Achieving Prosperity In Spite of the Left

Achieving Prosperity In Spite of the Left

 [or as Surviving the 60s as posted in David Horowitz’s http://frontpagemag.org/]

by rycK

Posted by rycK on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 9:06:28 AM
Being a practicing advocate of individualism is like living the life of a paladin. I have long suspected that the left wing has dedicated a lot of time and money to prevent such folks from becoming successful in this world by placing serious obstacles in our pathways. I am now convinced of this vast left-wing plot. It appears that anybody who dares to accumulate some wealth either is scorned for having inherited it from his crooked ancestors or pilloried for having obtained it by unfair or illegal means. Some of us have struggled to circumvent most of the impediments placed in our paths and many somehow have clawed their way to the reaches of the upper middle class despite the loud objections and churlish admonitions. My battles with the left began at an early age and continue to the present. An account of this follows.

I was raised in the San Joaquin Valley due east of a desolate little town called Orosi, which could be used to broaden the definition of the word sanjac. This hamlet lies in Tulare County in the towering political shadow of John Steinbeck and could have been the sole inspiration for his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, where thousands of Dustbowl Okies settled comfortably into the welfare system after the Great Depression. They are still there. Tulare County, in the ‘50s, topped the national list of places with excessively high county welfare expenditures. I was amused to read that it was still numero uno in about 1995. This dusty town of a few hundred was comprised of a mixture of Chicanos, Okies, Japanese Americans, Armenians, Chinese and a few other politically undesignated folks like me. My Japanese friends, comprising 50% of my ten person high school clique, were all born in internment camps like Manzanar or Gila Bend in the middle of the Second World War. We were all rather poor, but in my household we had plenty of kindness, love and food. The kids in my neighborhood didn’t wear shoes in the summer. I was orphaned at 15 by the death of my mother and lived with my aged grandparents after being abandoned by my step father. I quickly learned to be self-sufficient and plan my own affairs. In this modest rural setting, I was (unexpectedly, in hindsight) exposed to a solid and extensive education with an unusual dose of fortuitous political training. Our little high school was the kind of place (poverty disaster area) where the government would willingly forgive a teacher’s college loan if he or she managed to teach there for two years. Tenure required three. Somehow, in this social purgatory, we attracted some excellent teachers. I was taught critical analysis and learned the value of keeping up to date with current events. Our library had a set of Great Books and I read some classics, but was more impressed by works that stressed observation and analysis like The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. The teachings of Hoffer would act as a beacon and alarm system as I made further progress in my quest for education and prosperity.

I received some political training at home probably by osmosis.

My Grandfather administered the California State Brocero Program for several counties which included the stretch from Modesto to Delano, so, I received some first-hand perspective about the politics of farm labor. On occasion, visitors came to the house where they discussed the politics of the farm labor problem. This applied political education began to mature when I started working in the cotton fields in 1954 (11 years old), quite by accident, by haplessly falling into line with some Okie kids, whose migrant parents did stoop labor for a living in the blistering heat. I could make forty cents after a mere three hours of difficult work in the dust and heat and I thought I was rich. The mechanism for obtaining prosperity was clearly at hand: work for it. I labored summers and weekends doing agricultural work throughout most of the late fifties and far into the sixties. I had to work for money for a car and other necessities or do without. My political training was punctuated a few years later by watching Caesar Chavez and his loyal followers bash the heads of reluctant field laborers during the organizing efforts of the United Farm Workers. They even came for me once until they recognized their error. By day they ‘organized’ workers by visiting the fields in their white station wagons, intimidating peasants with threats and beatings, and by night ferried hookers though the Mexican towns, like Cutler, in the same vehicles. They covered the interior lights with blue cellophane and kept their head lights turned off for effect. My observations on this sort of conduct in the real world were in stark contrast to my prior notions, since I was reared in a community with warmth and kindness and taught the virtues of hard work, honesty and the value of truth. Nobody in my extended family, or members of the town, ever lied to me, stole my meager belongings, or tried to sleaze me. I soon learned that these attributes, which I still hold to be essential, were, and still are, virtually worthless when dealing with the left. I was surprised then, but not now, that Chavez was hailed as one of the darlings of the left. He was a cheap thug and I am a witness to his crimes.

My education continued after high school and was strangely mirrored by the antics of the (then future) characters in the movie American Graffiti as I commuted daily to the local junior college (College of the Sequoias) where the tuition and fees were 24 dollars per semester. I studied engineering for two years there during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I won my only college scholarship there ($80) for the highest number of grade points, not because of some scintillating 4.0 GPA (it was significantly less) , but because I took 25 credit hours. Science and engineering were suited to my particular cognitive skill set. In contrast, political science was mystical and defied any rational analysis, so a detailed study of that arena was deferred. I was accepted by UCLA School of Engineering, headed off to Westwood, CA and joined a fraternity. In my view, President Kennedy was the only person who could save Americans from the impending social and economic stagnation. He was promptly shot leaving the country with a major leadership deficiency supplied by LBJ. The draft heated up, which collided with my imperative to work thirty hours per week to pay for school. After an exchange of nasty grams with my draft board, I had to run for a Naval Reserve Unit. I was sent to Treasure Island in San Francisco for forty weeks of electronics training beginning in May, 1965. I brought about three years worth of engineering training with me, a penchant for political analysis, and a singular proficiency in duplicate bridge that I had acquired in L.A. My net worth tallied up to perhaps forty dollars in cash. My car had died of old age.

The Bay Area was jumping. There were abundant political rallies, speeches, underground newspapers and sidewalk pamphleteering everywhere. I made it into town three weekends a month and tried to thread my way through the dope, incense, massage parlors, hookers, and gays cruising for errant sailors and other party goers. North Beach was an experience. I frequented a place known as Coffee And Confusion on Columbus where political debates were always heated, interesting and informative. I was addicted to bridge and had several free memberships in Bay Area bridge clubs where we (my partner was one of my electronics instructors and a Navy Seal) played duplicate bridge for master points. I even accepted invitations to various parties, political discussion groups, rallies, and other throngs with vague names and slogans that were calculated to disguise the designs of far-left oriented political activist groups. I sought these out mainly of curiosity with the intent of satiating my ever-present quest for political knowledge and also for the more practical reason that I was earning only 86 dollars per month as a sailor. There was never any charge. I met all kinds of intellectuals who were frequently dedicated cadres or members of clandestine far-left political groups or others that were recruiting members of the military for interesting political assignments like sabotage, desertion and spying (from a phony Take A Sailor Home for Thanksgiving program at Treasure Island, which was invaded by Berkeley leftists on Thanksgiving Day in 1965 somewhere near 7th Street in Berkeley, CA). I was able to avoid any lasting connections with these hard-core groups, who were apparently well-funded by unknown (to me) sponsors and deftly steered by grad students at UC Berkeley. Their political skills and interpersonal relations training were polished, extensive, and they knew how to influence people. I joined numerous debates on contemporary political issues and voraciously analyzed the contents of their pamphlets and manuals for the information and political theories that they contained. My intrinsic sympathy for their causes first was softened, then actually abated, after learning more about their real agenda. They were out to change the world, by force if necessary, and were doomed to failure. They had little to offer that was constructive in terms of social or economic plans. I learned that dedication to the cause was the most important attribute of cell members of the underground movements. My analysis of their theories and practice were sufficient for me to dismiss their causes as worthless, or worse. Leary and Ginsburg had nothing to offer but sorrow and the prospect of continuous drug rehab. I was offered numerous opportunities to join failed causes--even a chance to desert and flee to British Columbia after a brief stay at some farm in Eastern Oregon. I left San Francisco for other adventures in the spring of 1966 and headed for the Viet Nam war theatre.

I was flown to Saigon, then Clark Air Base in the Philippine Islands and joined the crew of a small destroyer ( a rust bucket one year my junior) whose mission for the next two years was to support shore bombardment of the jungle along the coast of South Viet Nam. The mission was H&I: harassment and interdiction. We could cover the entire coast and even navigate (several clicks) up the Mekong River. There in the muddy waters we interdicted junks and shelled caravans near the shore that were bringing ordnance down from Laos to the war zone. During periods of rest and recreation (R&R), I saw Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and a few spots in South Viet Nam. The major lesson learned here in Lyndon’s war was that the body count (McNamara’s prime metric) was the chief measure of success. The actual count was unknown, but high estimates were more than acceptable to Washington--so, they pumped the numbers. This was a political notion of the sort that loses battles, and had little to do with military strategy. Any centurion in Caesar’s Tenth Legion could have shown us the way to victory or retreat. Hundreds of dedicated, but ignorant, peasants died in a hopeless war at the hands of the guns on my boat. I worked day and night on the electronics gear, helped the gun gangs pass ammo to the deck, and monitored the growth of the Great Society. I was concerned about my future, since we were taking some sniper fire, so on one occasion I calculated my net worth after I was forced to borrow some money for my upcoming adventures at the next port. According to slush fund regulations, I was obligated to pay back six dollars for each five borrowed. My life’s financial progress was calculated after this transaction and my net worth turned out to be about -50 dollars, which included the absence of a car and the salient fact that I had no civilian shoes. I was not getting ahead by participating in this war exercise, my education was behind schedule, and folks were trying to kill me. We barely missed being sunk by some 225 mm coastal guns in the Gulf of Tonkin in some follies known as Sea Dragon Operations, but I did get to see Swedish ships steaming in and out of Hai Phong harbor. I wonder what they were loaded with? In summary, I spent two tours in some steamy fantasy land where we kinetically rearranged the landscape of the Viet Nam coastline and then were rewarded upon our return to San Diego with a nasty welcome from howling hippies, drug-crazed loonies and flower children. In addition, I received a gift of a big gob of spit deftly directed to my sleeve by a deranged female hippie, long on drugs and short of compassion. The world I knew had changed --and not for the better. This was the world I wanted to come back to?

I ignored as much of this as possible and purchased an old car with my recent poker winnings (which cost 300 dollars and reduced my total net worth to 800), much of which was skillfully earned in the seedy card parlors of San Diego, and headed to Sunnyvale where I worked on the FB111A bomber simulator as I was now an expert in most phases of radar technology. I was sent to Binghamton, NY for ‘two weeks at best’ and met a person who would be my lover, friend, confidant, comrade, co-conspirator and spouse for the next 38 years. I never went back. The bomber contract was scaled back (the wings were falling off the planes) and I was terminated the next year. I promptly switched my attention back to college and the study of chemistry at the State University of New York (now Harpur college of Binghamton University), earned my A.C.S (American Chemical Society) accredited chemistry degree in only two years, and have been a chemist ever since.

Harpur College was a hotbed of New York City radical activists whose second-tier grades prevented them from getting into Columbia, Hunter, Brooklyn Poly, or one of the better schools in the City. The anti-war fever was high and punctuated by the riots at Attica. Professional SDS rabble-rousers and other political agitators were on campus weekly to foment political passions. The Black Panthers were recruiting and passing wicker baskets around for donations and deliberately interrupting several of my classes. I attended all the rallies and listened intently to the speeches. Nearly everything they said was a pack of lies designed to sway opinion over to the far left position. The mental pathologies of these frustrated activists, clearly described by Eric Hoffer, were apparent in the ranks of the students and activists. I had fairly long hair and nobody suspected that I concurrently trained with the local National Guard and Naval Reserve units for student riot control. Binghamton being the most probable hot spot in our area, I wondered if any of these radicals were soon to be my targets. Kent State had set a precedent. The student politicos told me that the revolution would soon start and asked if I would be there in the streets for the action. I promised that I would, indeed, be there. I published two research papers at S.U.N.Y as an undergraduate. Hot stuff!

Later, I spent the next four years at Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology as an engineer on the research staff specializing in separation science. My son was born at Yale and has since been the central focus of our lives. Living very close to the financial abyss in New Haven, I was treated to a diluted rehash of the usual leftist political rhetoric, devoid of logic, but still harbored ample disgust for the right wing while civilian support for the Viet Nam war effort simply rotted away. I adapted to the university culture, thoroughly enjoyed its elitist social life, and honed my scientific skills. I was presented with several chances to get into political activism, but declined. My sympathy for the leftist causes dwindled and my taxes started to rise. I published four research papers at Yale.

Finally, I left the university atmosphere that had been my eternal turf and intellectual stimulation and went into industry as a scientist. I was accused of ‘selling out’ to business before I left. In industry, I worked in biotechnology and separation science for E. I. DuPont for more than 23 years. I have now published 25 research papers, acquired some 400 citations+ in the scientific literature, and have begun to cope with ever higher taxes. I have developed a dozen commercial products with more than $ 45,000,000 in sales and have been granted six patents with more pending. After Yale, I only partially escaped the noisy banter of the radical left mentality, since many of my corporate colleagues, had spent seven or eight years at the best universities in the land, were still infected with liberal ideology and assorted illusions. I now rely on eternal literary works with strong predictive qualities like Destructive Generation by Collier and Horowitz, Intellectuals by Paul Johnson, the works of the highly esteemed judge Robert H. Bork: Slouching Towards Gomorrah and The Tempting of America, The Bell Curve by Herrnstein and Murray, The End of Racism by Dinesh D’Souza, and other intellectual resources to form a platform for my ongoing political analysis. I listen to Rush and Sean Hannity and watch Ann Coulter on Fox News. The mortgage is paid.

This interim report must be concluded with some reflections and conclusions based on my experience and the resultant analysis. I was offered many politically inspired opportunities to be an accomplished (and celebrated) loser and was only able to navigate around the left’s well-placed craters and traps with luck, intuition and industry. Just what did Tom Hayden, Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Susan Sontag and Allen Ginsberg really offer? Sloth, sodomy and sedition? Chronologically, I live on the leading edge of the giant boomer movement whose members are now muddled in debates over global warming, how to hastily stuff 401(k) s to the limit, expansion of social programs, and other follies. Hopefully, we can reduce the size of government and evade some of the social leprosy that is intended for us. Prosperity, despite the scorn and disgust of the liberals, is certainly within my grasp, baring some cataclysmic tax event. I am confident that a genuine success story like this, one that was obtained in spite of the perceived horrors of individualism, aided by a general contempt for most things left-leaning, will inflame the liberal establishment and is thusly touted and reported with relish.

rycK ryckki@gmail.comail.com

650,000 Strawdogs Bark at the Moon. The Obama ‘Recovery’ is an Hallucination

Previously published  10.30.2009 Most links here are broken. 

 In a previous blog, just a few hours ago, I summarized the woeful mumblings and hokum that posed as ‘predictions’ from those lackeys who stooge for Obama.[1]

Stimulus Act of Jan 2009

“An Act: Making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.”[2] [Emphasis is mine in all quotes.]

The Christine Romer Prophecy:

“…, even with the large prototypical package, the unemployment rate in 2010Q4 is predicted to be approximately 7.0%, which is well below the approximately 8.8% that would result in the absence of a plan.”

 Crystal Ball Follies

"None of us had a crystal ball back in December and January. I think almost every private forecaster realized that there were other things going on in the economy. It was worse than we anticipated. " [3]

Biden[4] also acknowledged the discrepancies in a July 5 interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.

"The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy," Biden said. "The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures in most of the blue chip indexes out there. ... And so the truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited. Now, that doesn't — I'm not laying — it's now our responsibility. So the second question becomes, did the economic package we put in place, including the Recovery Act, is it the right package given the circumstances we're in? And we believe it is the right package given the circumstances we're in."

Romer sandbags the Biden follies:

“Most analysts predict that the fiscal stimulus will have its greatest impact on growth in the second and third quarters of 2009,” Romer said. “By mid-2010, fiscal stimulus will likely be contributing little to growth.”[5]— Christine Romer Oct. 22

A few hours ago:

“WASHINGTON — About 650,000 jobs have been saved or created under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan, the White House said Friday, saying it is on track to reach the president's goal of 3.5 million jobs by the end of next year”[6]-- Gov't says stimulus saved or created 650,000 jobs By Matt Apuzzo And Brett J. Blackledge

Now, we learn all about how the administration calculates these 650,000.  We must put forth a few caveats on our beliefs and acceptance of the new ‘proofs’ that are bestowed upon us by Obama and his number doodlers. But, they have an ‘independent’ group to filter out the hooey or so they say:

“The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board is the independent group which oversees the tracking of all of the data in regard to spending from The American Recover and Reinvestment Act, aka the stimulus package. Their mission statement according to Recovery.gov is “To promote accountability by coordinating and conducting oversight of Recovery funds to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse and to foster transparency on Recovery spending by providing the public with accurate, user-friendly information.”[7]-- White House releases data on stimulus jobs; 1 million jobs created or saved

Here is their pitch:

“JOBS CREATED/SAVED AS REPORTED BY RECIPIENTS

640,329 10/30/2009”[8]

Then crap like this:

Z--PROJECT NUMBER 23679, Repair Building 4 Barrac... This contract action was accomplished using other than competitive procedures because this is an or... Z--PROJECT NUMBER JCT-08040, Upgrade to Lighting ... This contract action was accomplished using other than competitive procedures because this is a tas... R--PROJECT NUMBER P9302, ENERGY MODELING This contract action was accomplished using other than competitive procedures because there is only... C--RECOVERY--PROJECT 18660, Tuttle Creek Lake, KS... RECOVERY--PER FAR 5.7 THIS NOTICE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY; THEREFORE FAR 5.203 DO... Y--Recovery Act - Renovate Emergency Department RECOVERY ACT - THIS NOTICE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY. The Philadelphia VA Medical ... FFS Project #: R4GY; TAS::14 1610::TAS; TITLE: ... No Description Provided CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT AND SUPPORT SER... No Description Found Remove/Replace Asphalt Shingles at the Visitor Ce... No Description Provided Remove and Install Boundary Fence Scotts Bluff N... No Description Provided Low Energy Mobile Imaging System No Description Found Z--PROJECT NUMBER 39040, Upgrade Known Distance R... This contract action was accomplished using other than competitive procedures because this is an or... : The Department of Energy Savannah River Operat... The purpose of this work activity is to provide support to the DOE-SR with expertise in the areas o...

Where is the count?

Look at this:

“Here is what you should know:

Governors, mayors, county executives, private businesses and community organizations across the country submit reports to Recovery.gov so that you can get an unprecedented look at how your taxpayer dollars are being spent creating jobs and boosting the economy through the Recovery Act. These reports are not from the federal government – but from the very people putting Recovery funds to work.”

 “The government has overstated by thousands the number of jobs it has created or saved with federal contracts under the president’s $787 billion recovery program, according to an Associated Press review of data released in the program’s first progress report.”[9]-- http://thegovmonitor.com/world_news/united_states/white-house-reports-ap-misleads-on-recovery-act-job-reporting-13025.html

All lies? Looks like that. Where is the meat??

rycK

---

[1] Imaginary Numbers in the Starry Skies and the Quest for a Crystal Ball: Our Government Announces Job Creation Success with their Stimulus Program!

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/10/30/imaginary_numbers_in_the_starry_skies_and_the_quest_for_a_crystal_ball_our_government_announces_job_creation_success_with_their_stimulus_program!.thtml

[2] http://readthestimulus.org/hr1_final.txt

[3] Cantor and other Republicans say Obama promised stimulus would keep unemployment rates below 8 percent “Biden also acknowledged the discrepancies in a July 5 interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.

"The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy," Biden said. "The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures in most of the blue chip indexes out there. ... And so the truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited. Now, that doesn't — I'm not laying — it's now our responsibility. So the second question becomes, did the economic package we put in place, including the Recovery Act, is it the right package given the circumstances we're in? And we believe it is the right package given the circumstances we're in."

Biden also acknowledged the discrepancies in a July 5 interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.

"The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy," Biden said. "The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures in most of the blue chip indexes out there. ... And so the truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited. Now, that doesn't — I'm not laying — it's now our responsibility. So the second question becomes, did the economic package we put in place, including the Recovery Act, is it the right package given the circumstances we're in? And we believe it is the right package given the circumstances we're in."

“ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jul/09/eric-cantor/Cantor-and-other-republicans-say-obama-promised-s/

[4] You got it.  It’s time to be patriotic, Kate.  Time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help America out of the rut, and the way to do that is they’re still gonna pay less taxes than they did under Reagan."—Joe Biden, plagiarist and a person who cheated his way through Law School at Syracuse.  This link has Joe talking away on TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX5nlKcTzvU&eurl=http://americansforprosperity.org/index.php?id=6409

Joe Biden is a loathsome character and permanent politico who has several emotional disorders, a person who got a neat home from some sweetheart deal with MBNA officials, a person who cheated his way through Syracuse Law School, a braggart and a blow hard.  “I am smarter than you” Joe Biden mangles history, explodes in a shower of anger and hatred at the mention of his political opposition and grows on the state of Delaware like some form of tumor. Biden’s son also has some kind of cushy job at about a million dollars at some MBNA affiliate or what not.

You got it.  It’s time to be patriotic, Kate.  Time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help America out of the rut, and the way to do that is they’re still gonna pay less taxes than they did under Reagan."—Joe Biden, plagiarist and a person who cheated his way through Law School at Syracuse.  This link has Joe talking away on TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX5nlKcTzvU&eurl=http://americansforprosperity.org/index.php?id=6409

[5] http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aUuHhaDx8Hr8

[6] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jMNoef6xDenBbHWO0Im6rIjDmAgAD9BLG0BG0

[7] White House releases data on stimulus jobs; 1 million jobs created or saved http://www.examiner.com/x-11326-Liberal-Examiner~y2009m10d30-White-House-releases-stimulus-jobs-data-1-million-jobs-created-or-saved

[8] http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx

[9] http://thegovmonitor.com/world_news/united_states/white-house-reports-ap-misleads-on-recovery-act-job-reporting-13025.html http://thegovmonitor.com/world_news/united_states/white-house-reports-ap-misleads-on-recovery-act-job-reporting-13025.html

Krugman Calls for More Stimulus. What Else is New?? More Debt and Bigger Government and a Bigger Depression!

Originally written 1.05.2010

Abstract: Paul Krugman gives new meaning and depth to the word tautological as he calls on our inept government to spend more money while ignoring the conseq

uences of inflation and currency debasement. Our currency may collapse as did Iceland. The Fed is about to attempt to claw back some of the stimulus money as our debt dangerously approaches 100% of our G.D.P. and Krugman moans.  As usual, spending is the only known way to restore the economy according to the left and Krugman grinds on this policy over and over and over.

The word tautological[1] would be quite obscure if not for political propaganda machines like the New York Times and some of their sorrier sisters. Their writers[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] and staff[10] thrash about in an ideological competition to see if any are noble enough to match the elegant essays of their honored Pulitzer Prize winner Walter Duranty.[11]He bequeathed to them a certain literary mantle of invincibility and indelible fame when the Times published his leftist-authorized political lies and received uncultivated acclaim from the depression-era masses who could now openly celebrate the leadership of Josef Stalin while he happily murdered millions. Duranty taught the NYT how to be pure propagandists rising well above the stature of Eugene Debs as busy workers who must pound upon their rusty anvils and hammer out narrow ideological snippets of propaganda from a narrow agenda and thus turn or twist any news event into some new and pressing validation for bugger government, retreat from wars against Marxist monsters or Islamo-Fascists[12] and prattle on endlessly about the undying splendor of higher taxes. Most pedestrian keyboard plunkers on the Times’ staff cannot give us the inkling they can synthesize even a modicum of the political magic of the Duranty essence because of their manifold ineptitudes and transparent sophistry of their contributions, but they try.  Paul Krugman may be an exception as he has been given a special warrant from the Peace Loving Swedes [dirty gun peddlers and mass murderers in cahoots with their inbred lackeys the Norwegians--now EcoQuislings.] in the form of the phony Nobel Prize[13] to continue to turn the old Marxist crank.

As an exercise, a search upon the op-ed piece today produces a telling set of words that appear and another set that do not appear although they should to address the consequences of some governmental act:

Words and phrases missing from this opinion: tax, responsibility, excessive taxation, inflation, debasement, tax cuts, government blunders, mistakes, corporate hiring, etc.

Words and phrases found in this piece: stimulus, G.D.P., growth, spending, monetary tightening.

We can see from the lists that the point of the current tome is to avoid objectivity or even the appearance of a comprehensive or responsible analysis of the economic picture and to push spending. This piece is stogy advocacy and not related to economics as we might presume.  We find, as always, that the only important factors to be discussed by this near-bankrupt paper are: enlarging government by spending and taxation or by taxation and spending whichever case is the most feasible at the moment.

Some examples of the current truncated logic:

“Here’s what’s coming in economic news: The next employment report could show the economy adding jobs for the first time in two years. The next G.D.P. report is likely to show solid growth in late 2009. There will be lots of bullish commentary — and the calls we’re already hearing for an end to stimulus, for reversing the steps the government and the Federal Reserve took to prop up the economy, will grow even louder.”[14]--That 1937 Feeling By Paul Krugman Op-Ed Columnist Published: January 3, 2010  [Emphasis is mine in all quotes.]

There is no useful information offered here—only the setup for the warning that the stimulus will be retracted and that the Fed will be contracting the money supply probably with higher interest rates. This is a serious threat to the growth of big government and as such is the basis of this article.

“But if those calls are heeded, we’ll be repeating the great mistake of 1937, when the Fed and the Roosevelt administration decided that the Great Depression was over, that it was time for the economy to throw away its crutches. Spending was cut back, monetary policy was tightened — and the economy promptly plunged back into the depths.” --That 1937 Feeling By Paul Krugman

I haven’t taken the time to research all the krugmanical whines and blather about other administrations making errors, or the same errors that Krugman is advising [FDR, LBJ, Jimmy Carter, Clintons before Newt Gingrich cut off their money] but one thing is clear: when nations take on massive debt that approaches 100% of our G.D.P. as the Obama admin and Congress are doing then this is apparently not a mistake.  The world historical facts about sovereign defaults and financial crises dating back 800 years show otherwise.[15]We are forced to think in 1937 terms where debt crushed several economies, but in this instance, with the threat of not bloating government at hand, we can selectively pluck out reasons to spend and spend and ignore the increase in the money supply M2 that will surely lead to massive inflation.  Ignoring the fundamentals of economics, as is the Krugman custom, we can just spend and spend and spend our way to prosperity as California[16][17][18] has shown us the way. They are headed for default, period. So are we if we continue to spend like this and even Bernanke, a fellow Neo-Keynesian must think about this.

Continuing right on with the fairy tales:

“Which brings us to the still grim fundamentals of the economic situation.

During the good years of the last decade, such as they were, growth was driven by a housing boom and a consumer spending surge. Neither is coming back. There can’t be a new housing boom while the nation is still strewn with vacant houses and apartments left behind by the previous boom, and consumers — who are $11 trillion poorer than they were before the housing bust — are in no position to return to the buy-now-save-never habits of yore.” --That 1937 Feeling By Paul Krugman

Krugman deftly slides past the very fact that this depression was caused by debt[19] and we are in a debt-driven deflationary spiral[20] that might be ending and also might have been temporarily postponed a depression by doubling our money supply by the Fed. We might just be rewarded with the second half of this depression this year or next that was due to the abuse of credit and a mere 3-5 trillion dollars lost from ‘affordable housing.”[21] We have two more bubbles to get around: commercial credit and consumer credit cards. [22]

The point here must be that a recovery must depend solely upon the consumer, which is true in a full employment sense [95% employed], and also upon a restoration of the housing prices to 2007 levels  where, we must presume, the equity credit was generated for such consumer spending. Credit = money. The comment that we are “are $11 trillion poorer” is only partially true because the Fed may well have spent this much already in their rescue attempts. That more than doubles the money supply and has done nothing for the housing market or the jobs market as we are still at 10% official and 17% actual unemployment. Obama’s stooges promised a turnaround and unemployment below 8% if we used their plan:

The Christine Romer Prophecy:

“…, even with the large prototypical package, the unemployment rate in 2010Q4 is predicted to be approximately 7.0%, which is well below the approximately 8.8% that would result in the absence of a plan.”[23][24]--CNSNews.com Monday, July 06, 2009

Only 7 months ago?? The several Obama stimuli have failed to do much and are jokes in the international economic community and include cash for clunkers[25], shovel-ready bridge projects with no shovels and other follies such as green jobs. The obvious and historical solution here is tax cuts for small businesses but that is an obscene topic for the left and way beyond the boundaries of discussions with leftist advocates who pretend at economics theory.

The tautological pitch:

“The Obama fiscal stimulus plan is expected to have its peak effect on G.D.P. and jobs around the middle of this year, then start fading out. That’s far too early: why withdraw support in the face of continuing mass unemployment? Congress should have enacted a second round of stimulus months ago, when it became clear that the slump was going to be deeper and longer than originally expected. But nothing was done — and the illusory good numbers we’re about to see will probably head off any further possibility of action.” --That 1937 Feeling By Paul Krugman

“Will the Fed realize, before it’s too late, that the job of fighting the slump isn’t finished? Will Congress do the same? If they don’t, 2010 will be a year that began in false economic hope and ended in grief.” --That 1937 Feeling By Paul Krugman

Isn’t this clever! Krugman ignores the Romer Promises and fails to even mention tax relief for small business and fails to advise us on the massive costs of the cancerous health care monster that Congress is working on.

With Krugman it is always tax and spend or, to be novel, spend and then tax.

rycK

Comments to: ryckki@gmail.com

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[1] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tautological

[2] Krugman Calls to Pass Bills and We can Merely Unpass Them Later.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/12/18/krugman_calls_to_pass_bills_and_we_can_merely_unpass_them_later.thtml

[3] Krugman Offers Us Naïve Fairy Tales about Financial Disasters and the Lessons We Should Learn from them.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/12/15/krugman_offers_us_na%c3%afve_fairy_tales_about_financial_disasters_and_the_lessons_we_should_learn_from_them.thtml

[4] Herbert of the New York Times Reinvents Manufacturing for our Amusement. Detroit can be Saved.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/11/22/herbert_of_the_new_york_times_reinvents_manufacturing_for_our_amusement_detroit_can_be_saved.thtml

[5] The NYT’s Frank the Crank Mumbles about Missing Links. Typical propaganda http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/11/18/the_nyt%E2%80%99s_frank_the_crank_mumbles_about_missing_links_typical_propaganda.thtml

[6] The Babbler and the Old Brown Lady of the NYT Babble about Election Tealeaves. Liberalism Prevails in all Variants.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/11/10/the_babbler_and_the_old_brown_lady_of_the_nyt_babble_about_election_tealeaves_liberalism_prevails_in_all_variants.thtml

[7] Quoth the Old Red Lady of the NYT: Mirror Mirror on the Wall!  Do I see My Party and Myself in My Writings?

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/11/04/quoth_the_old_red_lady_of_the_nyt_mirror_mirror_on_the_wall!___do_i_see_my_party_and_myself_in_my_writings.thtml

[8] The Old Brown Lady of the New York Times [Old Gray Lady] Mumbles Dootifully about the Criminal Good Time Charlie Rangel

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/10/08/the_old_brown_lady_of_the_new_york_times_[old_gray_lady]_mumbles_dootifully_about_the_criminal_good_time_charlie_rangel.thtml

[9] Friedman Bawls about Balls and Can Show Nothing. EcoNazism and Propaganda at Work.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/04/08/friedman_bawls_about_balls_and_can_show_nothing_econazism_and_propaganda_at_work.thtml

[10] Third World Grunts and Gropes for Climate Scam Money while  the New York Times ‘Hopes’

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/12/17/third_world_grunts_and_gropes_for_climate_scam_money_while__the_new_york_times_%e2%80%98hopes%e2%80%99.thtml

[11] In honor of that celebrated Communist stooge and liar and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for the NYT. The color RED is used in my essays in honor of Walter Duranty, a saint, if there could be one, in the Marxist Archives of Honor.

“He said that these people had to be "liquidated or melted in the hot fire of exile and labor into the proletarian mass". Duranty claimed that the Siberian labor camps were a means of giving individuals a chance to rejoin Soviet society but also said that for those who could not accept the system, "the final fate of such enemies is death."Duranty, though describing the system as cruel, says he has "no brief for or against it, nor any purpose save to try to tell the truth". He ends the article with the claim that the brutal collectivization campaign which led to the famine was motivated by the "hope or promise of a subsequent raising up" of Asian-minded masses in the Soviet Union which only history could judge.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Duranty

[12] Islamo-Fascists: The new ally of the liberals?? http://tabletalk.salon.com/webx/.773b56cd/3625?14@877.TvX2akZqf5y@

[13] Obama’s Phony Nobel Peace Prize and the Role of International Leftist Politics.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/12/10/obama%e2%80%99s_phony_nobel_peace_prize_and_the_role_of_international_leftist_politics.thtml

Obama Receives the Ultimate Insult: The Swede's Bozo Prize for Leftist Stooges.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/10/09/obama_receives_the_ultimate_insult_the_swedes_bozo_prize_for_leftist_stooges.thtml

Krugman Receives the Ultimate Insult: The Swede's Bozo Prize for Leftist Stooges.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2008/10/14/krugman_receives_the_ultimate_insult_the_swedes_bozo_prize_for_leftist_stooges.thtml

[14] That 1937 Feeling By Paul Krugman Op-Ed Columnist Published: January 3, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/opinion/04krugman.html?em

[15] Read the new book This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly by Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff for a discussion about sovereign. It is not amusing.

[16] The Road to Social Success, Peace and Justice: California has NO Vision!

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2008/06/26/the_road_to_social_success,_peace_and_justice_california_has_no_vision!.thtml

[17] As Predicted: California Heads for the Financial Latrines.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/06/11/as_predicted_california_heads_for_the_financial_latrines.thtml

[18] Copulating with Coprolites: The Unveiled Mechanism of Governance by Progressive Liberalism in California

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/06/23/copulating_with_coprolites_the_unveiled_mechanism_of_governance_by_progressive_liberalism_in_california.thtml

[19] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Fisher#Money_and_the_price_level

[20] Protectionism: The World Economies Circle Their Wagons

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2008/12/22/protectionism_the_world_economies_circle_their_wagons.thtml

[21] Affordable Housing Follies and the Intentional Corruption of Supply and Demand Economics

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/11/09/affordable_housing_follies_and_the_intentional_corruption_of_supply_and_demand_economics.thtml

[22] The Bubble that will Burst Higher than all Previous Bubbles: Depression Looms as the Dollar Crashes.

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/11/02/the_bubble_that_will_burst_higher_than_all_previous_bubbles_depression_looms_as_the_dollar_crashes.thtml

[23] http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/50521

[24] http://www.reteaparty.com/2009/06/17/fact-check-debunks-obamas-unemployment-predictions/

[25] Imaginary Numbers in the Starry Skies and the Quest for a Crystal Ball: Our Government Announces Job Creation Success with their Stimulus Program!

http://rycksrationalizations.blogtownhall.com/2009/10/30/imaginary_numbers_in_the_starry_skies_and_the_quest_for_a_crystal_ball_our_government_announces_job_creation_success_with_their_stimulus_program!.thtml