There is a distinctly Titanic-like feel to the Obama presidency and it’s not hard to see why. The most left-wing president in modern American history has tried to force a highly interventionist, government-driven agenda that runs counter to the principles of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government that have made the United States the greatest power in the world, and the freest nation on earth.This, combined with weak leadership both at home and abroad against the backdrop of tremendous economic uncertainty in an increasingly dangerous world, has contributed to a spectacular political collapse for a president once thought to be invincible. America at its core remains a deeply conservative nation, which cherishes its traditions and founding principles. President Obama is increasingly out of step with the American people, by advancing policies that undermine the United States as a global power, while undercutting America’s deep-seated love for freedom.
Domestic Policy
Peggy Noonan: America Is at Risk of Boiling Over – WSJ.com
But do our political leaders have any sense of what people are feeling deep down? They don’t act as if they do. I think their detachment from how normal people think is more dangerous and disturbing than it has been in the past. I started noticing in the 1980s, the growing gulf between the country’s thought leaders, as they’re called—the political and media class, the universities—and those living what for lack of a better word we’ll call normal lives on the ground in America. The two groups were agitated by different things, concerned about different things, had different focuses, different world views.
But I’ve never seen the gap wider than it is now. I think it is a chasm. In Washington they don’t seem to be looking around and thinking, Hmmm, this nation is in trouble, it needs help. They’re thinking something else. I’m not sure they understand the American Dream itself needs a boost, needs encouragement and protection. They don’t seem to know or have a sense of the mood of the country.
via Peggy Noonan: America Is at Risk of Boiling Over – WSJ.com.
Former Shirley Sherrod employee accuses her of exploiting black farm laborers | Washington Examiner
It now seems that Mr. and Mrs. Sherrod inflicted quite a bit of pain and suffering on their own — and on some of the very people Mr. Sherrod described as “our own” in a speech earlier this year — at New Communities, Inc. (NCI). The group is described at the Rural Development Leadership Network’s web site as “the land trust that Shirley and Charles Sherrod established, with other black farm families in the 1960s.”
via Former Shirley Sherrod employee accuses her of exploiting black farm laborers | Washington Examiner.
Rewriting Fannie Mae History – WSJ.com
So when Mr. Raines says that “the cause of the financial problems for Fannie and Freddie was bad decisions, not their government sponsored status,” well, let’s just say he’s not telling the whole story.
Coburn, Barrasso Release Oversight Report on Obamacare’s First 100 Days – Press Releases – Tom Coburn, M.D., United States Senator from Oklahoma
FACT: The new health law increases the cost of health care.
FACT: Sixteen million Americans are forced into Medicaid – a program that denies care, has higher rates of infant mortality, and yields lower health outcomes for patients.
FACT: Citizens will be forced to purchase costlier health insurance or pay a tax, but illegal immigrants will continue to get free care and those costs will be shifted onto citizens.
FACT: The individual mandate will fail with the IRS as the health care enforcer, but uninsured Americans will be considered violators of the law even as costs increase further.
FACT: Millions of Americans will lose their current health plan as employers either drop coverage or purchase more expensive, government-dictated health insurance.
FACT: Patients with pre-existing conditions still face care restrictions, since the new federal risk pool is seriously underfunded and will offer coverage months after required by the new law.
Aquaman vs. The Environmental Lobby
UC Tuition Hikes and Public Employee Pensions – WSJ.com
In 1999, the Democratic legislature ran a reckless gamble that makes Wall Street's bankers look cautious. At the top of a bull market, they assumed their investment returns would grow at a 8.25% rate in perpetuity—equivalent to assuming that the Dow would reach 25,000 by 2009—and enacted a huge pension boon for public-safety and industrial unions.
The bill refigured the compensation formula for pension benefits of all public-safety employees who retired on or after January 1, 2000. It let firefighters retire at age 50 and receive 3% of their final year's compensation times the number of years they worked. If a firefighter started working at the age of 20, he could retire at 50 and earn 90% of his final salary, in perpetuity. One San Ramon Valley fire chief's yearly pension amounted to $284,000—more than his $221,000 annual salary.
In 2002, the state legislature further extended benefits to many nonsafety classifications, such as milk and billboard inspectors. More than 15,000 public employees have retired with annual pensions greater than $100,000. Who needs college when you can get a state job and make out like that?
via UC Tuition Hikes and Public Employee Pensions – WSJ.com.
Obama’s New ‘Poverty’ Measurement – Robert Rector – National Review Online
The current poverty measure counts absolute purchasing power — how much steak and potatoes you can buy. The new measure will count comparative purchasing power — how much steak and potatoes you can buy relative to other people. As the nation becomes wealthier, the poverty standards will increase in proportion. In other words, Obama will employ a statistical trick to ensure that “the poor will always be with you,” no matter how much better off they get in absolute terms.
via Obama’s New ‘Poverty’ Measurement – Robert Rector – National Review Online.
» What MSM Won’t Tell You: Doctors Are Challenging Government Health Care-and the AMA – Big Government
Scherz and the other board members want Docs 4 patient Care to grow into what the AMA should have been. This means more than defeating ObamaCare. The group is non-partisan and anxious to work with all those who want to hear from Docs 4 Patient Care on the dangers of state-run medicine. With chapters recently up and running in several states, he sees growth ahead. That is likely discouraging news for the status quo world of Washington, D.C., but an inspiration for other Americans who see what their government is doing and want to offer an alternative.
A Reckless Health Care Bill That Nobody Believes In – WSJ.com
The best and most rigorous cost analysis was recently released by the insurer WellPoint, which mined its actuarial data in various regional markets to model the Senate bill. WellPoint found that a healthy 25-year-old in Milwaukee buying coverage on the individual market will see his costs rise by 178%. A small business based in Richmond with eight employees in average health will see a 23% increase. Insurance costs for a 40-year-old family with two kids living in Indianapolis will pay 106% more.
read the rest here… A Reckless Health Care Bill That Nobody Believes In – WSJ.com.