Posted on 12/09/2012 7:21:28 AM PST by Kaslin
“Mah fellow Americans, inflayshun is ow-uh friend…”
If you can pronounce the phonetic wording above – and if it sounds vaguely familiar – then for better or worse you probably grew up watching “Saturday Night Live” like I did. The line comes from a late 1970’s skit wherein funny guy Dan Aykroyd was impersonating President Jimmy Carter.
During his one term as President, Carter addressed the nation numerous times to try and quell people’s fears about inflation, the economic malady that defined the era. During those years, Carter announced several anti-inflation policy measures. He urged Americans to “tighten their belts” and consume less, in an effort to decrease the demand for goods and services and, therefore, to get prices to decline (consumption, by the way, was actually quite stagnant even as prices rose – hence the problem of “stagflation”). And as he got closer to his re-election date he looked increasingly anxious, as though he was trying to convince Americans that he was doing as well as any President could.
In the midst of this, “Saturday Night Live” delivered the definitive presidential satire. With his impeccable imitation of the President’s “southern gentlemen” accent, Aykroyd – as President Carter – addressed the nation one fine Saturday night and told Americans that “our economy is screwed, blued, and tattooed,” but noted that we could stop fighting the battle against inflation- because “inflation is our friend.”
Aykroyd was hilarious because his character’s statements were absurd - no adult in their right mind and certainly no U.S. President would “embrace inflation” or regard it as a “friend.” President Carter was desperately trying to assure us that he was ending inflation, and Aykroyd’s routine illustrated just how desperately the President was trying to remain in our good favor.
But that was in the 1970’s. Today, just three weeks away from 2013, there is reason to believe that our President and his Administration – and perhaps his party, as a whole – is “embracing” recession, as though it is an appropriate means to a necessary end.
Ron Scherer, Staff Writer at the Christian Science Monitor, was one of the first to catch-on. He noted in a November 30th news story that in the midst of the “fiscal cliff” tax rate negotiations, President Obama had begun to speak on the campaign trail about another $255 billion stimulus package. Scherer surmised that the President was proposing more stimulus spending as a means of “offsetting” the impact of his own proposed tax hikes.
But what, precisely, would need to be “offset,” if President Obama’s agenda prevails? He just completed a successful re-election campaign claiming that raising taxes on “rich people” would be good for the economy, yet it now appears that he wants more stimulus spending as a means of saving our economy from his own economic policies. This would seem to be, at the very least, a tacit admission from the President that raising taxes on individual people – even those awful “rich people” among us – does, indeed cause a slowdown in economic activity, and may very well bring about a recession.
Shortly after the President began his new stimulus push, former Democratic National Committee Chairman (and former presidential candidate) Howard Dean made some extraordinary remarks of his own about the economy. In an interview at MSNBC, Dean stated that he wants the across-the-board income tax increases entailed in the “fiscal cliff” scenario, and welcomed the resulting outcome. “Will it cause a problem?” he asked rhetorically. “Yes. There will be a short recession, and it will be painful.” Yet despite the “painful recession” that will ensue, Dean expressed exuberance for the higher tax rates and the cuts in military spending that will result as well.
In a recession, individuals and families often lose. They often lose jobs, careers, and homes, and sometimes families are torn apart. Governments that truly prioritize the wellbeing of the citizenry, usually try to avoid recessions - for these, and other reasons.
But when governmental leaders prioritize their own power and agenda over and above the wellbeing of the citizens they serve, a “painful recession” is an acceptable means to an end. You and I may lose our home or job in an upcoming Obama recession, but that is of little concern. The President and his party have made it clear that their goal is to control more private wealth, spend that wealth as they see fit, and make the citizenry more dependent on government services.
When I was a kid, it was laughable to think that even the inept President Jimmy Carter was regarding inflation as “our friend.” Today, all Americans should be sobered by the reality that our President may be quite intentionally sending us in to recession, as an acceptable means of accomplishing his objectives.
Quote from CFP, they know the score:
“Another “discovery” is that only Boehner (Obama’s new BFF) and Obama are “negotiating” behind closed doors. The American people—long ago—were shut out of their own government. Now Congress is being shut out, also. Sadly, most people will not accept that which is right in front of them…the truth that we have been living under a dictatorship for at least the last four years. The media won’t report it as, for some inexplicable reason, they rather like barbaric totalitarian governments. Besides, with the Benghazi assassinations being “okayed” by Obama, we already know the media support, if not endorse, murder from this “president” and they will protect and serve him no matter what additional atrocities he commits. And said new atrocities are coming, folks. The media stopped reporting the news years ago and now only deliver what the White House tells them to “report.” As a matter of record, Obama most recently met with Marxist channel MSNBC reporters privately 4 December, 2012.”
Thanks for the reference Ron!
Soon the attack on the MSM will begin, as people begin to starve and freeze. I can hardly wait to see the MSM pilloried by ridicule and demonstrations. Obama has become superfluous, a true enemy of the People.Its way bigger than him now.
"Ministry of Truth".
You’re welcome, that really was a devastating, depressing article.
None of our guys seem to have what it takes or the will to stop any of this so I guess it’s just a matter of time.
F’m all.
Tax more -- spend more -- elect more. Hey, wait a minute!
A light bulb finally begins to glow in the recesses of the Stupid Party.
Now if they could only grow a backbone.
“when GDP / M2 drops < 1 it is game over for Capitalism”
Please elaborate.
And instead of studying literature, there was a recent article here that there is a proposal to explicitly completely drop that, and instead use government edicts and laws to study English. Wonderful, eh? It would really up the level of government propagandization in our schools, as if it wasn’t bad enough already.
Here, found it:
Obamacore: The substitution of propaganda for great literature in our schools
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2966257/posts
When GDP/M2 <1 then
the incremental change in GDP for injected Capital is less than zero
Return on Investment (ROI) goes globally negative
Capitalism operates by using Capital to make Capital
When the ROI on injected Capital is <0 then
Entrepreneurs cease to invest
due to expected losses on investment
Industry ceases to create Jobs
Industry ceases to grow
Industry seeks to cut losses,
by cutting Jobs and liquidating
This continues until there is a +ROI on investment, but
in the process, societal degradation accelerates
The Health Care System Collapses as Hospitals close
Death, Despair, Anger follows
There is a potential for the return of the Dark Ages
The wording’s a little different, but I believe Karl Denninger (market-ticker.org) has written extensively on that.
They were before my time. I am only 66 YO.
LBJ was a low life scum too.
In the End he and his side comes out doing well, while the rest of us suffer the losses of jobs, our homes, and in some cases our family stability.
But he's good, you know because he can escape blame and benefit by our national economic recession. If you really read what I just posted you will know all you will ever need to know about how morally corrupt the Obama Democrats are.
Recession no depression yes Obama&Co are going to tax the hell out of businesses,not to pay the debt of 16 trillion but to spend more aka stimulus.
Jiffy Lube comming your way soon.
I don’t believe the “recession” of 2007-2008 “ended” in 2009. I simply don’t see it on the streets, nor do I believe a single number from the government. The USA is still in a recession.
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