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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
March 4, 2009 / 8 Adar5769
Obama the Efficient Goes to Washington
By
John Stossel
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
How lucky we are to have Barack Obama as president. He's already come up
with a revolutionary idea that escaped his predecessors : He's going to
scour the budget for ... "waste and inefficiency"! "... go line by line
through the federal budget in order to eliminate wasteful and
ineffective programs".
It's astonishing that no one has thought of this before. Who knew
programs could actually be eliminated just because they don't work and
waste taxpayers' money?
And he's making progress.
"[W]e have already identified $2 trillion in savings over the next
decade."
How will he do it? Here's an example: "Agriculture Secretary Vilsack is
saving nearly $20 million with reforms to modernize programs and
streamline bureaucracy".
Amazing! "Modernize and streamline." It is indeed a new day.
Though he says he wants better not bigger government, Obama plans to
spend a lot more money on medical reform, education, energy, etc. He
also promises to halve the deficit by the end of his term.
(Presumptuously he says, "first term.")
This is dangerous nonsense. Obama's budget numbers are laden with
politically driven assumptions about a rosy future in which robust
economic growth pays for record-breaking government.
Unfortunately, Obama is simultaneously working hard to delay recovery by
imposing new taxes on the rich, toadying up to unions and trial lawyers,
being ambiguous about trade and threatening all sorts of "activist"
government that makes the future even more unpredictable. The new taxes
are not just the direct assault on wealthy taxpayers, but indirect
punishments, like his cap-and-trade plan for carbon emissions. His gifts
to unions go beyond the outrageous "card-check" rule to the requirement
that stimulus spending go to union workers who must be paid artificially
high Davis-Bacon wages. All this will frighten off private capital and
suffocate economic recovery.
Obama's budget also creates a $634-billion "reserve fund" for medical
reform but only $318 billion is to come from higher taxes. Where will
the rest come from? Where else? Savings squeezed out of Medicare,
Medicaid and other medical programs.
Give me a break.
It is hard to take seriously his claim that he will cut old spending to
make way for new spending and a lower deficit. As The Wall Street
Journal points out, "[T]he 2009 budget
deficit is estimated to be an eye-popping 12.7 percent of GDP, which
once again dwarfs anything we've seen in the postwar era. The White
House blueprint predicts that this will fall back down to 3.5 percent as
soon as 2012, but this is based on assumptions about Washington that
aren't going to happen."
One of the most absurd assumptions is that the new stimulus spending
will be temporary.
Higher stimulus spending in the current budget becomes the new baseline
for future budgets. Any cuts below that line will be condemned as
heartless.
Every president promises to save money by eliminating waste and fraud.
But the savings never materialize.
In Washington, one person's waste is another person's pork. Every dime
spent by the federal government has well-connected advocates who swear
the money is vital to the national interest. They line up to testify.
Even if they didn't grease the palms of lobbyists and congressmen, their
cries would be hard to resist. "This program will keep this poor woman,
your constituent, alive! Would you be so cold as to deny her that?"
Congress appropriates the money, and then the permanent bureaucracy
fights forever to preserve it. After all, its very life depends on it.
It's not that people in government aren't as good or competent as those
in the private sector (though that may be true). The difference lies in
the incentives and feedback they face. Bureaucracies have little check
on what they do, no bottom line, no market prices for their "output."
What they do have is an incentive to spend all the money budgeted or
risk getting less next year.
As Milton Friedman used to say, no one spends other people's money as
carefully as he spends his own. It is absurd to think the humongous
constellation of federal bureaucracies is going to identify and root out
"waste" in any significant way. It's just not in the nature of the
beast.
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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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