I posted yesterday about Obama’s demagoguery against the Ryan budget and criticized the President for sloppy budget math, tedious class warfare, and a deeply flawed grasp of America’s founding principles.
This was followed by an opportunity yesterday evening to debate Jared Bernstein on the PBS NewsHour.
Here’s the interview, though I warn you that excerpts of Obama’s speech take up the first 3:17 of the video, and you won’t get to the debate until about 4:20.
A few observations about the interview (other than that I need a haircut).
- It irks me that I was introduced as someone who served as a “Republican economist” on Capitol Hill. At the risk of nit-picking, I was an economist who worked for a Republican.
- I’m glad that I exposed the dishonest Washington budget math used by critics of the Ryan plan (which allows government spending to grow by an average of 3.1 percent per year).
- I should have mentioned that Obama is MIA on the budget. The non-serious plan he proposed this year was unanimously rejected by the House of Representatives and the budget he proposed last year was turned down 97-0 by the Senate.
- I’m happy that I mentioned that the federal government should have no role in education.
- I should have explained that Obama’s status quo approach means that America becomes Greece.
- It would have been a good idea to elaborate further on the issue of federalism, but at least I linked Medicaid reform with the success of welfare reform.
- I was delighted to have a chance to explain that Bush and Nixon were big-government interventionists (and also to point out that Clinton was surprisingly good on the issue of government spending).
By the way, Jared Bernstein is a co-author of the infamous White House report that claimed unemployment would never rise above 8 percent if we squandered $800 billion on a faux stimulus package based on Keynesian economics. But I’m a nice guy, so I chose not to raise that issue.
[...] Appearing on PBS to Debate Obama’s Social Darwinism Speech [...]
You did a great job on PBS and I thought the best point over and over was that you were critical of Republican big spenders too and you praised Clinton for keeping federal spending at 18.2% of GDP. You noted at the end that you were bipartisan in your criticisms and praise and your liberal democratic opponent did not want to concede even that!!!! Talking about denying facts that you had just spoken in front of him. He better check his wearing aid out.
[...] In other words, Obama’s track record does show that he favors an expanding social welfare state. Outlays on those programs have jumped by 7.0 percent annually. And that’s after adjusting for inflation! Not as bad as Nixon, but that’s not saying much since he was one of America’s most statist presidents. [...]
[...] In other words, Obama’s track record does show that he favors an expanding social welfare state. Outlays on those programs have jumped by 7.0 percent annually. And that’s after adjusting for inflation! Not as bad as Nixon, but that’s not saying much since he was one of America’s most statist presidents. [...]
[...] [...]
[...] sure you apply the same term to Republicans who impose the same types of policies, such as Bush and Nixon. Rate this:Share this:PrintEmailFacebookTwitterMoredeliciousDiggFarkLinkedInRedditStumbleUponLike [...]
[...] sure you apply the same term to Republicans who impose the same types of policies, such as Bush and Nixon. Like this:LikeBe the first to like this. By Everette Hatcher III, on June 18, 2012 at 6:55 am, [...]
[...] sure you apply the same term to Republicans who impose the same types of policies, such as Bush and Nixon. Like this:LikeBe the first to like this. By Everette Hatcher III, on June 18, 2012 at 6:55 am, [...]
[...] Appearing on PBS to Debate Obama’s Social Darwinism Speech [...]
[...] a giant difference between the views of the Cato Institute and the decisions of statists like Richard Nixon or George W. [...]
[...] I’ll close with a final point. I have no idea whether Romney is a closet statist or a closet Reaganite. All I’m saying is that, if Romney wins, people who value limited government and freedom should begin working on November 7 to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent Romney from becoming another RINO such as Bush or Nixon. [...]
[...] I’ll close with a final point. I have no idea whether Romney is a closet statist or a closet Reaganite. All I’m saying is that, if Romney wins, people who value limited government and freedom should begin working on November 7 to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent Romney from becoming another RINO such as Bush or Nixon. [...]
[...] I also have discovered that bad Republicans usually do more damage than Democrats. Nixon was one of the most statist presidents of my lifetime, and Bush 41 and Bush 43 were almost as [...]
[...] In other words, Obama’s track record does show that he favors an expanding social welfare state. Outlays on those programs have jumped by 7.0 percent annually. And that’s after adjusting for inflation! Not as bad as Nixon, but that’s not saying much since he was one of America’s most statist presidents. [...]
[...] But make sure you apply the same term to Republicans who impose the same types of policies, such as Bush and Nixon. [...]
[...] special about Obama’s tenure that makes him different from other statist Presidents such as Nixon, Carter, and [...]
[...] special about Obama’s tenure that makes him different from other statist Presidents such as Nixon, Carter, [...]