Obama's Stimulus Program

Barack Obama is proposing an $850 Billion stimulus program.

When I discuss with folks the bailouts and stimulus programs that have already been implemented, how damaging to our economic structure they are, and how these actions by the government are opening the door for the nationalization of a number of private industries, members of the liberal left respond by proclaiming these are all the creations of George W. Bush - the supposed leader of the Republican Party.

Indeed, Bush is a large part of these ill-conceived ideas that are supposed to be designed to "save" our economy. And, if he truly believes that these bailouts and stimulus packages are good for the American economy, then he is hardly a fiscal conservative - no matter how much he proclaims that he is. About as close as he ever got to being fiscally conservative was his tax cuts, which are scheduled to expire during the Obama Presidency.

The Democrats were the ones dancing in the aisles and in the streets with excitement over this opportunity for the government to have a little more hand in the private sector. These programs give the government a little more say over how the banks lend money, a little more control on how the auto industry manufactures automobiles, and so on and so forth. Pandora's box has been opened a little farther, and now everybody seems to asking for a handout. States and cities and credit companies are asking for bailouts. It seems that everybody desires to be saved from their own failures.

An $850 billion stimulus package from Obama, however, is very fascinating because one of the chief arguments against conservative republicanism by the Democratic left for the last twenty years, or so, has been the out of control deficit. The large national debt has been all the Republican Party's fault, according to the left, and if we don't get this killer deficit under control all hell's going to break loose. In other words, the sky's going to fall, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Yet, Obama keeps coming up with all of these ideas to spend money that we don't have.

President Elect Barack Obama wants to increase spending, and then proclaims that somehow it is justified because while he is increasing spending he is going to either control the deficit, or the deficit doesn't matter because the programs to save the ailing economy are more important.

What amazes me is how historical data shows that any time you increase taxes on any sector or segment of the system, the revenue goes down. When the capital gains tax, for example, has been raised, revenue goes down because investors partly stop investing in those kinds of investments because they know they are going to be hit with higher taxes - so why invest when you can wait until taxes come down under a different administration and then start investing again? That's what investors do, or at least that is what smart investors do.

Obama wishes to raise the capital gains tax, which will lower revenue. And he wishes to raise the estate tax, which will lower revenue, because it will spur more people to use options like a living trust, or eliminating a bulk of property upon the approach of the twilight years, or finding other loop holes. That is what smart businessmen do.

So, Obama wants to raise all of these different taxes, as well as hammer the wealthy in tax increases as well, which will lower revenue, while he offers an $850 billion stimulus plan.

Do the Democrats no longer care about how large the deficit will be? They used to care about the size of the national debt when a Republican was president.

How interesting it is on how with certain issues the positions of the liberal left changes based on who's in office, and what people in either party are doing. When George W. Bush was spending outrageously it was bad (and I agree, actually - he was a very big spender for someone who claims to be a fiscal conservative), and the left was quick to point out the rising deficit - But when Obama does it, "Oh, it just might be necessary. Gosh, Obama must know what he's doing," the left essentially says. . . "He's surrounded by all of these experts. It's okay if he spends a lot, even though it's more than Bush was spending and Bush's spending record made us so angry."

How far must this go - How far must the liberals take control before the American People realize what the left is up to and cry out, "Enough is enough!"