DON’T BELIEVE A WORD IN THAT SPEECH!

The following are selected quotes from the recent Obama job’s speech. In the bold is my answer to each. Sorry for some of  the sarcasm. I can’t help myself.

“These men and women grew up with faith in an America where hard work and responsibility paid off. They believed in a country where everyone gets a fair shake and does their fair share — where if you stepped up, did your job, and were loyal to your company, that loyalty would be rewarded with a decent salary and good benefits; maybe a raise once in a while. If you did the right thing, you could make it. Anybody could make it in America. For decades now, Americans have watched that compact erode. They have seen the decks too often stacked against them. And they know that Washington has not always put their interests first. ”

“Sorry. I don’t buy it…and don’t you believe it. Anyone can become anything they want to be in this country.    I have taught my children that if they work hard and become great at something, it will pay off. I still believe it in every way, shape and form and will keep teaching it. That type of talk is there to make you believe you need them. You don’t. That type of talk is from people who love a nanny state.”

“The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy. The question is — the question is whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning.”

“The ongoing national crisis is centered in Washington. There is nothing fair about spending the next 8 years of taxpayers dollars before they have been earned. There is nothing secure about the mishandling of these precious dollars.”

“Those of us here tonight can’t solve all our nation’s woes. Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers. But we can help. We can make a difference. There are steps we can take right now to improve people’s lives.”

“Who are you trying to kid? Everything you do is about Washington controlling lives. You do it with regulations. You do it with your out-of-control spending. You are an impediment to business, not a help.”

“And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything.”

“And you will go line by line…cutting waste. And you will not treat taxpayer dollars as monopoly money. And you will be fiscally responsible!”

“Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work rebuilding America. Everyone here knows we have badly decaying roads and bridges all over the country. Our highways are clogged with traffic. Our skies are the most congested in the world. It’s an outrage.”

“The outrage is that the monstrous stimulus bill was supposed to go a long way toward the infrastructure of this country. Of course, you recently stated that maybe “shovel-ready wasn’t so shovel-ready!” But NOW it is ready?”

“Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job. ”

“Again, do something and get something. Not the way it is supposed to be. Of course, why would anyone now hire someone who is out of a job less than 6 months? This is a silly and amateurish proposal.”

“Pass this jobs bill, and the typical working family will get a $1,500 tax cut next year.”

“More gifts! Yummy!”

“The American Jobs Act will not add to the deficit. It will be paid for. And here’s how.The agreement we passed in July will cut government spending by about $1 trillion over the next 10 years. It also charges this Congress to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in savings by Christmas.”

“You really think Americans can’t add. Cutting $2.5 trillion from additional $10 trillion in deficits just has the deficits going up another $7.5 trillion. THERE AREN’T ANY CUTS! We get it. Stop!”

“Now, I realize that some of you have a different theory on how to grow the economy. Some of you sincerely believe that the only solution to our economic challenges is to simply cut most government spending and eliminate most government regulations.”

“Let’s see. Yearly, federal spending has jumped from $2.8 trillion to $3.8 trillion under this President’s pen. Do I need to repeat those numbers?There is no such animal as cutting government spending. I know of no one…absolutely no one that says we should cut most of government spending and I know of no one who wants to eliminate most government regulations. Again sir, enough! Some of us are smart!”

“Well, I agree that we can’t afford wasteful spending, and I’ll work with you, with Congress, to root it out.”

“You said you would do this when you had both houses…and instead you spent like Paris Hilton on Rodeo Drive…so to repeat…stop!

“President Kennedy once said, “Our problems are man-made –- therefore they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants.”

“Unfortunately, those problems are emanating from Washington. The men and women in Washington are responsible for where we are. Average Americans did not spend us into oblivion. Average Americans did not pass rules enabling Fannie and Freddie to give out loans to anyone who can breathe. Average Americans did not spend $1 trillion on Iraq. Average Americans did not give $500 million to a solar company that was losing a ton of money before they got the government guaranteed loans. Average Americans did not allow banks to leverage their balance sheets into the ozone. Average Americans did not come up with a weak dollar policy causing commodities to soar. All average Americans do every day is work their rear end off to make a better life for themselves and their families. In turn, you keep putting impediments in front of them by telling them what they can have and what you are willing to give them. You may think it is good to raise taxes on the “privileged few” but I have news for you, raising taxes does not hurt the wealthy…but raising taxes prevent others from becoming wealthy.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

There is absolutely no permanency in this proposal. Just more spending of taxpayer dollars…taken from some and given to others. Just more of government getting in your way…directing you to do things instead of just getting out of the way. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to hire more because of this proposal. There is absolutely nothing pro-growth about this policy. The only thing it will do is instill in the minds of the business community that this administration still doesn’t get it with businesses continuing to sit on their hands. It is obvious that this administration has not heard the cries to just lay off. I guess people like Mort Zuckerman, Steve Wynn and Bernie Marcus are just dummies and know nothing about business. Of course, lifelong politicians and professors know better. They do not understand that they are not the smart ones, we are. They were only elected because of darn good money raising and p.r. machines. But hey, we voted them in. I have written many times that if they didn’t stop, eventually the markets would stop them. I guess a crushed dollar and now a cascading market has not done the trick. I guess an economy that is back to standstill has not done it. I guess a rating’s downgrade has not done it. Just pile on more debt. Everything will be just fine.

 

Gary Kaltbaum owns Kaltbaum Capital Management, LLC (“KCM”), an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The opinions expressed herein are those of Mr. Kaltbaum and may not reflect those of KCM. The information offered in this publication is general information that does not take into account the individual circumstances, financial situation or individual needs of an investor. The information herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we cannot assure its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Any reference to past performance is not to be implied or construed as a guarantee of future results.