Monday, May 18, 2009

Dick Morris: When the truth doesn't fit your story, make the "truth" up



Political pundit Dick Morris is at it again. In his latest missive entitled, "When Will Obama Own the Recession," he writes:


"The signs of a negative economic reaction to Obama's program are already quite visible. Interest rates on ten year Treasury bills have risen by 50% since January in anticipation of the coming bout with inflation. Capital has been diverted wholesale from new businesses into channels that do the economy no good. The treasury's debt is soaking up funds. So is the sale of toxic assets from banks. The demands for capital set in motion by Obama's spending spree and his bank bailout plans are already blocking investment in economic growth."

But is he saying anything that is real?

"The signs of a negative economic reaction to Obama's program are already quite visible. Interest rates on ten year Treasury bills have risen by 50% since January."

Yeah, 10-year yields are at whopping, 3%, big deal! And the stock market's up 12.5%. That's good, but he "forgets" to mention it.

"Capital has been diverted wholesale from new businesses into channels that do the economy no good."

Oh really? Such as? The fact is, many companies in some of the hardest hit industries are feeling the most confident they have felt in a long time.

"The treasury's debt is soaking up funds."

Soaking up funds?? What is he talking about??? Private savings are at record highs!!! Government spending is PROVIDING funds. That's a basic accounting identity!

"The demands for capital set in motion by Obama's spending spree and his bank bailout plans are already blocking investment in economic growth."

Is that your opinion, Dick, or is it a fact? If it is your opinion you should state so. If it is a fact, then prove it! I'll save you some time--you won't be able to prove it, because it's not true. It's just the same, tired, old, Dick Morris propaganda!

3 comments:

googleheim said...

s = i, savings is a function of investment which is a function of spending

obama has done more in 100 days for helping the situation than Paulson & Bush did in 2 years since Chase and other cc companies started chopping credit lines ( 2007 !! )

it also highlights how inane McCain was

mike norman said...

Yes, goog. The deficit equals, excactly to the penny, the increase in the non-governmental sector's wealth. That means $1.8 trillion this year and by both the CBO and OMB projections, at least $4 trillion of restored wealth by 2012. (That doesn't take into account Keynes's, "multiplier effect.")

googleheim said...

I correct myself. Hopefully the TARP and all that from last fall was a function of Bush and Paulson's attempt to fix things, albeit at the last second - and definitely too late.

Hopefully Obama will follow in a manner that will not only fix, correct and reform the banks but keep inflation down.

WHAT Could have been done earlier ? Who could have guessed ?

ANOTHER Question, Mike, what was the effect of Iraq War in the past 5 years ?

As we saw in your diagram, the government was not printing money during this time, yet we were spending a lot in Iraq.

Were the tax payers on the hook for Iraq MORE SO THAN any of the current banter we are hearing about stimulus spending and all that ??