BCT Editorial – 2/17/09

This page was last updated on February 21, 2009.

Looking ahead; Editorial; Beaver County Times; February 17, 2009.

The editorial subtitle is “Unless Americans change, current crisis is just a preview of the future.”

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Unless the American people and the U.S. government change their ways, the $790 billion economic stimulus plan that was approved last week means nothing.”

[RWC] At the end of this critique I ask you what is missing from the editorial.

“The plan will have an impact in the short run.

“The money the states will receive will allow them to maintain critical services. For instance, Pennsylvania will receive more than $16 billion under the package. The Associated Press reported $5 billion can be used in budget aid, about $1.5 billion directly to school budgets and $1.7 billion for highways, bridges and mass transit agencies.”

[RWC] Why shouldn’t local and state taxpayers pay for their own responsibilities instead of putting federal taxpayers on the hook?

“The tax breaks for lower- and middle-income Americans will help them, as will the $70 billion that will spare 24 million taxpayers from being hit with the alternative minimum tax. So will the extension of unemployment benefits, increase in food stamp benefits and help with COBRA health-insurance payments.”

[RWC] We have yet another position flip-flop upon the election of President Obama. You’ll recall Times editorials consistently bashed President Bush for tax cuts and frequently told us we were selfish for not wanting to pay more taxes.

“The nation’s crumbling infrastructure will benefit from the boost in funding. The economy will, too, because of the construction jobs it will create. Although these are short-term jobs, these are Americans workers employed in American jobs who will spend their wages in America.”

[RWC] Hmm, that’s not what happened during the Great Depression. Consider the following statement by Henry Morgenthau, FDR’s Treasury Secretary during the Great Depression. Testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee in May 1939, Sec. Morgenthau said, “We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong … somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises … I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started … And an enormous debt to boot.” Further, unemployment never got below 9.9% before the U.S. entered World War II.

“Like any grand design, this one can be nitpicked to death, with the losers being the loudest complainers.”

[RWC] This $1.1/$1.2 trillion (including interest) spending bill is a “grand design?” Close your eyes and I bet you can see the equivalent of Moses bringing down the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai.

Who are “the losers?”

“Nor is this stimulus package a surefire solution to the economic problems that have beset the nation. It very well might turn out to deliver far less than promised.”

[RWC] Here’s a prediction. If the left can’t figure out a way to spin a failure into a success (as was done with FDR and the New Deal), editorials will tell us nothing was promised and/or things were worse than we thought. Also remember the Congressional Budget Office reported that “doing nothing” would be marginally better than the porkulus bill. Therefore, any improvement that would have happened anyway will be credited to the porkulus bill.

“However, if the stimulus package works and the U.S. economy does bounce back, Americans and the federal government must show they have learned their lesson and not return to their profligate ways.”

[RWC] In case it slipped by you, here’s what the editorial is telling us. The cure for a country with too much debt is to add another $1.1/$1.2 trillion of debt. It’s a bit like claiming you rescue a drowning person by hold his head deeper underwater.

“In a sense, the current fiscal mess is a much-needed wakeup call. The United States is the richest nation in the world, but it has been squandering that wealth by living far beyond its means. This credit-fueled recession, which is on the precipice of a depression, is a harsh reminder of that.”

[RWC] “[P]recipice of a depression?” I have two points about this. First, this is intended to set the table for the “worse than we thought” excuse I mention above.

Second, isn’t this fear mongering? I thought the Times didn’t like fear mongering.

Regarding the “credit-fueled recession,” we’re a month and a half into 2009 and the Times has yet to publish an editorial about how we got here other than making nebulous comments like “credit-fueled recession.” Why would that be unless the trail leads somewhere the Times doesn’t want us to go? If the core of the problem could be remotely blamed on conservative principles and/or Republican policies/programs, we would have seen a constant stream of editorials telling us so.

“We are at an important point in our nation’s history. If we chose to, we can live well while still living well within their [sic] means. If we chose not to, the current crisis is just a preview of a rocky future.”

[RWC] What’s missing from the editorial? There’s no mention of deficit spending (This spending bill is 100% deficit spending.), increasing our debt, how it will be paid for, and who will pay for it.

For at least the last four years preceding the 2008 election, Times editorials constantly and correctly complained about federal deficit spending, the country’s growing debt, and the burden that debt puts on us and future generations. Referring to these complaints as crocodile tears, I questioned the motives in my critiques because Times editorials concurrently lobbied for more spending on just about every proposal that came down the pike. As I’ve noted previously, since we elected President Obama, Times editorials – including this one – now support deficit spending or at least see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil on the subject. Previous examples are “Last resort,” “Limited options,” Budget crunch,” and “Making the grade.” This appears to be a sore point with the Times since it won’t publish any comments calling attention to this flip-flop.