What’s the rush?

More than a few pundits have pointed out that the president who ran on a platform of “hope and change” is availing himself of fear and hysteria to have his way. Mr. Obama’s admonition that immediate action on the economic stimulus package is required, lest the current crisis turns into a “catastrophe” betrays the fact that “hope and change” were mere rhetorical devices used to gain election, but when the pedal hits the metal it’s fear mongering and business as usual.

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Mr. Obama has toyed with the conceit that he has a number of things in common with Abraham Lincoln, but aside from the fact that both hailed from Illinois, it’s difficult to see any similarity. Mr. Lincoln was a deep thinker who did not make decisions lightly, while it appears the only thing Mr. Obama is capable of thinking deeply of is himself, given that he has published not one, but two, autobiographies while still in his early 40s. His campaign consisted of vague and carefully scripted sound bites designed to let listeners fill in whatever it was they wanted to hear. The message of hope and change, ever in the forefront, was strongly delivered, if not incurably vague. But now that the campaign is over and Mr. Obama is expected to stand and deliver, he relies on more rhetoric. With a legislative stimulus bill that’s going to cost taxpayers’ great-grand children somewhere north of two to three trillion dollars and that will fundamentally change the role of the federal government, socializing a number of industries, one would think that debate should be encouraged. The $1 trillion+ dollar deficit this year represents 2.9% of GDP. Added to the current US gross debt of over $10 trillion, US debt to GDP ratio will reach close to 33% next year, a figure that if sustained, means the eventual bankruptcy of the US government. The package that Mr. Obama and the Democrat Party is imposing on Americans will have such far-reaching consequences that it could forever affect the economic well being of all Americans. And while the bill is referred to as a stimulus bill, the truth of the matter is that there is little that will stimulate the economy, a fact the government’s own accounting office is not reluctant to tell anyone who will listen. What the bill does contain is a legislative vote-generation stimulus for the Democrats who see themselves in power for all eternity as they create a class of loyal voters who depend largely on government largesse to survive. This bill will result in some 50% of all Americans paying no taxes, while the other half shoulders the entire tax burden. Naturally, the expected outcome is that this cohort of non-taxpayers will continue to keep electing Democrats to state and federal governments in perpetuity, ensuring that mediocrities such as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the dreadful Chuck Schumer will have jobs for life. Just to make sure this comes to pass, the Democrats are now talking about silencing all dissent within the US by enacting a new “fairness doctrine” that will essentially silence critics of their plans by restricting access to media outlets such as talk radio. Given that the plans the Democrats are hoping to bring into law are so potentially destructive to the national well being, it’s no wonder they are seeking swift passage by limiting debate. If Mr. Obama really believed that he had something in common with Abraham Lincoln he might have heeded the words Mr. Lincoln spoke during his first Inaugural Address” “My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time. If there be an object to hurry any of you in hot haste to a step which you would never take deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time; but no good object can be frustrated by it.”