomarxist comrades in Congress...

Together they are doing all they can to continue to tank this economy - and they are doing a pretty good job of it.

[whitedog57]

Many Dems believe that capitalism is unfair and government can fairly set policies and allocate goods and services. The old Soviet mentality. It has never worked and the system becomes more repressive to force it down everyone’s throats.

If I was Calabria, I would watch myself. These people are killers.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Well, yes, they are killers. They are killing JOBS (and, with them, any hope of a real economic recovery) with every move they make!!!

From the article: “ Even more damaging to job creation has been Washington’s hostile regulatory attitude toward business. Earlier this month — the same week that Obama announced his main job-creation ideas at the Brookings Institution — his Labor Department announced 90 new workplace rules that it would implement over the next year. Does the president somehow believe that raising the cost of hiring will result in more hiring? We should be making it cheaper and easier to hire, rather than more expensive and difficult.

But those workplace regulations will be small potatoes compared to the costs that health-care reform would impose on businesses. The active bills promise both higher taxes and increased per-employee costs to provide care; until these costs become clearer, businesses will continue to sit on the sidelines.”