It Just Doesn't Stop

Would somebody please tell me this is not happening. I cannot believe the level of corruption that is so endemic throughout this administration. This kind of corruption is one of the reasons why President Obama is so loathed by the right. His progressive-stacked National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has just recently mandated that unions can basically form in a work place without the consent of the workers. Yes, you heard that right. The unions, who supposedly are for the "working man", are going to shaft the working man and woman by negotiating directly with the employer, leaving out the employees.

American's didn't want it, Congress wasn't going to pass it, and he wouldn't dare do it by executive order. So what happens? The NLRB does Obama's and union's bidding. Now a union can form in a work place without the consent of the workers.

A few years ago, as it was looking like Obama was going to be the democrat nominee and more than likely the next president, I got into an e-mail discussion with the editor of a prominent conservative web site. He was actually pulling for Obama to win, not because he liked Obama's politics, quite the opposite in fact. But his feeling was that a term with a progressive in the White House would reawaken the conservative majority in this country the same way that four years of Carter ushered in Reagan. My argument back to him, while agreeing with his points in principle, was the concern I had about the amount of damage Obama and Pelosi could do to this country during that period of time. I was also concerned there was not another Reagan-like individual out there.


As it turns out, we may both have been right. Obama and Pelosi's wild spending ways brought about the largest political party change in history to the House of Representatives as Americans grew tired of the arrogance and free spending attitude emanating from Washington DC. Obama is not likely to see a second term unless something dramatic happens in the next 14 months. For Obama to see a second term I think one of two things have to happen. Either unemployment is going to have to improve back to levels during the Bush administration (less than 4% unemployment), or Obama is going to have to come to grips with the fact that America is a right of center nation and we DON'T WANT TO BE FRANCE. Given his track record, I think improving unemployment has a better chance happening than Obama understanding the American people (improving unemployment would be the slim in the slim to zero scenario). So, American has woken up and will more than likely send Barack Obama packing back to Chicago.

But I also fear that I was right. The damage he has done to this nation is catastrophic in my opinion. It is going to take years, if not decades for us to recover from his policies. Our national debt stands at over $14 trillion and counting in the billions each day. Yes, Bush was a spender, but Obama has an appetite like a Sumo-wrestler at a sushi bar. I really don't think many people have truly come to grips with the debt that we are facing. One analogy that I have heard compares the US debt to a middle class individual ($50K/year) having a $200,000 in credit debt. At the current rate of spending, it is predicted that our debt will be 100% of GDP by 2025. That is the ratio of debt to GDP currently being experienced by Greece and Portugal. They have defaulted and seeing unrest not seen since the 1960's.

We can argue back and forth whether the spending saved the US from a depression, but one thing that is not arguable is the fact the spending was beyond wasteful. A very large chunk of this money was used as political payoffs to favored districts and unions. http://www.businessinsider.com/mccain-100-wasteful-stimulus-projects-2010-8# Where are the "shovel ready jobs"? They are nowhere to be seen. Heck, I can think of a bridge that is serious need of being replaced and it would have taken about 0.1% of the stimulus budget. Building a bridge over the Columbia River would certainly qualify as a shovel ready project, would probably employ several thousand (directly and indirectly), and would improve a transportation route. Obama has been compared to FDR, Lincoln, and JFK. Frankly, I certainly don’t see the comparison with the latter two, but I do see it with FDR. Well, if he were going to act like FDR, at least he could do something with the tax dollars besides study the habits of ants or whether apes understand inequality. While I don't agree with the level of spending and the culture of dependency brought about by FDR's "New Deal", at least we have tangible reminders. That money built the Tennessee Valley Authority, the BPA, and Hoover Dam, just to name a few. Are we going to remember Obama for the ant studies?

How long will it take for us to recover from his autocratic actions, taken through various agencies, once Obama has been asked by the voters to take up residence elsewhere?

The NLRB is an agency run-amok. It has used its power to stomp on one of the last remaining exporters of American excellence. Boeing is attempting to expand some its manufacturing capacity in South Carolina (which is a “right to work” state) to build its most modern airliner. But the NLRB has filed suit, trying to prevent Boeing from expanding further in South Carolina. The NLRB has accused Boeing that they are expanding in SC as retaliation for the crippling labor strikes in Washington state in recent years. Well duh! If I were the owner of a business, I would certainly move part of my operations to a location where strikes were something I did not have to deal with. That just makes good business sense to me. What makes this power play by the NLRB so stupid is that Boeing is doing nothing illegal, even by NLRB guidelines. Seems kind of odd that the NLRB would go after Boeing regarding South Carolina, but not in California (not a right to work state), where Boeing has significant manufacturing interests (second only to Washington state, home base of Boeing). I wonder if Boeing had decided to expand in Ohio, or Oregon, would this suit still exist. And as pointed out in the opening of this column, they have basically stomped on workers’ rights. Where are the Wisconsin teachers now who were so concerned about worker rights last spring?

There is not enough space to lay out all the lies and deceit coming from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But I’ll give you just a taste. The EPA is attempting to regulate CO2, which is a naturally occurring gas vital to the survival of the planet. Trees and bushes and grasses all need CO2 to live. And we need it too. A waste by-product created by trees and other organic matter just so happens to be what we humans (and all other life forms) need to survive. Anyway, the EPA is attempting to regulate this gas through the Clean Air Act, which of course is not really legal since the CAA does not cover a naturally occurring substance. But that has not stopped Lisa Jackson and her cohorts from running rough-shod over the rules. The EPA wants to make industry to obtain permits for CO2 emissions and those permits will dictate what level this life-sustaining gas can be emitted. The EPA is using global warming as the vehicle in which to implement the rules governing CO2 emissions. Or course, this is a crock. Global warming is pretty much a dead issue as we have entered into the 12th year of cooling. If the EPA is allowed to do this (and they have been), the cost of building new energy plants and expanding existing ones will sky-rocket. Will the energy companies absorb this cost or will they pass it along to the consumer? As an avowed capitalist, I know what I would do. Plus, I would charge double for electricity in Washington DC.

It is quite possible that my protagonist in this debate is going to be proven correct. The nation is certainly shifting to the right. Several polls indicate this has not only taken hold, but has also gained some traction. As recently as last month, a generic Republican candidate beats Obama by a hefty margin. This bodes well. But there is also some danger. There are many candidates out there right now; Perry, Romney, Cain, Bachmann, Gingrich, McCotter, and maybe Palin. The vetting is ongoing. Who is the best choice? Right now, there is no clear front-runner. Bachmann won the Iowa straw poll, but Perry and Romney didn’t participate. Perry surged when he announced, but the liberal press has barely gotten their talons into him yet, so we still don’t know if his grandfather on his mother’s brother’s adopted sister’s best friend’s husband’s second cousin side ran a stop light back in 1913. But I am sure if Elmer did it (or was it Ethel?), the leftist press will be sure to tell us about it in breathless detail.