Once upon a time and far, far away from mainstream America, lived a U.S. senator named Barack Obama. Mr. Obama had a gift, a truly wondrous gift. He could spin troublesome facts into political gold. And perhaps, with enough spinning, he could even spin himself into the White House.
Bill Clinton understood this. He called Mr. Obama's spin "the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen." Like other fairy tales, this one requires a total suspension of disbelief. Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk fame) had his magic beans. Mr. Obama has his magic facts. Consider the following so-called facts:
-- Magic Fact No. 1: Senator Obama will cut income taxes "for 95 percent of working families, 95 percent."
It would be truly magical to be able to cut income taxes on 95 percent of working families when only 68 percent of tax filers actually pay the federal income tax. According to the Internal Revenue Service, of the 136 million income tax returns filed in 2006, 43 million returns reported positive adjusted gross income but had no income tax liability because of assorted deductions, exemptions and tax credits.
So how do you give a tax cut to someone who doesn't pay income taxes? Mr. Obama proposes a massive program of "refundable tax credits." Those on the receiving end would simply get a check from the federal government. In other words, they would pay a "negative tax."
By wrapping a thoroughly liberal position - larger welfare benefits - in the mantle of tax cuts, Mr. Obama has very nearly managed to neutralize one of the defining issues of this presidential campaign. If that sleight of hand isn't magic, we don't know what is.
-- Magic Fact No. 2: Mr. Obama pays "for every dime" of his proposals.
According to the nonpartisan National Taxpayers Union Foundation, Mr. Obama has offered 73 proposals that would collectively increase federal spending $365.6 billion annually. That's literally a $1 billion-a-day spending increase. And, unfortunately, that figure doesn't include the cost of Mr. Obama's 88 other spending proposals for which no reliable cost estimates exist.
How does Mr. Obama propose to pay for these new and expanded spending programs? He begins by squeezing defense spending. He would then repeal "the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans." (Never mind that the Bush tax cuts are already scheduled to expire and that the revenue is already included in the government's budget forecasts.) Finally, he would "close corporate loopholes, [and] stop providing tax cuts to corporations that are shipping jobs overseas."
These steps would not come close to paying for the senator's spending proposals. Assuming they offset $100 billion of new spending, paying for the other $265.6 billion (still ignoring the cost of Mr. Obama's other 88 programs) would require an across-the-board income tax increase of 19 percent. And, of course, this figure does not reflect the tax increase that would be necessary to pay for Mr. Obama's "tax cuts."
The IRS reported earlier this year that the top-earning 5 percent of taxpayers shouldered 60 percent of the federal income tax burden in 2006. If Mr. Obama insists upon having a tiny fraction of Americans shoulder the cost of his spending and tax proposals, the tax increase on those taxpayers would have to be huge - far larger than the 19 percent tax increase described above. This would slow investment, employment and economic growth - and, yes, total governmental receipts.
Sen. Hillary Clinton once threatened, "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." Perhaps she would have been Mr. Obama's ideal running mate after all.
The Obama campaign likes to say it has the support of professional economists. Yet, that "fact" is based on two, methodologically flawed polls circulating the Internet. True enough, majorities of those surveyed said they favor Mr. Obama's economic policies. What else would you expect from a poll where Democrat responders outnumbered Republicans by nearly 3-to-1? Only 17 percent of the surveyed economists were Republican. In the second poll, Democrats outnumbered Republicans nearly 5-to-1. Only 10 percent of the respondents were Republican.
Meanwhile, more than 500 economists from across the country, including five Nobel Laureates, have signed a statement supporting Sen. John McCain's economic plan. (For the text of the statement and a complete list of the signatories, see www.economistsformccain.com.)
The fairy tale candidate may yet become the fairy tale president. But will the story end with "and the American people lived happily ever after?"
#3
Which Fairy-tale is this, and what part does Obama play? Looks like Hansel & Gretel, with Obama being the wicked witch. We are at the point in the story where the urchins are being lured into the Ginger Bread House.
At least that's what I was taught. A word-for-word translation would substitute "Hölle" (Hell), but apparently the Germans don't say it that way - they use "Scheiße" instead. (I should have capitalized the "s" but tend to forget - I left Germany in 1973.)
But they do say "zum Teufel" (go to the Devil) or "zur Hölle" (go to Hell). Go figure. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/14/2008 19:18 Comments ||
Top||
h/t Gateway Pundit. Original post by Real Debate Wisconsin, at the link.
My 8th grade son is in an advanced English class at a public middle school here in Racine, Wisconsin. I just found out that my son's new (copyright 2008) Wisconsin - McDougal Littell Literature book has 15 pages covering Barack Obama.
I was shocked - No John McCain, no Hillary Clinton, no George Bush - Just Barack Obama. I'm wondering how it is that Obama's story gets put into an 8th grade literature book? It would be one thing, if it was just the tidbit about his boyhood days, but 15 pages, and they talk about his "Life of Service". Honestly, what has Obama really done to be included in this book? Not only that, but on page 847 there is a photo of Obama at the 2004 Democratic Convention with at least 8 Obama signs in the background! Front & center is an www.obama2004.com sign.
Now I understand that many teachers are liberals, but does the school have the right to shove Obama down our kid's throats? All the kids grouped together and read the story. After that, they discussed it... I guess it appears that Obama is planning ahead. If he doesn't get his coveted Presidency, Obama is going to make sure, that the younger generations know all about him, and his "life of service".
If you would like to see the 15 page story on Obama, it appears that you can order this book online. There is a note in the book that says, For more on Barack Obama, visit the Literature Center at www.ClassZone.com The book is: Wisconsin - 8th grade - McDougal Littell Literature - copyright 2008. The Obama story starts on page 830.
#2
Nice, but not unexpected, schoolbooks and the public education system are big blocks in the whole gramscian scheme.
Funny bit, though, how his (not very successful, except if you include pork money for his cronies) "community organizer" days are a LIFE OF SERVICE, while the actual service of McCain is just a sign he's a warmongering old man. You've got to love the crazy worldview... but, hey, it works pretty well for them!
#3
In any regards, following this Us presidential election has been very enlightening for me, about lotsa stuff hidden under rocks in the US policies, items you don't mention in polite society. Nice.
A question, still : the "Bizarro world feeling" is unshakable about this whole mess, any of you old timers around here thinks this is a watershed election, a system pushed to its logical end, that however this turns, a step will have been passed???
The youth of today see African American artifacts and culture but they dont understand how these pieces are part of a long literary tradition, said Allen Wheatcroft, president of Holt.
We want this anthology to help educators reach and inspire the next generation with names like Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, and Queen Latifah. These are names that students recognize and teachers can use the works of these authors to pull students into other literature.
That is one helluva long and impressive tradition.
#5
a system pushed to its logical end, that however this turns, a step will have been passed???
I'm in total agreement. Even if the Kenyan is defeated next month, which is of very big 'if' my long view sees more of the same political ideology surfacing in the future. If not from this fellow, from others of similar ilk.
#12
Some one had a plan and the plan was implemented in 1979. It progressed according to the initial design - to get a young charismatic Marxist/Leninist elected POTUS by pulling all the heart-strings and taking advantage of the leftist slant of educators and media workers. So far, it is working according to plan. No need to change it or cancel it - it is on plan. Hey, 1979 = Iran hostage crisis, Reagan comes alive later and gives the Iranian's an ultimatum, Barry starts school at Occidental. Nah, it couldn't be.
#13
From the link in the link
Contacts for the Media:
Jennifer Harrison, for Holt McDougal: 916-716-0636, jennifer@JHarrisonPR.com
Kate Weber, Holt McDougal: 512-721-7520, kate.weber@hrw.com
#14
Abu do you love said something about this in yesterday's mega post. This just reinforces that opinion I share.
My niece asked me who I'm voting for last weekend. I said McCain and she asked why...I said, "Well -niece-, I think you are a good person but I don't think you are ready to drive yet (she is 8). Maybe in 8 years but not yet and especially not in city rush hour traffic. You wouldn't want to be riding with someone who has just a couple hours driving experience trying to get across Wichita at 5:00 Friday would you?" So yes, these kids are being tought by their teachers that Beeblebox Obama is the choice and question those who think otherwise (I could tell by the tone of voice).
#16
I see the Great Leader has already been put in the textbooks for worship.
Obama and his cronies are reminding me more and more of other cults of personality that have been incredibly destructive to the world.
Why do Asian investors depend on American capital markets? Given the near breakdown of key sectors of the American market, one might expect Asians to bring their money home. Quite the opposite has happened: Asian currencies have fallen sharply against the American dollar.
What does America have that Asia doesn't have? The answer is, Sarah Palin - not Sarah Palin the vice presidential candidate, but Sarah Palin the "hockey mom" turned small-town mayor and reforming Alaska governor. All the PhDs and MBAs in the world can't make a capital market work, but ordinary people like Sarah Palin can. Laws depend on the will of the people to enforce them. It is the initiative of ordinary people that makes America's political system the world's most reliable.
America is the heir to a long tradition of Anglo-Saxon law that began with jury trial and the Magna Carta and continued through the English Revolution of the 17th century and the American Revolution of the 18th. Ordinary people like Palin are the bearers of this tradition.
Outside of the United States, the young governor of Alaska has become a figure of ridicule - someone who did not own a passport until last year and who quaintly believes that her state's proximity to Russia gives her insights on foreign policy. How, my European friends ask, was it possible for such an an ignorant bumpkin to become a candidate for America's second-highest office? They don't understand America.
Provincial America depends on the initiative of ordinary people to get through the day. America has something like an Education Ministry, but it has little money to dispense. Americans pay for most of their school costs out of local taxes, and levy those taxes on themselves. In small towns, many public agencies, including fire protection and emergency medical assistance, depend almost entirely on volunteers. People who tax themselves, and give their own time and money for services on which communities depend, are not easily cowed by the federal government or by large corporations.
But why don't Asians consume what they produce at home? The trouble is that rich Asians don't lend to poor Asians in their own countries. Capital markets don't work in the developing world because it is too easy to steal money. Subprime mortgages in the US have suffered from poor documentation. What kind of documentation does one encounter in countries where everyone from the clerk at the records office to the secretary who hands you a form requires a small bribe? America is litigious to a fault, but its courts are fair and hard to corrupt.
Asians are reluctant to lend money to each other under the circumstances; they would rather lend money in places where a hockey mom can get involved in local politics and, on encountering graft and corruption, run a successful campaign to turn the scoundrels out. You do not need PhDs and MBAs for that. You need ordinary people who care sufficiently about the places in which they live to take control of their own towns and states when required. And, yes, it doesn't hurt if they own guns. Popular gun ownership places a limit on the abuse of state power.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Once upon a time and far, far away from mainstream America, lived a U.S. senator named Barack Obama. Mr. Obama had a gift, a truly wondrous gift. He could spin troublesome facts into political gold. And perhaps, with enough spinning, he could even spin himself into the White House. 
