The point is, cherry picking. No, worse than that, your author is lying by omission. The table includes Canada, Switzerland, and the US, for both expenditures and revenues. His article does not mention Zimbabwe.
June: Obama's Disastrous Month By DICK MORRIS If Obama loses by the landslide I have been predicting -- and he will -- his undoing started in June. At the end of 2011, Obama's approval ratings rarely rose above 45% and occasionally dropped as low as 40% in the daily tracking polls of both Gallup (registered voters) and Rasmussen (likely voters). But, as 2012 dawned, his approval gradually rose to 49-50 percent on the strength of a perception of economic recovery. Monthly job creation solidly above 200,000 and dropping first time unemployment claims fueled the heady sense that we were emerging from the Great Recession at last. But, as we noted in Take Back America and Revolt!, debt implosion crises are often characterized by false dawns - periods where the data looks up and people come to believe the recovery is, at last, underway. But the optimism fades as does the recovery. The only way out is to cut spending and borrowing so the world's panic at the high levels of global indebtedness can be eased. By April and May, it became clear that there was no recovery underway as the monthly total of new jobs dipped first below 200,000 and then below even 100,000. Unemployment rose to 8.2% and the data from the first quarter indicated a growth rate of only 1.9 percent, well below the 3 percent pace at which the GDP had been growing in the last quarter of 2011. Voters didn't need the statistics to remind them that the economy was not in recovery. Foreclosures, layoffs, and long-term unemployment told the story in their own daily lives. So, in June, Obama's job approval fell back to its 2011 levels of 45 percent or less. Romney opened up a lead in Gallup's daily tracking of registered voters and his lead among Rasmussen's sample of likely voters grew to 48-43. Obama's verbal gaffes ("the private sector is doing fine") and his ongoing battles with Congress which have led to the potential of a contempt citation helped spur his drop in the polls. The Scott Walker victory in Wisconsin gave those who were watching with open minds a foretaste of the dimensions of the coming GOP landslide. Now, Obama faces a double hit: a possible Congressional contempt citation for his Attorney-General and the looming Supreme Court decision on Obamacare. And then will come June's likely dismal jobs report which will be released at the end of next week. More disturbing for Obama is that his June swoon happened despite spending at least $50 million and likely much more on paid advertising during May and June. He threw his best punch - an attack on Romney's record at Bain Capital - and got nothing for it. Even conventional observers are now noting the chances for a Republican victory. We'll see and hear more of that as the summer progresses.
Patchwork tax policy and coming Taxmageddon Impending rate hikes will explode Americansâ annual liabilities By Herman Cain One of the worst habits of our political class is to piece together patchwork economic maneuvers in lieu of solid, stable policies that lay the groundwork for long-term prosperity. Nowhere is this inclination more troubling, or more damaging to our economic well-being, than in the area of taxes. And as a result, we are staring down the barrel of the most massive tax increase in the history of this nation â a series of scheduled rate hikes that will explode Americansâ annual tax liabilities to the tune of nearly $500 billion. This will be the result of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts expiring, plus the expiration of the temporary payroll tax cut President Obama put in place in 2010 and later extended, and the onset of many of the tax increases associated with Obamacare (assuming the Supreme Court has allowed these parts of the law to stand). How serious is this? A new report from the American Council for Capital Formation estimates that the combination of the Bush tax cut expiration and other scheduled measures will cause the economy to lose $855 billion from the gross domestic product. If you think the meager 2 percent growth weâve been having lately is bad â and it is â what do you think will happen when the economy recedes by 5 or 6 percent in 2013? The economy will lose 1 million jobs next year, and up to 3 million in 2014. Consumer spending will decrease by $1 trillion. The so-called Great Recession will hardly be remembered in the history books if this monstrosity is allowed to kick in. This horrible outcome is not set in stone. There is every chance that Congress and President Obama will take action to forestall this massive tax increase. They faced the expiration of the Bush tax cuts in 2010, and they came up with a last-minute deal to extend them to the end of this year. But the likely issue is not whether they will do something. Rather, it is whether what they do will make any sense. Their recent history, particularly the last-minute 2010 deal, does not inspire confidence. For one thing, President Obama has shown little interest in extending the Bush tax cuts, at least for the so-called rich, which he defines as people who make more than $250,000 a year â a definition that includes most small-business owners. For another thing, Congress can never seem to agree on a long-term vision for how to shape and maintain our tax code. Even in 2001 and 2003, when Republicans controlled the House, the Senate and the White House, they couldnât muster enough votes to pass the Bush tax cuts on a permanent basis. The tax cut with the original 2010 sunset date was a typical Washington compromise that made no sense policy-wise, but represented the kind of political compromise that allowed the bill to pass. When the 2010 expiration was looming, Congress and the president did nothing until after the midterm elections â and then the Democrats would only agree to a two-year extension in exchange for another 99-week extension of unemployment benefits. So we found ourselves with yet another temporary patchwork policy, accepted by one side as the price for the patchwork policy the other one wanted. This kind of policy-making serves as a serious drag on economic growth and job creation. The business community is reluctant to commit capital over the long term because it has no idea what tomorrowâs policy might be. The most likely scenario for the end of this year is yet another assortment of temporary measures. One of the reasons my 9-9-9 plan for replacing the tax code resonated with voters is that itâs simple and straightforward. Itâs designed to raise revenue efficiently without stunting economic growth, and itâs not riddled with complexities that give politicians the opportunity to engage in endless tinkering. Because they make tax policy in this way, we face a cataclysmic tax increase and economic meltdown at the end of this year. They must act to stop it, but itâs not enough that they merely do something. They need to stop patching up the tax code with duct tape and design a new one thatâs simple, straightforward and growth-friendly. I have no expectation that this will ever happen with Barack Obama in the White House â but thatâs a problem the American people can solve in November. Once they do, they have to demand that Republicans donât once again blow the chance to fix the tax code for real. When they feel the heat, they will see the light.
Obamaâs Ground Game Fantasy http://www.dickmorris.com/obamas-ground-game-fantasy-dick-morris-tv-lunch-alert/
At super PAC fundraiser, Condoleezza Rice knocks Obama for immigration move and predicts Romney victory By Chris Moody, Yahoo! News WASHINGTON-- As a former Secretary of State and National Security adviser, it's not every day Condoleezza Rice chooses to talk domestic policy over foreign issues. And as a scholar with a Ph.D. in political science, it's not every day that she chooses to talk politics over policy. But on Monday night during a super PAC fundraiser at the Capitol Hill Club, a private hangout for Republicans only steps from the House office buildings, Rice wasn't shy about diving into both. Rice, whose post-Bush years have been spent mostly at Stanford University, is making her voice heard in political circles again. Just days after reportedly bringing down the house with a powerful speech at a Utah retreat with Republicans donors for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, Rice flew to Washington to headline a fundraiser for ShePAC, a new super PAC that supports conservative female candidates. The appearance was notably her very first DC fundraiser for a political outside group, complete with a private foreign policy briefing with sitting female lawmakers and Republican House and Senate candidates from across the country. While Rice spoke to the candidates on the third floor of the club, about 150 ShePAC supporters waited in a reception room downstairs, noshing on a spread of roast beef, glazed ham, sweet potato puffs and watermelon soup while bartenders poured glasses of whiskey, vodka and wine in the back. Introduced as "the smartest woman in the world," Rice emerged from a side kitchen to address the group. Over the course of about 10 minutes at the lectern, she focused her speech on a need for domestic reforms and called for a change in executive leadership. "This is a truly consequential election. This is perhaps a turning point for the country. I'm very often asked to speak about the foreign policy aspects and there are some key important foreign policy issues before us," Rice said before briefly listing a series of challenges abroad. "There are many foreign policy issues on the agenda, but we are not going to address any of those international challenges unless we get it right at home. And it's not right at home right now, and the American people know it." She went on to tell her own story of a child who grew up in the segregated South whose parents encouraged her to seek an education. Rice lamented what she sees as changing attitudes about opportunities for success in the United States and--without calling him by name--criticized President Barack Obama for announcing that his administration would selectively enforce immigration laws. "Americans who come here from other places to be a part of that belief that you can come from humble circumstances and do great things, which is why we need an immigration policy that works," Rice said. "But, by the way, we need one that the Congress and the president work out together, and we need to do something about access to education." Rice, whose name is increasingly coming up as a possible candidate to become Romney's running mate, ended her talk with a shout-out to the former Massachusetts governor. "America has a way of making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect, and we're going to do it again," she said. "We're going to strengthen ourselves, our democracy at home, we're going to strengthen our economy, we're going to do it with great leadership like the people in this room and like Governor Mitt Romney, who will be a terrific president." When she finished, Rice promptly exited through a side door without talking to reporters waiting nearby. As she walked toward a vehicle waiting in an alley, an aide said she would not be answering questions because she had a scheduled appearance on Fox News later that night and wanted any new comments to be exclusive to the network.
Obama is the best at border security: "According to the most recent year-end reports from Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol apprehensions fell to 340,252 in 2011 -- a 53 percent drop since 2008, when nearly 724,000 border-crossers were nabbed. "At the same time, the number of border agents hit a high of 21,444, according to CBP. Most agents -- 18,500 -- now are on the Southwest border. There were about 10,000 agents total in 2004. "Even with fewer targets, patrols in the Southwest dramatically boosted the amounts of drugs, guns and cash seized over the last three years compared to 2006 through 2008. Seventy-four percent more money, 41 percent more drugs, and 159 percent more weapons, according to the Department of Homeland Security. "And, in spite of the crime allegations, DHS said that according to 2010 FBI reports, violent crimes in the Southwest border states dropped by an average of 40 percent in the last two decades. Since 2008, crime rates have fallen in each Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. "Part of the reason for that progress is funding for border security, which Congress has consistently boosted, most recently in 2010, passing a bill by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that sent $600 million to border enforcement. "Another factor driving down illegal immigration is the poor economy. Migration from Mexico has recently reversed, with more Mexican immigrants leaving the United States. Record deportations under Obama, whose administration shipped nearly 400,000 undocumented immigrants out of the country last year including many with criminal records, also is a factor."
Obama's Failed Presidency By DICK MORRIS Particularly if the Supreme Court invalidates the individual mandate at the heart of the ObamaCare law, this president's tenure is increasingly going to be seen as an unmitigated failure. The economy is in a shambles and getting worse. The national debt is bloated. The stimulus didn't work. His healthcare reform law, his signature program, might be unconstitutional. He tied the nation up for a year and a half, and lost his party's House majority and much of its margin in the Senate, to pass and defend a law that was so poorly written, it could get thrown out by the court. He might be cited for contempt of Congress. He hasn't delivered on his environmental commitments. Cap-and-trade is a dead letter. Gov. Scott Walker's victory in Wisconsin makes a mockery of Obama's pledge to strengthen organized labor during his term. American popularity around the globe is lower than it was under Bush, and both Iran and North Korea are more threatening. What's left? Any even vaguely objective observer has to agree that Obama has failed. The parties still disagree on whose fault the failure was and what the remedy is, but there can be no doubt that he has utterly failed. Spurred by this record of failure, the case against Obama is rapidly becoming non-ideological and even nonpartisan. Throughout his tenure, he has been under fire from the right for his liberal programs, big spending and grow-government tendencies. But now, the center and the left are chiming in, criticizing his competence, leadership, strength, experience and wisdom. He is coming to be seen as an amateur, not ready for prime time, prematurely elected president before he could acquire a real understanding of how the process works. His speeches, once inspirational, now sound hollow. His tone, once uplifting, now is partisan and harsh. His demeanor was once unruffled and his voice calming. These days he often appears rattled and off balance. He ran a relatively gaffe-free campaign in 2008 (the encounter with Joe the Plumber excepted). But in 2012, he can't seem to do anything right. He attracted vast amounts of money in piling up a 2-to-1 financial advantage over McCain. But this year, he admits he will be outspent. In a sense, Barack Obama has morphed into Jimmy Carter. Looking back at the 1980 election, we are tempted to see it in hindsight as the triumph of conservatism as Reagan swept to power. But, in fact, Reagan was careful not to run as an ideologue lest he be impaled like Goldwater was in 1964. Rather, Jimmy Carter lost the election more than Reagan won it. It was the Republican's question, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" and his calculation of the misery index (combining unemployment and inflation) that brought Carter down. Carter, himself, was not a leftist in 1980. He had been a moderate as president. His liberalism was still in the future. He was beaten not because he strayed too far left, but because he couldn't get out of his own way. The American public came to see him in much the same terms that they now use to describe Obama: In over his head, hasn't a clue, can't get anything done. To win, Obama needs a phenomenal turnout among downscale voters. He's not going to get it. There is no enthusiasm for him among his base. Nobody can be inspired by his record of failure. Democrats are increasingly voting with their feet, staying home during his coming convention and distancing themselves from the top of the ticket. And few voters are sufficiently scared of Mitt Romney to come out to vote for a president who hasn't done anything right. Six months ago, when I predicted that 2012 would be a Republican landslide, few agreed with me. Now I'm getting more company.
"Dick Morris' Crackpot Predictions If Obama Gets Re-Elected Posted by Ellen 38.20pc on March 27, 2012 · Flag How crazy is Dick Morris? So crazy that even Sean Hannity refused to buy into his Glenn-Beck-like fantasy of socialism, European rule and other cataclysms should Republican Doomsday occur and President Obama get re-elected. Among other Doomsday scenarios, Morris predicted: He (Obama) will eliminate the private health insurance industry... make the United States a vassal state to a globalist entity... sign away our royalties of offshore oil drilling..." Hannity listened without comment or probing for more until, finally, he put a stop to Morris' talk. Morris has got to have an inlaw in a high place at Fox. How else to explain his continued presence there? He's been reprimanded for ethical lapses, made a series of outlandish predictions and analyses, and used Fox News airtime to further his personal vendetta against Hillary Clinton. By the way, less than a year ago, Morris told Hannity, "I donât think Obama has a prayer of getting re-elected." Video via Media Matters."