In his quest to gain votes from Democrats like Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana for his American Jobs Act that isn’t going to pass anyway, President Obama has deleted the provision that would end tax breaks for oil companies.
Occupy the oil companies!
President Obama’s speech was better than I expected, in the size and scope of his proposals, and in the passion of his delivery. But to me, it should be twice as big in dollars (I’m one of the few conservative Republicans who thinks the stimulus was too small, as well as poorly devised. This group easily fits in my kitchen.). So his jobs plan isn’t big enough for the current lack of demand in the private sector.
Of course there’s no way his plan is going to be enacted as he presented it. So a too-small plan will get shrunk further, maybe by another half. If your baby needs an eight-ounce bottle, a two-ounce bottle isn’t going to get him growing.
Much of his plan is based on politics, not economics. He chose policies that won’t give us the most bang for our buck, but are designed to appeal to Republicans. He should be careful what he wishes for. The Republicans will probably approve an anemic plan — just enough so they can say they weren’t obstructionists, not enough to help him get re-elected because the economy is improving.
Richard Nixon said, “We are all Keynesians now.” Now I’m one of the few Republican Keynesians left.
Embattled Farmers 