The Great Obama Stimulus and the Ides of November

- The Scorpion The US economy is still sputtering, from what has been the biggest economic crisis since the great depression and unemployment across the nation continually hovers at record levels. The Obama administration however, had long focused its energy on jamming a 2,700 page health care bill on the nation, affecting a government takeover of one sixth of the economy.

---

So as not to damper this year’s July 4th holiday, the Federal Reserve waited to announce (just after the fireworks) that the US economy will take another 5 or 6 years to recover. The national debt of the United States has reached unprecedented levels in the nation’s entire history – over 13 trillion dollars to be precise. The debt of United States today is comparable in percentages, to that of a banana republic. Obama tells us however, that he saved us with his 787 billion dollar bailout and upon taking office he indeed, had duly consulted his financial wizards, all former members of the Goldman Sachs cartel. These advisors and cabinet members, include Lawrence Summers, Henry Paulson, Timothy Giethner, Robert Rubin, Rahm Emmanuel etc, etc. Essentially these wizards of Wall Street told Obama to order the Fed to print billions of dollars, to ‘stimulate’ the economy. And lo and behold just one month after the stimulus bailout became law, in March 2009, Ben Bernanke infamously claimed he saw “green shoots” and promised us the recession would end by year’s end. That was in the glory days however, in the first few months of the Obama presidency when the euphoria and hype was omnipresent. It was still months before the first Obama teleprompter would literally fall apart from wear and tear and the polls would start forecasting doom. Now the ides of November are looming with mid-term elections and there’s talk that America needs another…yes…another stimulus. Yet, to comprehend how this stimulus concept all works, we suggest you take a short trip with us here as we examine how President Obama spends… say, a simple 100 dollar bill.

Modern day tale

Conjure up the image of the President awaking one morning at the White House. Picture him sitting on his bed, pondering where he should have his next round of golf. Now, envision the President attending to his breakfast and then ordering the Secret Service to take him to an exclusive country club in a nearby town. That’s it…we will now see how the President spends a 100 dollar bill. Firstly, President Obama orders his limo to take him to the Federal Reserve. On arrival Obama walks in and demands $100. The teller hesitates at first but Obama says it is necessary and demands the money. The teller starts the printing press and cranks out a crisp freshly printed $100 bill and hands it to Obama. Obama then directs his limo to take him to proceed to the country club. On arrival Obama exits the limo and enters the foyer of the club. He tells the proprietor he wants to check out the grounds first before booking a round of golf for his pals. He places the crisp freshly printed $100 dollar bill on the counter before strolling outside to inspect the grounds. When Obama vanishes from view, the proprietor quickly takes the $100 and rushes out to pay his debt to the country club’s liquor retailer. The liquor retailer takes the money, says thanks and promises he will continue delivering alcoholic beverages to the country club - for the time being. The liquor retailer then takes the $100 and rushes off to pay his outstanding rent he owes to his landlord. The landlord takes the money, says thanks and promises he won’t evict the liquor retailer from his rental home - for the time being. The landlord then takes the $100 and rushes off to pay his debt he owes to his local grocer. The grocer takes the money, says thanks and promises he will allow the landlord to continue buying groceries at his shop on credit - for the time being. The grocer then takes the $100 and rushes off to pay a hooker that he owes money to. The hooker takes the money, says thanks and promises she’ll allow the grocer to visit her brothel again - for the time being. The hooker then takes the $100 and rushes off to pay her bar tab she owes to the proprietor of the country club. The country club proprietor takes the money, says thanks and promises the hooker she can continue running a tab at the country club - for the time being. The country club proprietor wipes his brow, then places the $100 back on the counter, awaiting for President Obama to return and finalize his golf booking. A few moments later President Obama returns from inspecting the grounds with his secret service agents and takes back the $100 bill. He tells the country club proprietor that he’ll have to talk it over first with Biden, Reid, Pelosi, his cabinet and financial advisors before making a booking. Obama heads off back to Washington with his entourage of Secret Service agents. The result: Obama doesn’t actually notice that the $100 bill had incurred wear and tear from all the changing hands. The bill was torn in places and the edges frayed. Obama also doesn’t notice that no one in the town produced anything; that no one in the town earned anything and that no new jobs in the town were created. President Obama just relaxes in the back seat eating a ice cream cone as his chauffeur driven limousine takes him back to Washington. And that, America is how Obama’s stimulus money works…for the time being.

---