This story is in today’s Wall Street Journal. It is not about Obama.
He became president … and set about to restore the state-run economic model…; the market, he maintained, had failed. [He] took control of the central bank. He demonized the private-sector and investors. Using price controls, subsidies and regulation he made himself a Robin Hood to the masses. The legislature granted him extraordinary powers.
The economy bounced back as one would expect after a harsh contraction…
Now the illusionists are losing their touch. Not only is the economy going sour, but according to polls, the nation is growing intolerant of what many consider to be the … abuse of power. …
[There] is a widespread belief that … government is using the state intelligence service to collect information against the president's "enemies." …
The president forced a media law through the legislature two weeks ago, creating a new "audio-visual" regulatory board controlled by the executive.
The law also grants the executive control over all licensing of the radio spectrum and reserves at least two-thirds of it for state-owned and nongovernmental broadcasters approved by the executive. …
Hugo Chávez has become a dictator in Venezuela under the guise of democracy, and he has similarly shut down the free press.
This article by Mary O’Grady, “Argentina’s Kirchner Targets the Press,” is not about Obama, but his name could be plugged in to all of these selected statements. State-run economic model, failed market, control of banks, demonizing the private sector, salary controls, subsidies, enemies list, media control…
Though resurrection of the Fairness Doctrine didn’t survive in Congress, so-called local overseer panels of radio are ready to muffle the main outlets for criticism of the government. Most media are overwhelmingly pro-Obama and everything he stands for, but the smaller numbers of media that air speech critical of his goals are too dangerous to be left to public market choice.
We used to caution about the abuses of free speech by saying you can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater. According to Obama and Co., free speech doesn't mean you can yell “Fire!” in a burning theater.
Comments
"...failed market..."
Really, Rhonda? Let's look at a few numbers.
What did the Dow Jones average close at on January 19, 2009?
What did the Dow Jones average close at on October 22, 2009?
What percentage change in the Dow was there between those two dates, and in which direction?
Does this data support your claim that we are suffering from a "failed market"?
Doesn't Obama act on the premise that the economy (which includes the market) failed under Bush and that the government must take it over?
Doesn't Rhonda Keith act on the premise that inconvenient questions should simply be ignored?
Let's watch her do it again, kids:
What did the Dow Jones average close at on January 19, 2009?
What did the Dow Jones average close at on October 22, 2009?
What percentage change in the Dow was there between those two dates, and in which direction?
Does this data support your claim that we are suffering from a "failed market"?
Here's a prediction: Rhonda will again refuse to answer any of these questions. It is becoming glaringly obvious that Rhonda is terrified of answering any question that she herself did not ask.
Didn’t Obama himself say that we shouldn’t just look at the day to day gyrations of the DOW? He meant that we should look at the market as a whole. He said this when critics where lashing out against how after the stimulus, the market took a dive. Well, now that things are starting to pick back up, must we forget that "looking at the market as a whole" mentality and just look at the day to day numbers? Of course the market is going to appear like its doing better. We just injected almost $2 trillion of artificial life support into it. Doing nothing obviously wasn’t an option but I think devaluing the money in our pocket's to save those on Wall Street is going to take affect soon. When it does, hyperinflation will leave the economy FUBAR. Let’s not forget where that money came from: starving, oppressed, health care/insurance deprived, Chinamen. They're not going to like it if we try to weasel out of our financial obligation's again.
Golly, Rhonda stepped right up and took the challenge: she utterly failed to address a single question that I've put to her. I have to say that I have rarely seen such a skilled and dedicated practitioner of the art of abject intellectual cowardice, and I doff my hat to you, madame.
Again:
What did the Dow Jones average close at on January 19, 2009?
What did the Dow Jones average close at on October 22, 2009?
What percentage change in the Dow was there between those two dates, and in which direction?
Does this data support your claim that we are suffering from a "failed market"?
Can Rhonda make it a trifecta? Inquiring minds want to know.
Re Meat: If you look hard you probably could find worse examples of intellectual cowardice. Possibly I should have said something like "economy" rather than "market." I'm no economist, but neither are you, I suspect. A set of numbers by itself is meaningless, but taking tax money to subsidize car purchases for other taxpayers, that I can understand. I can understand nationalization of private industry. I can understand rising unemployment.
Re Cincipup: What you wrote makes sense to me. My husband pointed out that inflation can even be created purposely, in order to lower the value of future repayments to China, for instance.
"I'm no economist..."
Yet despite your lack of qualifications, Rhonda, you felt justified to proclaim a "failed market". Do you always make judgments about matters on which you are so ignorant?
And here are the questions, again, so that you can once again demonstrate your intellectual cowardice:
What did the Dow Jones average close at on January 19, 2009?
What did the Dow Jones average close at on October 22, 2009?
What percentage change in the Dow was there between those two dates, and in which direction?
Does this data support your claim that we are suffering from a "failed market"?
To Meatbrain (is that processed meat?): The perception of a "failed market" or economy is what allowed Obama to get away with taking over car companies and banks and possibly the health care industry. Are you an economist? Even real economists have different opinions on economics and even on politics. And Americans are not required to be professional economists or even politicians to have opinions on what they want their government to do, and to have opinions on THEIR money, and to vote. As for cowardice, I use my real name and even my photo.
"Are you an economist?"
No. And neither are you, by your own admission. So on what is your claim of a "failed market" based? You have yet to supply a single fact to back up your claim.
"As for cowardice, I use my real name and even my photo."
Bully for you. Now we know exactly who lacks the courage to answer these simple questions:
What did the Dow Jones average close at on January 19, 2009?
What did the Dow Jones average close at on October 22, 2009?
What percentage change in the Dow was there between those two dates, and in which direction?
Does this data support your claim that we are suffering from a "failed market"?
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