GWB's "Fiscal Restraint

Roadtoad

Bufo Caminus Inedibilis
Roadtoad
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I'm a little tired of hearing of George's "fiscal restraint," particularly in light of his lack of same. In this article from the Cato Institute, I found confirmation of what I've been dreading from Dubya.

This guy has no idea what he's doing.

Seriously! For a frikkin' MBA, he has NO CLUE of the value of a dollar. Maybe it's the fact that he never really had to work for it, or maybe it's the notion that he's now got this new toy (the budget) to play with. But whatever it is, I'm looking for someone who understands what's happening, and is willing to put the brakes on.

I don't think Kerry is that man. Dean sure as hell isn't. Lieberman I actually like on a personal level, but I don't know if he'll make it to the oval office. Nor do I know if he'll do much for the budget. We'll see when he gets to work looking at this one.

I know the war is expensive. But read through what the Cato Institute is discussing, and you get the idea that this boy is just trying to get along with everyone.

Why do I get the feeling this bull's been gelded?
 
For a frikkin' MBA
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1) I seriously doubt he earned that MBA. Daddy probably bought it for him.

2) I've met quite a few MBAs, and none of them knew ◊◊◊◊ about real-life business. They seemed to have learned a bunch of economic theories from professors that knew what business was like 4 or 5 decades ago, not how things work today.
 
If it gives you any comfort, Roadtoad, we also have a bunch of Born-To-Rule conservatives in power here who failed at being company execs and shopkeepers and went into politics instead, professing great knowledge of national economics. Lo and behold, same result...our economy only looks good if you ignore all the problems with it. :D
 
Evolver said:
2) I've met quite a few MBAs, and none of them knew ◊◊◊◊ about real-life business. They seemed to have learned a bunch of economic theories from professors that knew what business was like 4 or 5 decades ago, not how things work today.
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Unfortunately, that seems to be the norm. Most of them are the types who run out of fuel on the freeway, then haul their rigs off to the garage for an overhaul when a full tank of diesel would have done the trick.
 
Zep said:
If it gives you any comfort, Roadtoad, we also have a bunch of Born-To-Rule conservatives in power here who failed at being company execs and shopkeepers and went into politics instead, professing great knowledge of national economics. Lo and behold, same result...our economy only looks good if you ignore all the problems with it. :D
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You know, Zep, you just reminded me: GWB was a member of the board of Silverado Savings and Loan, one of the S&Ls which self-immolated in the 80's. Funny how no one seems to remember that, or his role in the BCCI mess.
 
Nova Land said:
Wasn't that his brother Neil?

I don't recall GWB being involved with that, although it's not something I'm knowledgeable about.
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You might be right. I know it was a Bush, but I thought it was GW. Let me look it up.

(Edited to add: Yes, it was Neil. But there's more and more interesting connections between the Bush Brothers, including GW. Take a look at what Google turns up.)
 
Roadtoad said:

(Edited to add: Yes, it was Neil. But there's more and more interesting connections between the Bush Brothers, including GW. Take a look at what Google turns up.)
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You're right, lots of interesting Google stuff. I glanced quickly at a few items to see if it were Neil or GW

Austin Chronicle

Mother Jones

Rational Revolution (aka "The War Is About So Much More...")

Note that these are not unbiased sources. I was looking at items that seemed antagonistic to the Bushes, as being the places most likely to mention GW if he were involved. He wasn't, but they do make an interesting case for wider Bush family involvement than just Neil.

Oh -- and here is a fun little quiz about the Bush family that I came across in the process of looking this up. Anti-Bush fun for the whole family!
 
Evolver said:


2) I've met quite a few MBAs, and none of them knew ◊◊◊◊ about real-life business. They seemed to have learned a bunch of economic theories from professors that knew what business was like 4 or 5 decades ago, not how things work today.
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Where did you get your MBA?
 
Roadtoad said:
Seriously! For a frikkin' MBA, he has NO CLUE of the value of a dollar. Maybe it's the fact that he never really had to work for it, or maybe it's the notion that he's now got this new toy (the budget) to play with. But whatever it is, I'm looking for someone who understands what's happening, and is willing to put the brakes on.
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Real fiscal restraint will never make it through congress. If you want real change, start there.
 
The first two paragraphs of Paul Krugman's column in the _NYT_:

Well, whaddya know. Even as the Republican leadership strong-armed the Medicare drug bill through Congress, the administration was sitting on estimates showing that the plan would cost at least $134 billion more than it let on. But let's not make too much of the incident. After all, it's not as if our leaders make a habit of faking their budget projections. Oh, wait.

The budget released yesterday, which projects a $521 billion deficit for fiscal 2004, is no more credible than its predecessors. When the administration promises much lower deficits in future years, remember this: two years ago it projected a fiscal 2004 deficit of only $14 billion. What's new this time is that the administration has decided to pay lip service to conservative complaints about runaway spending.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/03/opinion/03KRUG.html
 
Although Bush has disappointed the fiscal conservative in me, not all of the blame is to be laid upon him. Congress passes spending bills, so they have a good portion of blame as well. Interestingly, in a time of massive government growth, Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House. No wonder I feel disillusioned with my party!

Ultimately, I place the blame on voters (or rather, those eligible to vote). We are so apathetic towards the inner workings of our government, and so ignorant as a group on budgetary matters. It's not surprising, since so many of us have a mortgage, car loans, huge credit card debt, home equity loans, student loans, personal loans, overdue payments, etc.

Real change would come if elected officials knew they could be voted out of their jobs. But the fact remains that even during recession, it's not all that bad. Take for example the New York State Assembly and Senate. These people get a handsome salary, a huge staff of assistants, and essentially have no accountability since they have been unable to reach consensus on a state budget in years. But often they run unopposed, or have only token opposition.

I'm not necessarily in favor of term limits, but I don't know of another solution. As to the Cato article that kicked off this thread, they make some good suggestions, viz. stopping payment on programs that perform poorly and sunset dates. Even then, it would take intense public pressure to force lawmakers to be responsible stewards of public funds.

[/rant]
 
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