Politics, Government & Public Policy: April 2011 Archives
The scariest thing you've seen in a long time:
Note that the y-axis is logarithmic.
One hundred years ago the federal government spent the inflation-adjusted equivalent of $200 per person; today it spends more than $12,000 per person.
(HT: William M. Briggs and Wendy McElroy.)
Donald Trump announces that he should be president because his is bigger that yours.
Donald Trump yesterday fired the opening salvo in a macho battle of bank accounts with rival presidential contender Mitt Romney, dismissing the former Massachusetts governor as a "small business" person and saying his own assets are "much, much" larger than his opponent's.Trump, whose approval ratings have rocketed upward since he started hammering President Obama, yesterday turned his fire on Romney, considered by many the front-runner in a divided Republican field.
"I'm a much bigger businessman and have a much, much bigger net worth. I mean my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney," Trump told CNN's Candy Crowley yesterday.
Would Trump be a good president? I don't know... that's always impossible to predict in advance. But I know he'd be an interesting president.
By Iowahawk, via Instapundit.
WSJ editorial page hits the low-lights of Obama's deficit speech.
Mr. Obama did not deign to propose an alternative to rival Mr. Ryan's plan, even as he categorically rejected all its reform ideas, repeatedly vilifying them as essentially un-American. "Their vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America," he said, supposedly pitting "children with autism or Down's syndrome" against "every millionaire and billionaire in our society." The President was not attempting to join the debate Mr. Ryan has started, but to close it off just as it begins and banish House GOP ideas to political Siberia.Mr. Obama then packaged his poison in the rhetoric of bipartisanship—which "starts," he said, "by being honest about what's causing our deficit." The speech he chose to deliver was dishonest even by modern political standards.
Both sides are seriously pissing me off. Why don't they start by pulling the 2006 budget out of the filing cabinet, crossing out "2006", writing "2012", and just passing the exact same thing. Somehow we managed to enjoy the Bush-Obama tax cuts and fight two wars in 2006 with a deficit of "only" $500 billion. Yay! That was easy, and we just saved more than $1 trillion per year.
So Donald Trump is running for president? Really, or as a publicity stunt? Who knows.
Among Republican primary voters, Mr. Romney captured the support of 21% in a broad, nine-candidate field. Mr. Trump was tied for second with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, with 17%. House Speaker Newt Gingrich got 11%, just ahead of former Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s 10%. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, considered a strong contender by political handicappers, remains largely unknown, with just 6% support. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota had 5%, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum 3%, and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour with just 1%.
Some people may say he's too crazy to be president, but personally, I think he's just crazy enough. Sometimes it helps to be bombastic and unpredictable rather than quiet and thoughtful. He'd certainly keep our enemies on their toes.
