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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 11, 2009
/ 17 Shevat 5769
The president's porkalooza
By
Jack Kelly
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Barack Obama is making an unforced error which will define his
presidency, and could shorten it. It's puzzling why.
It's very much in the president's interest for Congress to pass an
economic stimulus package that will work, because if the economy sinks
further, it eventually will reflect upon him. And it is very much in
the president's interest to have a package that wins support of a
quarter to a third of the Republicans in Congress, both because the
public loves bipartisanship, and to spread the blame if the stimulus
doesn't work.
But the president has embraced a porkalooza that does neither, and he's
marketing it with harsh, partisan rhetoric that undermines the image he
cultivated during the campaign. Failure to pass the measure as is would
be a "catastrophe," he says. It's critics are unpatriotic, he implies.
The shrillness of his rhetoric suggests Mr. Obama fears he may lose.
But the great danger to him is that he may win.
More than half a million jobs have been lost in the private sector, yet
there is almost nothing in the upwards of $827 billion stimulus package
that would help businesses, because its purpose is to grow the
government, not the economy.
Though the porkalooza spends more money than there currently is in
circulation (the Federal Reserve estimates that at $800 billion), the
normal procedures of committee hearings and consideration were
short-circuited. There are only two reasons for doing this. The first
is to give the appearance of bold, decisive leadership in response to
the crisis. But this could have been done with a smaller package -- say
a six month suspension of payroll taxes and a $2,000 tax credit for
purchase of a new car in 2009 -- that actually would stimulate the
economy this year, and which would draw strong bipartisan support. The
second is to sneak through payoffs to Democratic constituencies so
blatant they would have been unlikely to survive the normal hearing
process, even with the swollen Democratic majorities in Congress.
"This is probably the worst bill that's been put forward since the
1930s," said Harvard economist Robert Barro. "It's wasting a tremendous
amount of money. It has some simplistic theory that I don't think will
work, so I don't think the expenditure stuff is going to have the
intended effect. And the tax cutting isn't really geared towards
incentives...It's more along the lines of throwing money at people. On
both sides I think it's garbage."
The Congressional Budget Office thinks the porkalooza will have very
little impact in 2009, and that in the years after 2010 actually will
reduce economic growth.
Few economists -- none associated with this administration -- predicted
the subprime mortgage crisis. Two who did were Nouriel Roubini and
Peter Schiff. Prof. Roubini thinks the stimulus package reprises the
mistakes of Japan's "lost decade." Mr. Schiff says the porkalooza is an
"unmitigated disaster" which will produce severe stagflation in 2010 and
beyond.
And Barack Obama and the Democratic party will own it.
According to a Gallup Poll published Feb. 3, 75 percent of Americans
agree a stimulus bill should be passed right away. But the more
Americans learn what's in this bill, the less they like it. According
to a Rasmussen poll published Feb. 4, only 37 percent of Americans want
the porkalooza passed as is, while 43 percent are opposed. When
Rasmussen polled on the question Jan. 21, when few details were
available, 45 percent supported the measure, while just 34 percent were
against it. In the Feb. 3 Gallup Poll, only 38 percent of respondents
wanted the bill passed as is, while 37 percent wanted major changes, and
17 percent wanted no bill at all.
Democratic majorities in the House and Senate are sufficiently large to
pass the porkalooza pretty much as is, and that's where the danger lies.
As more details of what's in it become known, already tepid support will
cool further. And if the economy doesn't turn around, support for the
president will plummet.
By passing the porkalooza, Barack Obama hopes to build a permanent
Democratic majority. But he's more likely to reprise the Carter
administration.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Green Beret, was a
deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan
administration. Comment by clicking here.
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