IWA For Sunday 021008

Hey folks,

Technical difficulties may sometimes slow us down, but will NEVER silence the OPN. {Smile}

OK, this weeks winner is yet another associate of the Huffy Post. {Huffington Post} Now I’m going to award him this award this week because of the sheer and unadulterated idiocy of his article.

Get this.

Taxes And Unions Got Us Out Of The Depression

I wonder why no one has pointed out the real reason the Republicans filibustered the "stimulus bill" this week? They blocked an expansion of food stamps, an extension of unemployment benefits, assistance for disabled veterans, help for seniors and a boost for renewable energy.

Here is the reason: Those were not about taxes.

The Democrats caved (of course), so the public now has validation of the notion that taxes harm the economy.

Message: Economy in trouble? Tax rebates and tax cuts will "stimulate" things.

So will this "stimulus" help? Maybe a slight bit. The government will borrow another $150-or-so billion and pump it into the economy. The deficit will be even bigger. The world will trust the dollar even less.

Here is something to think about. This economic problem is about debt. Since Reagan the country and the people in it have been borrowing huge amounts of money to keep things going. (Except for the years that Clinton balanced the budget and was paying back some of the debt.)

Taxes and unions got us out of the depression. Redistribution of income. Taxes on the rich, the money used to build infrastructure and provide good jobs, and unions to force the corporations to give raises and benefits. In a consumer economy you want more money in the hands of the consumers -- not the rich. DUH!

This is CLEARLY from someone who is clueless about both history and economics. Not to mention REALITY. Notice he never mention Illegals getting refund checks? This is the stupidest, most asinine thing, well, OK, it's in the top twenty, I have ever read.

I'll tell you the truth. I never heard of this guy before. I knew he had to be a kook because A- He is posting at the Huffy Post. B- This line. (Except for the years that Clinton balanced the budget and was paying back some of the debt.)C- His complete twisting of history. So I did some checking.

Dave Johnson is a leading participant in the progressive {LWL} blogging community. He is a featured contributor at Huffington Post and writes at many other sites including AlterNet, DailyKos, {Kooks} MyDD, OpEd News and Common Dreams. In September, 2006 Dave was among a group of bloggers invited to meet with former President Bill Clinton, and then was invited to cover the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative conference, and covered it again this year) Talk about DUH!

Makes all the sense in the world now. But for your lack of understanding history, and your complete ignorance of economics, yet trying to get anyone to buy what you are spouting, congratulations Dave Johnson, you ARE the Idiot of the Week. I suppose you are voting for Hillary? {Laughing}

Have a great Weekend folks, see you on Monday. You have to check back to see if I survive the Ghost Hunting on Sunday.
Peter