Copyright © 2009 Frank Lynch.
Copyright © 2009 Frank Lynch.
Me: Frank Lynch Home These are my mundane daily ramblings.
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President Obama does "Mountain Jam." Wow. Obama was not only on top of his game, I had the sense that he was enthusiastic about answering questions fully and demonstrating the depth of his thinking on serious issues. I felt like, if it weren't for the television network limits of an hour, he would have been completely comfortable playing all night. I could almost hear him defining the basic principles of his thought before going on to deeper conclusions: "First, there is a mountain. Then there is no mountain, then there is." And his sense of scope was also well done, keeping time on A-Rod to a minimum. All we needed was a stupid question about the puppy, to allow him to lower his head with an "are you serious?" expression.
Bush did not inherit a recession. On ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopolous," the new head of the RNC (Michael Steele) another lie:
Well, Steele is wrong. The 2001 recession began in March, 2001, after Bush had taken office. And while it's safe to say that economies and oil tankers don't turn on a dime, it's also safe to say that any negative trends which were looming as Bush took office weren't helped by the doom and gloom which Bush was forecasting after the election. So, no, Bush didn't inherit a recession, and may have sped its arrival.
The come down. We've all heard about the $500,000 salary cap Obama wants to impose on CEO's of firms being bailed out, but what are the practical implications? This morning's New York Times itemizes the inidividual impact. Nothing but crocodile tears are coming from me, but if it's difficult for the bailed-out execs to cope with (or imagine) living on a tighter budget like $500,000, it only goes to show how removed they are from the realities which so many of the rest of us face. Remember when Pres. George H. W. Bush saw a grocery store scanner for the first time and was mocked for being out of touch? This is sort of like that. I'm not saying I wish it were otherwise under the circumstances; greater austerity is appropriate, and it's unfortunate that it needs to be enforced. In fact, I hope that their firms will some day do well again, and that the execs can again do better. But if that day arrives, I wouldn't mind seeing boards and execs forced downstairs into the company lunch rooms, or doing anonymous day work. Bob Graham did that in 1977, but anonymity would be important if it's going to be genuine sesnitivity training. (I'm also reminded that Ben & Jerry's used to have a maximum ratio between pay at the top and pay at the bottom.) The simple fact is that this is not the Gilded Age, and any company that takes our bail-outs shouldn't act like it is for them.
Oh my. Did the new head of the RNC funnel campaign money to his sister's kaput company for work it never did?
Support "fading" for the stimulus package? The concepts underlying economic stimulus are complex, and not easily communicated. On the one hand, "shovel ready" can be a euphemism for an out-dated concept, but there probably have been a number of worthwhile projects waiting for adequate funding. It's sad that it took the 9/11 attacks to provide an "opportunity" to rethink mass transit connections in lower Manhattan, but it did, and projects like it and the Second Avenue Subway could well benefit from the influx of funds. And with these projects, so too the businesses which would flourish as a result, to say nothing about productivity improvements resulting from people spending less time commuting to work. Or under the Hudson if additional tunnels get built. But it does look to me as if support for "the package" is fading. Yet, pardon me if I don't think it's due to any intrinsic fault of the package itself, as it's not easy to communicate the broad benefits which it represents when you have cable news channels dominated by the opposition. You may even remember the Presidential debates when McCain dishonestly referred to a Chicago planetarium astronomical projector as an "overhead projector" and cited its high price (as if these were the overhead projectors available at Office Max). Under these circumstances, it's easy to imagine how support might wane. But that doesn't change the rightness or the wrongness of the stimulus package. And attempts to belittle it or block it because it's imperfect amount to efforts to throw the baby out with the bath water. Just keep that in mind: all those politicians who want less spending and more tax breaks are arguing for another four more years of George W. Bush. Their side lost, and we don't win or move forward by rewinding their VHS tape and acting like we've never seen this movie before.
The myth of Obama's $100 steaks. The willingness to believe the worst in Obama was demonstrated by Michelle Malkin, and picked up by John Hinderaker at Powerline. Malkin noticed the menu at a White House cocktail party (as reported by Jake Tapper), included Wagyu steak (kobi). Tapper notes that the steak is among the hors d'oeuvres, but Malkin omits the size of the portions, and goes on to note that the meat goes for $100 a pound, relying on a five year old article at MSNBC.com. Guess what: it's not all $100 a pound. This seller has 12 oz NY Strips for $20 a pound. And that's the price to you and me; I'm sure that a bulk order from the White House could command a lower price. (Think Jelly Belly got any publicity and made any money for being Reagan's jelly bean favorite?) Even if other cuts and grades cost more, Malkin doesn't know what was served. I'll tell you this: maybe the White House did use the finest, maybe it didn't. But Malkin doesn't know. She just doesn't know, and would prefer to conclude the worst.
The "vegetable peeler" guy has died. UPDATE: The link above also has a link to a nice write-up in the NYT, and there's even a pool of Flickr photos dedicated to him, here. The pool started long before his death, it wasn't an afterthought. (Photo credit Killthebird, at Flickr.)
Not the Hollies. Link | | | 9:37 AM | Home What did Daschle know, and when did he know it? Daschle supposedly had an inkling he owed back taxes last June, but may have underestimated the magnitude; although he asked his accountant to look into it, he apparently didn't raise the potential red flag when being vetted by the Obama team, and didn't bring it up until after being nominated for health secretary. In Daschle's favor, obviously, is the fact that he himself asked his accountant to look into it. I don't know how accountants are trained, and whether it's their habit to run their clients through a checklist of oft-overlooked revenue sources. But that doesn't seem to have been done here. Between Daschle and Geithner Obama must be shaking his head. If, however, we presume these two guys are really the best for the job, you shouldn't jettison them (Daschle's tax bills are paid up, with interest, and any penalties too I'm sure). I sure hope he's read them the riot act, though like a wise father hasn't seen fit to kick them out of the house. I don't think either of these tax breaches are as serious as divulging the name of a CIA agent to the press, for instance.
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