One of the Millions

iowahawk: with apologies to margaret bourke-white

Recently President Obama said:

... if there's anyone out there who still doesn't believe this constitutes a full-blown crisis, I suggest speaking to one of the millions of Americans whose lives have been turned upside-down ...

Being recently laid off, or "resource actioned" in the parlance of my employer, I am qualified to be counted as one of the millions and, unfortunately, Obama's right. I believe this is a "full blown crisis" ... I just don't believe it's an economic one. That probably makes me somewhat unique among the millions ... or billions if we're using Pelosi-nomics.

Potential employers say "we are postponing any hiring decisions" and I whisper to myself, "gee. thanks obama." Without his fear mongering and catastrophic predictions perhaps employers would be looking to expand instead of retrench. Instead of energizing the economic engine, Obama is purposefully yanking the brake and over-hyping the crisis to improve his political position. He's not being honest; he's being manipulative.

The headlines read 'Wall Street Anticipates Stimulus Passage' or 'Markets Slide on Lack of Treasury Plan Details', attempting to explain the ups and downs of the Dow-Jones, but to me it's just another chance to say "gee. thanks obama." Volatility in the market is almost always caused by uncertainty. Is he a centrist? Will there be enough pork to go around? How far is the step between capping executive pay and controlling profits? Will they nationalize the banks? Will 'green' initiatives retard the necessary infrastructure growth? Can corporations afford an American, unionized work force? What, exactly, is "the plan?" Companies don't layoff workers based on last year's results; they layoff based on the upcoming forecast. When you have a leader with no clear plan, no track record and no discernible principles it's impossible to forecast positive results. No wonder the layoffs are mounting.

And then we have this gem. Obama said, "It is only government that can break the vicious cycle" of lost jobs, less spending and more layoffs. The message is subtle, but it's in there. On the surface he's making the case for huge government intervention in the economy. The underlying message, however, is "be passive. we'll take care of you. we'll protect you from the evil capitalists. step into my parlor." Dress it up however you like ... compassion, patriotism, progress, "change" ... it's still ends up as central planning and a loss of individual freedoms. Is that what Americans want, or what Obama wants?

At least the message within the message is generally consistent when he promotes the 'government is your friend' idea. What's more irritating are the blatant inconsistencies between words and actions. I'm not seeing a lot of transparency in the 'stimulus' legislation process and Tom Daschle alone was enough to torpedo two of Obama's campaign mantras ... the "highest ethical standards ever" and "no lobbyists" regarding administration appointments. My personal favorite is contrasting his famous

America is not and never has been just a collection of red states and blue states, but rather the UNITED STATES

with his recent catty comments along the lines of 'We won. The American people have spoken. The opposition needs to get over it. I have a mandate.' And of course executives with corporate jets are bad and wasteful, but congressional junkets and campaigning for legislation using Air Force One is 'doing the people's business.' So much for 'we are all in this together'. So much for inclusiveness. We're not red and blue anymore, just 'the ruling elite' and 'the woeful masses.'

This is a full-blown crisis alright, but it's leadership, not economics, that is at issue.