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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. 25, 2009 / 1 Adar5769
Judging Obama
By
John Stossel
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
How will we know if President Obama's must-have "stimulus" program
succeeds? Politicians grab credit for everything, so we should come up
with a way to measure success. Obama said, "I expect to be judged by
results." Let's oblige him.
It won't be easy. Obama promises to "save or create" 3.5 million jobs,
but if the unemployment rate is unchanged in four years, do we credit
Obama for saving 3.5 million jobs that would have been lost?
If new jobs are created, should stimulus get the credit? If the gain is
in the government sector or in areas fed by taxpayer money, how do we
know that the job creation didn't crowd out the creation of more and
more productive jobs?
If the gain is in the private sector, Obama's boosters will claim credit
on the basis of the "multiplier effect." It's a favorite theory of
politicians and their court economists that government spending has a
bigger economic jolt than cutting marginal tax rates does. But not
everyone is so sure. (Harvard economist Gregory Mankiw, for one.)
The bottom line is that a lower unemployment rate will not prove that
Obama's "stimulus" worked.
Given time, the economy, unless totally crippled by government
intervention, will regenerate itself. That's because an economy is not a
machine that needs jumpstarting. It is people who have objectives they
want to achieve. They will not sit on their hands forever waiting for
government to "fix" things. Instead, they work to overcome obstacles to
get what they want. Some banks are struggling, but there are still
people who want to lend money and people who want to borrow it. They
will find each other without government help.
During the Great Depression, many Americans kept producing in spite of
the burdens imposed by the FDR's New Deal. (Amity Shlaes calls these
"the forgotten man".) Likewise today,
economist Steven Horwitz writes, "[T]he
American people are already doing something to create wealth and hasten
the recovery, even if we are the ones forgotten in the battle over what
Washington should do. Americans are going to work every day and
providing for their families ... increasing their savings rates, making
much needed capital available to the private sector ... imagining new
and more efficient ways to use valuable resources."
We should make sure that President Obama and his congressional
colleagues don't take credit for what we do. It wouldn't be the first
time a "leader" ran in front of a crowd and claimed to have led the way.
What if the economy is still in bad shape a year or two from now? Will
we get apologies from Obama and the stimulus advocates in Congress? Not
a chance. Their excuse is already prepared: The stimulus was too small.
On the day Obama signed the bill, his aides put out the word that
another may be needed. The blame will not be put on the folly of
stimulus, only on the meagerness of the spending.
Heads big government wins. Tails free people lose. I don't want to
play that game.
It's important to remember that government has no resources it hasn't
first commandeered from the private economy. Anything it does to
stimulate economic activity necessarily preempts private activity. Where
is the gain?
Worse: Since monopoly bureaucracies are not as efficient as competitive
businesses, government efforts won't get as much bang for the buck as
private efforts. They will likely destroy wealth.
Ah, say the Keynesians, people aren't buying, and that's why businesses
aren't investing and hiring. Only government can jumpstart the economy.
But people didn't just wake up one day and decide not to consume and
invest. They hold back because the economy is uncertain. Then they hold
back more because they don't know what activist government will do next.
Will it prop up housing or other prices? Will it nationalize the banks?
The way to get private activity going again is to let markets adjust to
reality and set prices accordingly. Only then will economic activity
resume and unemployment recede.
If, through your perseverance, things begin looking up, credit belongs
not to President Obama and Congress. It belongs to you.
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JUST OUT FROM STOSSEL
Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel --- Why Everything You Know Is Wrong
Stossel mines his 20/20 segments for often engaging challenges to conventional wisdom, presenting a series of "myths" and then deploying an investigative journalism shovel to unearth "truth." This results in snappy debunkings of alarmism, witch-hunts, satanic ritual abuse prosecutions and marketing hokum like the irradiated-foods panic, homeopathic medicine and the notion that bottled water beats tap. Stossel's libertarian convictions make him particularly fond of exposes of government waste and regulatory fiascoes. Sales help fund JWR.
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JWR contributor John Stossel is co-anchor of ABC News' "20/20." To comment, please click here.
© 2009, by JFS Productions, Inc.
Distributed by Creators Syndicate, Inc.
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