Obama Era Economic Stagnation Explained by Lemonade and Cookies

The American Thinker ^ | 6/22/2011 | C. Edmund Wright

[Lakeshark]

We don't need to ask the wizards of the Ivy League why Obamanomics is not working. Everything we need to know can be explained with lemonade and cookies. Or more specifically, a couple of news items from the last few days involving lemonade and cookies pretty well demonstrates why the economy is doing well in a few select places while being in the tank overall. Two little anecdotes define conservative versus liberal economic thinking, not to mention the inevitable failure of the Obama regime.

First, in Bethesda, Maryland parents were fined 500 dollars when their kids had the temerity to run an "un-authorized" lemonade (and other cold drinks) stand. In fact, the venture was in part a fundraising effort to boot.
/snip/
This is chilling the business climate everywhere. Entrepreneurs are on strike, à la Atlas Shrugged, and for the same reasons.

People in business are very sensitive to the government-knows-best mindset too. They can practically smell it. Many started their own businesses for the express purpose of being independent and having control of their own destinies. In short, liberty is often the entrepreneur's main motivation. Accumulating money is of course part of that, because property is a necessary ingredient in the liberty equation. People motivated by independence are obviously going to avoid situations that invite government interference. Under the Obama administration, running a business now invites just that.

[Lakeshark]

Money quote from a good read: "To understand why our economy is not in recovery and cannot possibly get there under this administration, it's even simpler than Friedman's pencil. Just compare the government view of lemonade stands in Maryland versus the government view of homemade cookie kitchens in Texas."

[AndyJackson]

in Texas, Governor Rick Perry signed into law SB 81, making it legal for kids and grandmas to bake cookies and cupcakes for sale at home. Before this law was signed, it was not technically against an ordinance. Now it's Entrepreneurs 1 Bureaucrats 0 in red-state Texas.

Since when did they have to pass laws to make sanity legal in Texas?

[arthurus]

To understand why our economy is not in recovery and cannot possibly get there ...

I have worked in a summer resort that caters to youth, primarily college youth, for 6 years and have noted that the apparent level of intelligence of the "guests" has decreased steadily the entire time. This year the slop is more like a drop from last year. I don't think the economy is coming back, ever. I don't see how that sort of slide can be reversed. These people all vote and stupidity votes for handouts and benefits and against having to pay for stuff.

[Lakeshark]

The amazing thing is that a lot of juvenile stupidity eventually grows up.

This is not as new as you may think.

Cheers!

[bert]

Amen

When Rick begins to preach, the gospel will be disseminated across the land. Rick and Sarah are going to deliver the gospel. Others merely talk. They passionately deliver

[arthurus]

I was not impressed so much by the stupidity as by the increasing stupidity level. I am not even talking about the pranks and antics and booze and insane sex practices which have actually been decreasing over the six years. I am talking about a decrease in simple logic and vocabulary. It is easier to make geographical directions and responses to requests for information understood to foreigners with limited command of English than it is to Americans. I find myself having to use shorter and shorter sentences and fewer and fewer words of more than one syllable. It is a trick to do that without sounding "condescending. "Simple hand gestures such as waving a car through the gate are not understood by growing and now large numbers of people any more. Left and right seem to make no sense to more and more people. I have to point and say "go that way," and still I have to explain "that way" a couple of times for some. Six years ago these things were rare occurrences that I laughed about. Now it is part of the normal mix and I don't laugh. Admittedly this is a view on a microcosm but it is unsettling.

[Wildbill22]

The movie Logan’s Run comes to mind. Hedonistic morons only concerned for their personal pleasure with no regard for the truth, the future or any sense of curiosity. Today’s generation is represented by the populace in that movie.

[wbill]

My wife teaches a co-op class for pre-school teachers.

Part of the class requires her students to keep a time sheet for the semester. As Mrs WBill doesn't particularly like to mess with math, and I can quickly add columns in my head (I'm an engineer), she asks me to double check their addition at the end of the semester.

Easily 1/2 of her students can't add reliably. And we're not talking Advanced Differential Equations, here. We're talking 1+2+4+1+6+.......

You'd also be amazed at the number - 1 in 5 easily - of students who can't tell time. They call, for instance, a 8-to-noon shift, 5 hours.

I know how it's happening. Count on your fingers 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 = 5 hours. It's still inconceivable to me.

[arthurus]

This sort of thing has been happening for a lo-o-o-ng time. My concern from my anecdotal observations is that it is progressive and the progress seems to have taken a sharp upturn this year.