Quick Hits - November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) yesterday issued their final report - a downgrade of President Obama's 2009 Stimulus program.  Not only did the program grow in cost from the original $787 Billion to a final cost of $825 Billion, but the CBO also reports....

After nearly all the stimulus money has been spent, the Congressional Budget Office now admits it cost more than advertised, did less to boost growth and will hurt the economy in the long run.


In its latest quarterly report on the economic effects of the Obama stimulus, the CBO sharply lowered its "worst case" scenario while trimming many of its upper-bound estimates for stimulus-fueled growth and employment.

The new report finds, for example, that the stimulus may have added as little as 0.7% to GDP growth in 2010 — when spending was at its peak — and created as few as 700,000 new jobs.


Both are down significantly from the CBO's previous worst-case scenario.
The report also lowered the best-case estimate for added growth in 2010 to 4.1% from 4.2%.

In addition, the CBO says the extra infrastructure money didn't boost growth as much as it previously claimed, because states reacted by spending less out of their own budgets on highways.

So in other words, the CBO now says it's possible that the stimulus had virtually no meaningful effect on growth and employment despite its massive price tag.

Despite this, the President and Congressional Democrats still insist that we need more of the same that the original stimulus provided in order to boost the still struggling national economy.  What's Einstein's definition of insanity again?  Doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results? 

Don Berwick, the President's recess appointed Medicare Administrator, has announced his resignation effective December 2, 2011.  Berwick was recess appointed to the role after his nomination for the role failed to pass cloture in the Senate - opposed by 42 Republican Senators.  The Republicans opposed Berwick because of his very controversial viewpoints and statements on not only admiring state-run healthcare, in the model of the troubled British National Health Service, but on the need for rationing healthcare in order to manage the costs.  I'm hoping the door doesn't hit him in the ass on the way out.

Climategate 2.0 continues to reverberate and raise more questions against those who claim mankind is behind global warming. 

Three themes are emerging from the newly released emails: (1) prominent scientists central to the global warming debate are taking measures to conceal rather than disseminate underlying data and discussions; (2) these scientists view global warming as a political “cause” rather than a balanced scientific inquiry and (3) many of these scientists frankly admit to each other that much of the science is weak and dependent on deliberate manipulation of facts and data.

Zombie of PJ Media has these two photos of signs from the OccupyWallStreet movement that help summarize the intellectual bankruptcy of the OccupyWallStreet movement...

 

There are times when one's ignorance of history is just stunning.  The nature of Communist China and the efforts to cover-up the effects of the policies of the Cultural Revolution mask the real cost, but estimates are 1 million to 20 million people were killed as a result of Mao's policy.  This is out of an estimated 60 million Chinese murdered during Mao's regime by the regime.  Yet this smiling nimrod thinks it's time for that in the US?  I wonder if she knew that the young intellectuals in China's cities were killed in the greatest numbers?  Doubtful.  This goes beyond 'useful idiocy'.

These pictures, along with this one I've posted before, are the non-scatological photos that are endemic of the OWS intellectual bankruptcy...

Today is not a holiday overseas and there is plenty of news....

World View, reports include that Yemen's President of 33 years has agreed to step down from power - and this opens yet another power struggle in the Middle East where radical Islamists stand to make gains.

However, the focus is on economics, the European Union, and the Eurozone fiscal challenges.  Germany's bond auction earlier this week is being called a 'complete disaster' as bond panic spreads.  Investors shunned the German bonds - probably the safest of those offered by an EU member.  The Euro is being placed on deathwatch, and Fitch has downgraded Portugal's credit status to 'junk'. 

We in the United States are rapidly moving ourselves down this same path....

Wrapping up today's QH, we'll exit on a lighter note...Hot Air has a post / video with the Greatest Thanksgiving Moment in SitCom History....visit their link, but here's a taste...don't ruin your appetite...