Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Free Enterprise’s 100 Day Death March

Heritage Foundation

Previewing the Obama administration’s upcoming “sweeping” environmental regulatory agenda, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told NPR’s Michelle Norris yesterday: “The President has said, and I couldn’t agree more, that what this country needs is a one single national road map that tells automakers who are trying to become solvent again what kind of car it is they need to be designing and building for the American people.” Norris then asked: “Is that the role of Government though? That doesn’t sound like free enterprise.” Jackson responded: “Well it is free enterprise in a way.”


Jackson’s honesty about the Obama administration’s intentions for the auto industry puts an end to White House claims that, with respect to the federal government’s now controlling stake in General Motors, the “goal is to exert as little influence as possible” and “to exit as quickly as possible.” Make no mistake; this administration will be dictating which cars GM will be making in the future.

And General Motors is not the only car company the Obama administration is seeking to control. Last week they announced their intention to turn Wall Street bailout funds from preferred shares in financial institutions into common shares. This gave the Obama administration even more leverage over the nation’s banks, who then agreed (coincidentally we’re sure) to a United Auto Workers union take over of Chrysler.

Today marks the 100th day of Barack Obama’s presidency; a presidency that is every bit as comfortable as Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s was in blending the power of big government, big business, and big labor into one national industrial policy. And just as under FDR’s National Industrial Recovery Act, the result of the Obama agenda will be fewer small businesses, less jobs, and a longer recession. UCLA economists Harold Cole and Lee Ohanian have found that the NIRA accounted for 60% of the weak recovery and prolonged the depression by seven full years.

President Obama’s senior advisor David Axelrod has called the 100-day benchmark “a Hallmark holiday.” Does Hallmark sell a condolence card for the death of free enterprise?

QUICK HITS

North Korea has threatened to conduct nuclear and missile tests in anger over U.N. criticism of its rocket launch earlier this month.

The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress results show that U.S. high-school students haven’t achieved any significant gains in reading or math for nearly four decades.

In February, the price of single-family homes in 20 major metropolitan areas fell 18.6 percent from the year earlier, compared with a record drop of 19 percent in January.

The administration’s plan to halt a $13 billion helicopter program will cost taxpayers at least $200 million in termination fees and perhaps hundreds of millions to extend the life of today’s aging fleet.

The White House approved Air Force One photo-op over New York City Monday cost taxpayers $328,835.

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