A Drop In Confidence? No Wonder!

Posted 06/29/2010 06:34 PM ET

Economy: As the White House proclaims its "recovery summer," Americans are suddenly feeling pretty bad about things. Maybe it's because their can-do spirit has come face-to-face with a "can't-do" government.

Given the many serious problems faced by the U.S., the last thing we need is a government that runs up spending to unprecedented levels and then says, sorry, we can't fix anything. But that's exactly where we find ourselves today.

The "can't dos" from our elected and appointed officials, both at the federal and state level, are piling up. Consider the following:

• "I can't suck the oil up with a straw," said President Obama when asked what he was doing about the BP spill that began April 20. (How would he know? He didn't even bother trying!)

Nor could he approve the building of sand berms, or the suspension of the Jones Act, which would have let foreign skimmers into U.S. waters to help with the oil cleanup.

• "You're never going to totally seal that border," said Janet Napolitano, making excuses for why Homeland Security has essentially ceded entire parts of Arizona to violent Mexican smuggling rings while still seeking "comprehensive immigration reform."

• "I think the world understands now that growth in the future around the world cannot depend as much on the United States as it did in the past," opined Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in a defeatist interview with the BBC before the G-20 summit.

• "There's no possibility to restore 8 million jobs lost in the Great Recession" was how Vice President Joe Biden put it at a fundraiser for Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold. But wasn't that the reason for the $862 billion stimulus package, the $700 billion in bailouts and the takeover of the auto industry and Wall Street?



• "It isn't possible to debate and pass a realistic, long-term budget until we've considered the bipartisan commission's deficit-reduction plan," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, explaining why Congress couldn't pass a budget as required by law.

All this suggests the least competent administration — and Congress — in modern memory. Which perhaps explains the perplexedly bad real-time data emerging from the economy — at a time when, in a normal recovery, the U.S. should be booming.

On Tuesday, the Conference Board announced that the Consumer Confidence Index "declined sharply" in June, erasing three months of gains. Its Expectations Index, which gauges how consumers view prospects, plunged 16%. All this confirmed our own IBD/TIPP Poll released earlier in the month (see chart).




http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/538854/201006291834/A-Drop-In-Confidence-No-Wonder.aspx

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Reports say The Stimulus now has run out leaving us in debt, Jobs bill - now VP Biden says we're not getting 8 million jobs back.

The article points out that this Admenstruation is the party of NO.

NO clean up of the oil in the gulf.

NO to border security or illegal immigrant enforcement.

NO to America being the driving economic leader of the world.

NO improvement in unemployment, it is worse.

NO annual budget resolution.

NO consumer confidence.

i guess if was harry potter he could just snap his fingers and it would all be better... What do you suggest?

Suspension of all government spending and likewise no pay for our "leaders" until thy fix the mess they made!

Open up jobs to Americans by hiring them to gather up the 18 million+ Illegals.

Hire independent investigators to bust Employers of Illegals.

Privatize Border Security or actually send NG troops instead of holding out in hopes of granting amnesty.

To start.

umm yea, i think they will go for that... these are the same leaders that tried to vote themselves a 50% pay raise, then when they got caught, they all said they were voting no? lol

not a bad list... you have obama's email?

As far as the border goes all they have to do is place electric generators every so often and hook the fence up to them.

No, is this was the Harry Potter world Obama would be Lord Voldemort.

As far as the border goes, build a 3 tier fence. Have the same sensors, cctv and electric monitoring equipment and alarms that they have at Area 51 to alert security forces to your presence, then deploy about two dozen reapers or predators to the border (maybe have them armed incase they come across drug smugglers) and have non stop flights looking for border crossers 24 hours a day. Then send the National Guard units down to the border along with special forces units until they hire and train more border patrol agents.

I guarantee that that right there would reduce illegal traffic by 90%

wouldn't it be easier and cheaper just to "unsweeten the pot" if they did not have their language everywhere
didn't have free health care
no free education
only english in schools
enforce immigrant laws
only can be a citizen after 10 years of being here legaly
no jobs
anyone who gives them a job a mandatory year in jail
deport them when they break a law, and let their own country deal with it

Muy excellente!