We are all Socialists now

There it is, the headline from the Feb. 16 issue of Newsweek. See here for the cover image. As for the story, it couldn't be more fawning of Obama than it is, could it? Here's the story on Newsweek's site. The story begins by saying we already resemble a European style economy. It then goes on to criticize FoxNews, Sean Hannity and Congressman Mike Pence for suggesting that moving more in the direction of a socialist European model is a problem. It seems to Newsweek that socialism is an inevitability that Hannity and Pence, and apparently me, should just get over and start figuring ways to manage it rather than argue against it. To really rub it in, the article goes on to describe how it was a "conservative GOP administration" that brought the 700 billion dollar stimulus package and moved us closer to Europe. Well, two issues with that. One, Bush is not now and never has been a conservative. Two, the GOP did not have a majority in either house of Congress that could have prevented the bills passage. So, yes, a Republican President did in fact support this bill (which you'll note in my earlier posts I was against regardless of who the President was), but describing the instigators of the bailout as "conservative GOP" is a stretch to say the least since the large majority of those conservatives have now rejected Bush. There was a reason he had single digit and low teen approval ratings and it isn't because all Democrats hated him. While that statement may be true, the reason is that independents like myself and the majority of true conservatives also had serious issues with his final days in office. Ironically, to make matters worse, people like John McCain, who claim to not support the stimulus, supported the bailout. McCain might have had a better chance in November if he'd come out against the bailout. Why? Because a lot of independents and those conservatives out there might have shown up for him in greater support, but instead, he proved to be nothing more than a moderate Democrat, not a conservative by supporting the measure. Sure, he's against the stimulus now, but what good does that do him at this point. He lost the election, largely over economic issues. Next, the article continues on to describe our growing ratio of spending vs. our GDP and says "As entitlement spending rises over the next decade, we will become even more French." Is this really want Americans want? I don't think so. France is far from a model worth emulating, yet Newsweek seems to think that this is not only inevitable, but positive, based on their reporting. Did it occur to anyone over there that we should instead be reducing government and spending? Here's the final straw to show they have no clue at Newsweek about how things really work.

"The Obama administration is caught in a paradox. It must borrow and spend to fix a crisis created by too much borrowing and spending. Having pumped the economy up with a stimulus, the president will have to cut the growth of entitlement spending by holding down health care and retirement costs and still invest in ways that will produce long-term growth. Obama talks of the need for smart government. To get the balance between America and France right, the new president will need all the smarts he can summon."

Really?! You just said, we will borrow and spend to solve a crisis creating by too much borrowing and spending! Am I the only one who can see the lack of logic in that statement? I mean, come on. If I went to my wife and said, "Honey, we have too much debt, we're about to lose our home and I don't know what we are going to use to buy food this week, but hey, I just stimulating things by buying a car" I'd get tossed out of the house so fast, and my wife would be within her rights to do so. So, somehow, because it is the government, this kind of thinking is okay? Huh uh. The final statement in the article? To get the balance between France and America right? How about we retreat to what America is and stands for and leave the French alone. That's how we achieve growth, results, low unemployment, etc. Not through socialization, but by realizing that we have to put our ducks in a row. That's what everyone else has to do, and so should our government. No more bailouts and stimulus!