Archive for the ‘Big Government’ Category

Obama’s Budget: Building Record Deficits Higher

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

“President Obama didn’t even get past the title of his budget before starting the lies. “A New Era of Responsibility,” President Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget proposal, would increase the current year deficit to a new record $1.56 trillion. That’s an increase in the size of the deficit of $300 billion since his fiscal 2010 budget last spring. The new budget proposal would also increase the fiscal 2011 deficit to $1.267 trillion, an increase by the same $300 billion figure over his proposal last year, and more than double the national debt from its current $12 trillion to more than $25 trillion over 10 years.”

“Of course, it’s possible Obama and his budget officials weren’t lying in the title of their budget but were instead shooting for irony. If that was the case, they certainly succeeded. But it’s not funny.”

Thomas R. Eddlam looks at President Obama’s record spending proposal @ http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/politics/2868-obamas-budget-building-record-deficits-higher

The Government’s Endless Appetite for Spending

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

“Last December, Congress approved a $290 billion increase of the debt limit to support the government’s borrowing through February. This lifted the total amount the federal government can borrow to $12.4 trillion.”

“But today Congress wants to go into even more debt. According to news reports, on Wednesday, Democrats proposed allowing the federal government to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion to pay its bills, a record increase that would permit the national debt to reach $14.3 trillion (roughly the size of our GDP) to support the federal government’s borrowing through 2010.”

Veronique de Rugy calls on Congress to kick a bad habit cold turkey @ http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/21/the-governments-endless-appeti

The Idea Is the Problem

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

“Fifty-eight percent of those polled by The Washington Post recently claimed they preferred smaller government with fewer services, with only 38 percent favoring a larger government with more services (and, yes, it is a terrific struggle not to place ironic quotations marks around the word “services”).”

“This is the highest number for the “smaller government” category since 2002. And a full year into President Barack Obama’s term, most polls and state elections tell us that the electorate is walking—maybe sprinting?—back from the progressive economic policies that now dominate Washington.”

David Harsanyi looks at How the Democrats misjudged the American People @ http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/20/the-idea-is-the-problem

For This Libertarian, Obama’s First Year Looks Grim

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

“Happy anniversary, Mr. President. Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts is a rude ending to a year marked by falling poll ratings and growing opposition to his signature policy initiatives.”

“President Obama took office on a wave of good feeling. The country was glad to be rid of George W. Bush and appreciated Obama’s promise to move beyond old battles. But Obama and his team overinterpreted their victory. A desire for change didn’t translate into support for a sweeping statist agenda. Beginning with his February 24 speech to Congress, Obama began to overreach.”

“His administration sought to use the financial crisis to implement an agenda that wouldn’t have been plausible in calmer times. “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste” was Rahm Emanuel’s keynote. Robert Higgs in Crisis and Leviathan and Naomi Klein in The Shock Doctrine had examined how crises often lead to dramatic changes in policy, but never before had senior officials declared the shock doctrine as their strategy.”

David Boaz of The Cato Institute on President Obama’s anniversary @ http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11150

Democratic dominance is not the end of the world.

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

 “By the end of the year, the federal government may have totally restructured the American healthcare system. This health-insurance industry takeover may lead to widespread taxpayer subsidies for elective abortion. A new national energy tax may be imposed to reduce carbon emissions. The secret ballot for union organization may be effectively eliminated, swelling Big Labor’s ranks and coffers. Or maybe none of these things will have happened.

“Hard as it may be to believe, that last prospect looks most likely….”

Jame Antle III looks at how conservative opposition to big government – so silent when big government conservatives ran the country under Bush – may save us from the Democrat’s full monty http://www.amconmag.com/article/2010/jan/01/00012/

NSA Supercenters to Store Americans’ Private Data Permanently

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

“The National Security Agency is building huge new storage facilities to store the unconstitutionally gained data on the American people’s telephone calls and Internet traffic permanently, including new buildings in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah, and San Antonio, Texas.”

“The NSA has been keeping permanent records of all American’s telephone call habits and Internet traffic since shortly after September 11, 2001, according to major news reports, without the constitutionally required warrants from a court.”

“No longer able to store all the intercepted phone calls and e-mail in its Ft. Meade, Maryland, headquarters, the NSA is engaging in its own housing boom. How much data will these giant, multibillion dollar new facilities hold? According to James Bamford of the New York Review of Books, the facility in Utah alone could hold data that will be measured in Yottabytes. Never heard of Yottabytes?…”

Full column by Thomas R. Eddlam @ http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/constitution/2177-nsa-supercenters-to-store-americans-private-data-permanently

Americans Don’t Want It

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

David Boaz of The Cato Institute looks at the new Gallup Poll which shows Americans think government is taking too much power. Mr Boaz points out that  “The independents who swung the elections in 2006 and 2008 clearly think things have gone too far. An administration as smart as Bill Clinton’s will take the hint and rein it in.”

Full commentary by David Boaz  @ http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/09/22/americans-dont-want-it/

Americans More Likely to Say Government Doing Too Much

Monday, September 21st, 2009

PRINCETON, NJ –” Americans are more likely today than in the recent past to believe that government is taking on too much responsibility for solving the nation’s problems and is over-regulating business. New Gallup data show that 57% of Americans say the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to businesses and individuals, and 45% say there is too much government regulation of business. Both reflect the highest such readings in more than a decade.”

Complete report from the Gallup Organization on their poll @ http://www.gallup.com/poll/123101/Americans-Likely-Say-Government-Doing-Too-Much.aspx

Government Solutions Lack Understanding

Friday, September 11th, 2009

“Things seem to be unraveling quickly for the new administration. The latest unemployment numbers are worse than the last reports. For all the billions of dollars spent and committed to fixing our economic problems, the situation is only getting worse. This was to be expected by those who understand the root causes of the problems.”

“Throwing money around and creating more government programs is both simplistic and damaging to the economy. Of course, the administration claims that we would have been much worse off without these efforts. You can’t improve this situation by adding to our mountain of public debt for the benefit of big banks and other special interests.”

Full column by Rep. Ron Paul  (Rep-Tex) @ http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/003903.html

Obama Hits Anti-Government Nerves

Monday, August 31st, 2009

Steve Chapman looks at how President Obama’s big government binge is alienating moderate and independent voters who helped elect him http://www.reason.com/news/show/135769.html