tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post9100291277760850973..comments2024-03-28T09:20:03.834-05:00Comments on Althouse: "Right now, the most important task for us is to stabilize the patient."Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20718411742087134312009-01-06T19:46:00.000-06:002009-01-06T19:46:00.000-06:00Yes, Michael, that's healthy -- the same way that ...Yes, Michael, that's healthy -- the same way that drying out a drunk is healthy. In that respect Obama's right, but that's definitely not the way he meant it.<BR/><BR/>The world economy, including most especially ours in the US, has been on a liquidity-driven drunken bash of historic proportion since 2003.<BR/><BR/>It started out as a good party back in '95 and began to get out of hand a few years later. Things settled down when the booze ran low in '00 to '02, but then the ever-solicitous Mr. Greenspan started delivering case after case of cheap vodka.<BR/><BR/>Sobering up makes for a nasty headache, but the alternative is usually fatal after awhile.Bart Hall (Kansas, USA)https://www.blogger.com/profile/06060627788809034719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-54310755954072430132009-01-06T18:40:00.000-06:002009-01-06T18:40:00.000-06:00michael get back on your ritalin. Dad says that y...michael get back on your ritalin. Dad says that you're so dumb you could be elected governor of minnesota.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-84199520490262981902009-01-06T18:24:00.000-06:002009-01-06T18:24:00.000-06:00"No, Mr Obama, the economy is not "very sick." Ame..."No, Mr Obama, the economy is not "very sick." America's political class is very sick..."<BR/><BR/>Read any newspapers, books, periodicals lately?<BR/><BR/>Good lord...where do you people come up with this inane drivel?<BR/><BR/>Here's an example of how "healthy" the economy is:<BR/><BR/>*Alcoa announces 13,500 job cuts - 13% of worldwide workforce. Freezes salaries and cuts capital expenses by 50%.Robertohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15134027971098573102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-11689166978627147482009-01-06T18:22:00.000-06:002009-01-06T18:22:00.000-06:00Pogo: Ever figure out who wrote the opinion you re...Pogo: Ever figure out who wrote the opinion you relied on yesterday?<BR/><BR/>I bet not.Robertohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15134027971098573102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-40095061388090700242009-01-06T17:42:00.000-06:002009-01-06T17:42:00.000-06:00First, do no harm.First, do no harm.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-83078366155904766742009-01-06T17:22:00.000-06:002009-01-06T17:22:00.000-06:00Manufactured Mandate.Manufactured Mandate.knoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231876226573540476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-32457837360351033652009-01-06T16:14:00.000-06:002009-01-06T16:14:00.000-06:00I suppose the pre-existing God complex made this p...I suppose the pre-existing God complex made this progression inevitable.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12824506338738265111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-77350580722489389222009-01-06T15:45:00.000-06:002009-01-06T15:45:00.000-06:00No, Mr Obama, the economy is not "very sick." Amer...No, Mr Obama, the economy is not "very sick." America's <I>political</I> class is very sick, and its corrupt relationship with powerful but poorly or poorly managed companies is highly destructive.<BR/><BR/>Our tax moneys intended to thaw a frozen credit regime have been used instead to purchase other companies around the world. For example, Bank of America has just bought 20% of China Construction Bank, the second largest in China.<BR/><BR/>Our politicians of both parties are falling over each other doling out the money to their friends and attempting to get more for the same purpose.<BR/><BR/>Small business like ours struggle to avoid the blowback from the self-dealing amongst America's self-appointed elite.<BR/><BR/><I>That's</I> what's sick. Apart from the late financial shenanigans in New York, every group in serious economic trouble -- airlines, autos, education, and government -- is heavily unionized.<BR/><BR/>Beyond those groups and apart from the tofu-only restaurant start-ups or desperately over-indebted businesses of all sorts, things are generally fine in the American economy.<BR/><BR/>This is not an inventory-adjustment recession; it is a <I>balance sheet</I> adjustment facilitated by the exact sort of political bankruptcy I mentioned above.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, the response of our political class has been a concerted attempt to crush normal prudence -- T-bills at 0% anyone? -- and force people into more risky behavior in hopes of re-flating the now-burst liquidity bubble.<BR/><BR/>If the bastards would just leave it alone things would clear through much faster and with much less damage than what we're likely to get.<BR/><BR/>600,000 new federal bureaucrats? Thanks, Mr. O. That's just what we needed ... an even bigger government.Bart Hall (Kansas, USA)https://www.blogger.com/profile/06060627788809034719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-72900956895064407202009-01-06T15:11:00.000-06:002009-01-06T15:11:00.000-06:00"Obama is going with the full emergency metaphor.....<I>"Obama is going with the full emergency metaphor..."<BR/><BR/>And you would suggest otherwise?<BR/><BR/>Throw out some suggestions, I'm sure he and his administration would appreciate the expert advice.</I><BR/><BR/>From <A HREF="http://blog.heritage.org/2009/01/06/morning-bell-dont-take-the-bait-for-obamas-trillion-dollar-spending-trap/" REL="nofollow">this link</A>:<BR/><BR/>"Obama likes to say, “We are being guided by what works, not by ideology.” <B>But if that is true, then he should listen closely to his Council of Economic Advisers chairman Christina Romer</B>, who has published economic studies concluding that: <A HREF="http://www.nber.org/papers/w13264" REL="nofollow">1) tax increases harm economic growth</A>; <A HREF="http://www.econ.berkeley.edu/~cromer/draft507.pdf" REL="nofollow">2) permanent tax cuts lead to greater economic activity</A>; and, most importantly, <A HREF="http://www.nber.org/papers/w4765" REL="nofollow">3) increased government spending has at best a small effect on stimulating economic activity.</A>"<BR/><BR/>Would you consider his own Council of Economic Advisers chairman as being expert enough?Larry Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07005320430740976182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-49302203751088856752009-01-06T15:06:00.000-06:002009-01-06T15:06:00.000-06:00Hey, it's Michael Threadkill!Hey, it's Michael Threadkill!KCFleminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00124201866124646626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-8301066865449802712009-01-06T14:30:00.000-06:002009-01-06T14:30:00.000-06:00Whiners to the very end.Obama hasn't even take...Whiners to the very end.<BR/><BR/>Obama hasn't even taken office yet and all you hear from the yahoos here is what a poor job he'll do.<BR/><BR/>Well, it will take some doing on his part to beat out Bush & Co's fantastic work over the past 8 years.Robertohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15134027971098573102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-31413236260993760612009-01-06T14:28:00.000-06:002009-01-06T14:28:00.000-06:00"Obama is going with the full emergency metaphor....."Obama is going with the full emergency metaphor..."<BR/><BR/>And you would suggest otherwise?<BR/><BR/>Throw out some suggestions, I'm sure he and his administration would appreciate the expert advice.Robertohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15134027971098573102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-92120469587708768412009-01-06T13:38:00.000-06:002009-01-06T13:38:00.000-06:00Since he's using a medical metaphor, he should und...Since he's using a medical metaphor, he should understand and live by the dictate: "First do no harm."<BR/><BR/>Economic history has shown what happens when governments print massive amounts of money to weather a short term problem. All you have to do is look at the Weimar Republic and some modern African nations to see the dangers of hyper-inflation. <BR/><BR/>MBAs are often ridiculed for their inability to look beyond the next quarterly profit/loss report. Apparently, nothing matters to politicians beyond the next election.Larry Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07005320430740976182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-61553575454169460592009-01-06T13:30:00.000-06:002009-01-06T13:30:00.000-06:00The way you save capitalism is by killing it!The way you save capitalism is by killing it!Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11205752419540502278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-36229262038967729822009-01-06T12:20:00.000-06:002009-01-06T12:20:00.000-06:00Take me beautiful black doctor. I am ready for my ...<I>Take me beautiful black doctor. I am ready for my prostate exam.<BR/><BR/>Be gentle...or not.</I><BR/><BR/>Oh Titus, you fibber. You said you were always the giver and never the receiver.<BR/><BR/>Truth will out!Hoosier Daddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12872965118921894534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-30141643681247094912009-01-06T11:44:00.000-06:002009-01-06T11:44:00.000-06:00It's an emergency. Get into the emergency frame of...<EM>It's an emergency. Get into the emergency frame of mind, which is stand back, don't interfere, accept that they gotta do what they gotta do. Obama is going with the full emergency metaphor:</EM> <BR/><BR/>Obama used the emergency metaphore throughout his campaign. It's his excuse to be come more "collective" in order to overcome the emergency (like we did in World War II), except Obama's collectivism isn't temperory. He wants collectivism to fight problems like health care and inequality and climate change. These are endless problems.<BR/><BR/>With Obama we will only get more fascism.Sloanasaurushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15787488302564761993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-43132175701319692382009-01-06T11:33:00.000-06:002009-01-06T11:33:00.000-06:00There really isn't any economic problems out there...There really isn't any economic problems out there. It's all bogus. And anyway, if there actually is a problem, the blame can be laid directly on the Clinton/Gore Administration, the Democratic Party and the drive by media.Alan https://www.blogger.com/profile/15532661467701218259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-31442199573351362282009-01-06T11:27:00.000-06:002009-01-06T11:27:00.000-06:00Policy-by-metaphor has its limitations. Who knew ...Policy-by-metaphor has its limitations. Who knew that our economic woes could be solved just by printing more money and hiring more Gov't workers? What a wonderful world we live in. <BR/><BR/>We are getting to the point that the only two things that will be made in the USA are greenbacks and regulations. The point of the regulations, of course, will be to make it more difficult to produce anything that might earn a greenback. As Biden let slip, we've got to make sure those stinky coal burning plants stay Over There. But that's OK because we'll just ship off the greenbacks by the boatload to China. For reasons that are hard to fathom, those inscrutable Chinese love to hoard our greenbacks, and happily send us all kinds of useful stuff designed in Japan so that they can get an ever expanding pile of greenbacks. <BR/><BR/>Until everyone wakes up from the fairy tale, that is. Bailout Everyone sounds like the Free Lunch Policy, version 2009. At least that's one constant in Dem economic policy that will be spared from Change You Can Believe In. <BR/><BR/>God help us.Richard Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12735773524374061429noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-10326744603624605422009-01-06T11:25:00.001-06:002009-01-06T11:25:00.001-06:00My teeth are finally starting to recover and I am ...My teeth are finally starting to recover and I am beginning to get horny again which is a very good sign.<BR/><BR/>I like sex.TitusDoeADeerAFemaleDeerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06951408811379267022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-61145466682057944582009-01-06T11:25:00.000-06:002009-01-06T11:25:00.000-06:00Take me beautiful black doctor. I am ready for my...Take me beautiful black doctor. I am ready for my prostate exam.<BR/><BR/>Be gentle...or not.TitusDoeADeerAFemaleDeerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06951408811379267022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-42290696438823063842009-01-06T11:15:00.000-06:002009-01-06T11:15:00.000-06:00Trust me, I'm a doctor.Trust me, I'm a doctor.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17424384180201600935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-54015157609221804202009-01-06T11:11:00.000-06:002009-01-06T11:11:00.000-06:00Obama seems to be as shallow and callow as I feare...Obama seems to be as shallow and callow as I feared. Leon Panetta to head the CIA? There’s a real war on, not just a metaphorical economic war. I think Mr. Obama has not had to brush up against the real world much in his life. He just seems so small and so unprepared. His appointments seem so incongruous and nearly inexplicable. He inspires no sense of optimism about the economy or anything else.Mark Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15884518441515988550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-3633553961573054952009-01-06T11:05:00.000-06:002009-01-06T11:05:00.000-06:00Seems to me all the patient needs is some Viagra a...Seems to me all the patient needs is some Viagra and we'll start to see some growth.Hoosier Daddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12872965118921894534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-12438288462766491232009-01-06T11:03:00.000-06:002009-01-06T11:03:00.000-06:00Obama is angling to use the economy as his ticket ...Obama is angling to use the economy as his ticket to reelection. The nature of the cycle is that the economy is going to be in the tank for a year or two. By 2011 and into 2012 the economy will be rip-roaring again, and with comments such as these now Obama will have positioned himself to take full credit for the recovery which will come with or without him.Swifty Quickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00748423525653804001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-28419230826910519492009-01-06T10:56:00.000-06:002009-01-06T10:56:00.000-06:00What we have here is an acute case of Munchausen s...What we have here is an acute case of Munchausen syndrome. <BR/><BR/>The unique thing about the case is that everybody is in on it.Lem the artificially intelligent https://www.blogger.com/profile/03569712564034666751noreply@blogger.com