Your Labor Day Economic Report, 2011

It sucks, go back to bed.

Well, I suppose I could elaborate just a wee bit more on that statement. It is Monday after all, and what’s a Monday without some hemlock in your coffee? I hear it has a lot of fiber…

Our economy came screaming out of the gate on Friday. And when I say, “screaming out of the gate,” I really mean “in terror” and “in the wrong direction.” No jobs were created in the private sector. None, zero, zilch, nada, nyet.

I’m sure y’all know that we’ve been technically out of the last recession for some two years now. I say technically because that means that our GDP was not negative for two consecutive quarters, but the numbers we’ve seen indicate a very weak recovery, the weakest in recent record-keeping.

But no jobs added is a new benchmark, one that I’m sure this administration would be nervous about if it were really interested in getting the economy going again, which by all appearances, it isn’t.

In fact, the Obama War Against Economic Prosperity continues apace, as exemplified by the ongoing assault against Gibson Guitars. Their CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, is getting his message out, and it doesn’t look good for the Obama Regime. This situation gets stranger by the day, what with the Justice Department stonewalling, obfuscating, and telling Gibson that the Indian rosewood it (and every other manufacturer uses for their fretboards due to its superior tonal qualities) used is illegal, despite Gibson being assured by the Indian government that it is, in fact, perfectly legal.

This has cost the company some $3M dollars, not to mention the amount the government pays their armed agents, lawyers and administrators. That’s money that Gibson could be using to expand and hire, but won’t be, as a direct result of the action of the Obama administration.

And, yes, I’ll keep up with this, because you guys need to be aware of Obama’s efforts to curtail economic activity in the name of radical environmentalism, cronyism, union demands and a general confusion about how the economy functions. You expected better from a former community organizer whose main resume qualification is, um, organizing a few communites, to do, uh, something?

For something that was so important it couldn’t wait (until after his Martha’s Vineyard vacation), we’ll finally get to hear his campaign kickoff speech next Thursday, just in time for the start of the NFL regular season.

At least there is some recognition, however gauzy, that Obama realizes that he’s regulating capitalism away. Last week, he ordered the EPA to hold off on its new, highly restrictive ozone regulations. But don’t let that fool you; there are plenty of other regulations waiting for implementation to destroy American jobs and productivity.

As I’ve mentioned previously, our economy has reached the tipping point: Washington regulations have become so prevalent and costly that American businesses can’t keep up with them all. They can’t comply with the tsunami of regulations coming from this administration and they absolutely cannot contain the costs of compliance, which often make themselves known in unexpected ways. Workers must be fired and the resultant drag on productivity hurts everyone who’s left, particularly in raises that won’t come.

Here’s a quote from the previous link that attempts to justify the increased ozone emission standards. Read it carefully…

The EPA’s own analysis found that imposing a standard of 0.70 parts per million would have a net positive impact on the economy, as health benefits outweighed the costs to industry.

And what would these health benefits be, one is tempted to ask? How does the alleged decrease in health care costs find its way back to the company that has spent hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to comply with the new EPA rule? Will they get that money back next quarter, next year, or sometime in the next few decades?

When was the last time any companies’ health care costs declined?

These are good questions that absolutely no one inside the EPA is asking. The link points out that the far-left, radical Progressive organization Center for American Progress cited evidence of businesses that weren’t negatively affected by EPA regulations.

It was only one page long.

Here’s another quote for you to dissect…

The resulting pollution can contribute to breathing difficulties, lung damage and reduced cardiovascular function, according to the EPA’s website.

It “can?” If I remember correctly, out here in the real world, either something occurs or it doesn’t. Words like “can,” or “might,” or “may” are considered vagaries, indefinites, things that could possibly happen, but don’t normally. These are not the words from which to craft government policy, and the uncertainty they naturally imply speaks volumes about the quality of the research that went into them.

Please come back with something a bit more definite and provable before you require businesses to spend vast amounts of money, energy and time chasing some environmental wet dream of a pristine planet.

While I’m not for industries spilling out their toxic byproducts into the ecosystem, our air and water is the cleanest it’s been in generations. We could just stop now with all the new regulations and we’d still be just fine. In fact, a moratorium on any new regs wouldn’t hurt a thing.

But that’s not the goal of the Big Green Watermelon Movement (green on the outside, red on the inside, as in Socialist). It’s goal is to regulate capitalism out of existence, and this administration seems more than willing to help it along.

So, are you ready for some football?

Update! Before you take that first drink of hemlock coffee, listen to this most excellent video from Bill Whittle. (Shamelessly stolen from contributed by Ace)



As you were.