Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi appear to have a new strategy for pushing health care reform through Congress… They’re going to demonize insurance companies: A day after formally delaying a vote on a healthcare bill and having to accept a further weakening of a public option to compete with private insurers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi […]
Economy
Is the Public Option Dead?
I’m hearing rumblings from various sources that the Democrats so called Public Health Insurance option is dead in the the Senate… The Associated Press is reporting that a bipartisan group of Senators is close to a compromise agreement that would eliminate the employer mandate and the public option, two of the Democrats top priorities from […]
Reid: No Health Care Vote Before August Recess
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid effectively pulled the rug out from under Pres. Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today by announcing that the Senate will wait until the fall to debate and vote on the presidents health care reform proposals: Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday abandoned plans for a vote on health care […]
Obama Administration Putting Off Budget Update
The Associated Press is reporting that the Obama Administration is putting of releasing the annual mid-summer budget update until mid-August: The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today’s bleak landscape. The administration’s annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits and […]
Joe Biden: ‘We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt’
From CNSNews.com: Vice President Joe Biden told people attending an AARP town hall meeting that unless the Democrat-supported health care plan becomes law the nation will go bankrupt and that the only way to avoid that fate is for the government to spend more money. “And folks look, AARP knows and the people with me here today […]
Steny Hoyer: Idiot
From CNSNews.com (emphasis mine): House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that job growth and economic recovery would not be harmed by a Democratic plan to increase income taxes by $540 billion to pay for their health-care reform proposal because the tax hikes would not affect small businesses. Hoyer also said he could not think of any small business […]
Mandating Unemployment?
From the Wall Street Journal: Here’s some economic logic to ponder. The unemployment rate in June for American teenagers was 24%, for black teens it was 38%, and even White House economists are predicting more job losses. So how about raising the cost of that teenage labor? Sorry to say, but that’s precisely what will […]
Speed Bump: Senate Democrats Delay Action on Obama’s Healthcare & Climate Initiatives
Democrats in the House and Senate handed President Barack Obama a double dose of bad news yesterday when they moved to delay on his top legislative priorities, healthcare and climate change. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said they would put off work on the climate change bill until September while […]
Anatomy of a Crisis: The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Debacle
Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform have released a report analyzing the role of the government sponsored enterprises (GSE), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in the housing meltdown. You can read the full report here, but here are the highlights: Political pressure led to the erosion of responsible lending practices: […]
Will Obama Push for a Weaker Dollar?
Ugh, this is not good… former Clinton trade official and current member of the Obama administration’s economic advisory panel Laura Tyson said in Singapore today that the $787-billion plan Congress passed in February “will have a positive effect, but the real economy is a sicker patient.” She went on to say the plan turned out […]
Unemployment Climbs to 9.5 Percent
Unemployment climbed to its highest level in 26 years rising to 9.5 percent in June. All told, 14.7 million people were unemployed in June: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. employers cut far more jobs than expected last month and the unemployment rate hit 9.5 percent, the highest in nearly 26 years, underscoring the likelihood of a […]
House Passes Cap and Tax Bill 219-212
The House of Representatives passed President Barack Obama’s massive Cap and Trade energy tax bill by a vote 219-212 yesterday… 211 Democrats and eight Republicans voted for the bill. WASHINGTON — Landmark legislation to curb U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions was approved by the House of Representatives in a close vote late Friday, securing an initial victory […]
Barney Frank’s Bad Idea
From the Wall Street Journal: Back when the housing mania was taking off, Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank famously said he wanted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to “roll the dice” in the name of affordable housing. That didn’t turn out so well, but Mr. Frank has since only accumulated more power. And now he is […]
Big Govenerment: Thousands of New Regulations Costing $1.17 Trillion in 2008
From CNSNews.com: An annual report issued by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) shows that the U.S. government imposed $1.17 trillion in new regulatory costs in 2008. That almost equals the $1.2 trillion generated by individual income taxes, and amounts to $3,849 for every American citizen. According the 2009 edition of Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual […]
Bloomberg.com: House Health-Care Bill to Include $600 Billion in Tax Increases
Bloomberg.com is reporting that the health care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid: June 12 (Bloomberg) — Health-care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to […]