Obama’s Spurious Logic

Dear Friends,

It seems to me that when Obama and the minions in his administration and the unbiased press, claim that Romney will return us to the failed policies that got us into the “great recession,” he is engaging in the most pernicious form of sophistry. What the World needs today is less spurious logic and more thoughtful action. When Obama engages in sophistry he essentially admits his ignorance of economics or he is maliciously trying to avoid blame for his own failed policies. This has profound negative consequences for us, our children, and the people of the World.

Obama seems to have the notion that it is growth in government that creates growth in the economy. This is ignorance writ large. Growth of government does nothing to grow the economy of any country or nation. Government growth necessarially lowers economic outcomes. Every dollar that government takes from the private sector is misspent, due to the fact that no one is as careful spending the money of others, as they are spending their own. Therefore, government spending is less efficient than money spent, by those that worked to earn it.

His spurious logic bypasses the fact that the housing implosion was a result of government’s meddling in the free market by a democrat controlled congress. The democrats in congress claimed that certain neighborhoods were being red lined. This was rectified by congress, during the Clinton administration, by forcing banks, credit unions and other lending institutions, to lend money to people who were not good for the loans! This meddling in the free market led to an explosion of people buying houses that they couldn’t afford. As long as the price of housing went up the bubble got bigger. But, as we all know, (except Obama), bubbles must eventually pop. When it did, the collapse of so many loans resulted in what Obama’s “great recession.” Like FDR’s great depression.

It ignores the fact that it was supply side economics that brought us out of Carter’s stagflation. Ron Reagan instituted Hayak’s supply side economics and the results speak for themselves. The American economy was in far worse shape when Reagan took office. Reagan instituted regulation reform and lowered taxes. He made it easier to start a business. This led to a huge jump in growth of the US GDP. His policies made more people rich and savaged the ranks of the poor raising many into the middle class. This was a bad thing to Obama and his ilk because it is the poor who are their main political supporters. It is in their interests to have a large and growing impoverished class.

When Obama claims that republicans only want to give the rich tax breaks he doubles down on his spurious logic. This is patently sophist because, supply side gives tax breaks to those who are trying to get rich, not those who are rich. The already rich are the primary beneficiaries of Obama’s policies. Those that are trying to get rich are the very people who create jobs! The already rich have a negligible effect on the job market because they have their money in trusts. They had their wealth given to them by their parents, who engaged in the market system and got rich by it. Their children, the already rich, want to close the door to people who seek to join their ranks. This is the embodiment of Joesph Schumpeter’s theory.

When our politicians engage in spurious logic, to hide their own shortcomings, the American people are poorly served. The results of growing government, are visible for all to see, in Europe. The fast approaching economic collapse of the European welfare state model, will create a whole new level of poverty in Europe. A level of want and need that Europe has not seen since Charles Dickens wrote his books about poverty. Obama will visit this future on the American people by his policies. As a result, we will not be in a position to help the people of Europe, climb out of the economic catastrophe their politicians have given them and their children. We as people of the World have to open our eyes and think for ourselves. We must look through this sophistry. If we don’t, our children and their children, will inherit poverty, want and war, as our legacy. Is that what we want or are we willing to call evil evil and sophistry sophistry? The decision is ours to make, but we had better hurry, time is running out.

Sincerely,

John Pepin