Obama’s Cap and Trade Bill and Light Bulbs
June 30, 2009 by Steven Ting
Filed under Business, Economy, General, Politics
The passage of the new climate bill is a terrible thing as it is the largest tax placed on Americans. While the concept might seem great, the cost of cap and trade is passed on to the consumer. The purpose of the bill was to help us get away from foreign oil. It will actually do the opposite.
When oil producers have to pay a tax, it increases their costs. Those costs get passed on to us. Once the costs get too high, the only thing the domestic producers will be able to do is shut down refineries and reduce production.  This bill is going to raise the cost of oil so much that we’re going to start importing oil again.
Besides this effect, it doesn’t help that 300 pages were added to the bill at the very last minute. How many of the democratic congress men actually read the bill? To top it off, Obama’s “Energy Czar” hasn’t even read the bill. Jimmie, from the Sundries Shack has a nice opinion on that.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Aiming to keep the focus on climate change legislation, President Barack Obama put a plug in for administration efforts to make lamps and lighting equipment use less energy.
“I know light bulbs may not seem sexy, but this simple action holds enormous promise because 7 percent of all the energy consumed in America is used to light our homes and businesses,” the president said, standing alongside Energy Secretary Steven Chu at the White House.
And by “better” the administration means “whatever crappy expensive new lighting General Electric happens to be making that might possibly eke out an infinitesimal energy savings, damn the cost to you or your employer”.
Now Obama wants to regulate your lightbulb. I knew that we would have big government with Obama, but this is more than I would have thought. If Obama would let capitalism run its course, we would have more efficient bulbs. It is not government that is the creator of new ideas, it is the entrepreneur. As Obama and his government get more mixed in with business, they will continue to stifle the economy.
Obama pointed out the following in the article.
He pointed to the state of California as an example of what stricter energy efficiency standards could achieve. In the late 1970′s, California enacted tougher energy policies, which the president said, helped create millions of jobs. Today, he said, Californians consume 40 percent less energy per person than the national average.
Ya, California is an example of all that is good. <Sarcasm> Does that also include their $24 Billion in deficits this year? Government should be small. It should mind its own business and let the people take care of themselves.
Obama requires Leap of Faith
May 28, 2009 by Steven Ting
Filed under General, Politics
A recent Wall Street Journal article compared the life of Obama by using “South Park” as an analogy.
Consider the 1998 “Gnomes” episode — possibly surpassing Milton Friedman’s “Free to Choose” as the classic defense of capitalism — in which the children of South Park, Colo., get a lesson in how not to run an enterprise from mysterious little men who go about stealing undergarments from the unsuspecting and collecting them in a huge underground storehouse.
What’s the big idea? The gnomes explain:
“Phase One: Collect underpants.
“Phase Two: ?
“Phase Three: Profit.”
Lest you think there’s a step missing here, that’s the whole point. (“What about Phase Two?” asks one of the kids. “Well,” answers a gnome, “Phase Three is profits!”)
The article then goes to describe a bunch of other Obama policies. Let’s look at Guantanamo, the Middle East, North Korea and Nuclear Weapons, Energy, Health Care, and the Government Deficit. You’ll get the idea once we get started.
Guantanamo
- Order that Guantanmo is Closed during first weeks of Presidency
- ???
- Close Gitmo!
Umm. What’s Step 2? In this case, it could be to move the prisioners somewhere else. It could be to get funding for the closure. Have any of these happened? No. Is Obama Dumb? Yes.
The Middle East
- Talk to Iran, Syria, Antagonist States
- ???
- Peace!
So what’s missing here? From the article:
In this case, the administration seems to think that diplomacy, like aspirin, is something you take two of in the morning to take away the pain. But as Boston University’s Angelo Codevilla notes in his book, “Advice to War Presidents,” diplomacy “can neither create nor change basic intentions, interests, or convictions. . . . To say, ‘We’ve got a problem. Let’s try diplomacy, let’s sit down and talk’ abstracts from the important questions: What will you say? And why should anything you say lead anyone to accommodate you?”
North Korea and Nuclear Weapons
- Tell NK they’ll be punished if they continue Nuclear development.
- ???
- No more nukes!
This is a fail by both Bush and Obama. We told NK that they were doing bad things. We told them they would have consequences. We even condemned their actions. But what was done? Nothing. What did the United Nations do? Nothing. I thought everyone loved Obama and would do what he said. With the ballistic missle launch by NK last month, the UN Security Council failed to get the votes for a resolution condeming NK. And even if they did, does it affect NK? No. It’s just a piece of paper. Is Obama dumb because he thinks he can bring change? Yes!
Global Warming and Energy
- Use Renewal and Clean Sources of Energy
- ???
- Carbon Neutrality!
Universal Health Care
- Provide Insurance to the Uninsured
- ???
- Everyone Has Insurance!
Reduce the Deficit
- Spend Trillions of Dollars
- ???
- No More Deficit!
Save the Automobile Industry from Bankruptcy
- Raise the CAFE standards to 35.5 MPG
- ???
- Auto Industry is Strong!
Is there a pattern here with Obama? As you can see, Obama has all of these dreams. He hasn’t woken up to experience reality. It’s great to have an idea and to have an end result. We just need to know how to get there. Anyone can propose ideas. An effective president will show us how to achieve these ideas. So far Obama is lacking on the effective side and on the leadership side. Since November 2008, things have just gotten worse. I thought once he took office, there would be some type of change? The only change I see is from bad to worse.
Just because Obama went to Harvard does not mean that he is smart. In many instances, Obama is Dumb.
