BCT Editorial – 5/2/08

This page was last updated on June 22, 2008.

Painful; Editorial; Beaver County Times; May 2, 2008.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“The United States needs a leader who will promise Americans only blood, toil, tears and sweat to get them and their country out of the mess they’ve gotten themselves into.”

[RWC] Here’s a guess. Unless that person happens to be a leftist candidate whose idea of “blood, toil, tears and sweat” is higher taxes, the Times will pillory that person.

“Instead, as the U.S. economy continues its meltdown toward a depression, its leaders are failing it.”

[RWC] Never let it be said the Times shies away from hyperbole.

A recession is two or more consecutive quarters of negative growth; we haven’t had one yet (The 1^st qtr of 2008 had estimated GDP growth of 0.6%.). Though there is no official definition of a depression, the two leaders are 1) a drop of GDP of at least 10% and, 2) a multi-year recession. Therefore, we still have economic growth and we won’t know if we’re even in a recession until late October, yet the editorial is already talking about a depression. Do you get the impression the Times is rooting for a depression? Yeah, me too.

One last point. The unemployment rate dropped from 5.1% in March to 5.0% in May. Yep, that’s a sure sign of a “meltdown toward a depression.”

“Rather than telling Americans what they need to hear — that they created this mess because of their addiction to public and private debt, that they have been living way beyond their means, that they have refused to break themselves of their addiction to imported oil and that sacrifices will be required of everyone — these so-called leaders turn to pandering and excuses.”

[RWC] The editorial board should speak for itself. I have no debt and pay a load of taxes.

“From John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, we get a call to suspend the federal tax on gasoline (18.4 cents a gallon) and diesel fuel (24.4 cents a gallon) for the summer.”

[RWC] This was covered in “Trolling for votes.”

“Not to be out-pandered, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton joins him in his irresponsibility.”

[RWC] Actually, Mrs. Clinton out pandered Mr. McCain by demanding those evil oil companies pay for the “tax holiday” out of their profits. You know, the profits that fund pension plans, 401(k)s, IRAs, et cetera.

“And in a stunning display of denial, President Bush, who says he’ll take a look at joining McCain and Clinton in their pandering, dumps the blame for today’s economic woes on the Democratic-controlled Congress. It’s as if he has not been in the White House since 2001 and his party had not been in control of the House and Senate for the first six years of his reign.”

[RWC] The editorial stated Republicans were “in control of the House and Senate for the first six years” of President Bush’s administration. It appears the Times needs to get a fact checker.

First, to be “in control” in the Senate, you need 60 votes in order to kill filibusters. At the peak, Republicans held 55 seats (2005-2007), but that included at least three RINOs (Chafee, Collins, Snowe) from the Northeast who regularly voted with Democrats. While it’s true Republicans as a group (both in the White House and in Congress) weren’t true to their stated principles in that they didn’t at least attempt to cut the government’s extraconstitutional spending programs (education, welfare, Medicaid, Medicare, etc.), I missed all those valiant filibusters by Democrats to rein in spending. If Democrats had filibustered the excessive spending, there weren’t enough Republicans to force cloture.

Second, and perhaps less “nitpicky” than the first, Democrats were the majority party in the Senate from June 6, 2001, to November 12, 2002. You may note this covers the period when the Senate passed the Iraq War Resolution by a vote of 77-23 (10/11/02).

“Reign?” How childish.

“The truth is that for the last three decades Americans have been having one heck of a credit-financed party. Well, the credit cards are maxed out, and the credit limit is capped. The party’s over and the bills are coming due.”

[RWC] I know the Times worships previous generations, but deficit spending has been going on since at least the time of St. FDR. As I wrote in my critique of “Grand theft,” “Since 1931, we ran a deficit 66 years out of 78, including a run of 28 straight years from 1970 through 1997. As far as I can tell, the U.S. has been in debt since at least 1850.”

“Americans are at a defining moment in their history. They can live well while still living well within their means — if they choose to do so.”

[RWC] “They?” Aren’t the editorial writers Americans themselves?

“Real leaders lay it on the line and tell the truth.

“But then again, maybe Americans can’t handle the truth.”

[RWC] Note, by “the truth” the editorial really means a position supported by the Times. For example, despite the fact current overall taxes (32.7% of income) are nearly at their historical high (34% in 2000), “the truth” is we’re selfish for opposing tax increases.

Finally, have you seen the detailed list of spending cuts the Times is pushing in order to get us on the right track? No, neither have I.