It's October - And man, is it snowing here.

Supercommittee watch

After two months of negotiations, how are things going?

With less than a month remaining to reach an agreement, both sides dismissed the other's offer as a nonstarter. A Democratic aide called the GOP plan "a joke." Republicans said Democrats' insistence on new taxes was "not a serious proposal." Talks could continue over the weekend.

So there's some agreement.

Debt supercommittee starts gearing up for recriminations

You know there was a brief moment when the supercommittee was meeting in secret that I thought maybe they'd come out with a workable plan to reduce our enormous national debt.  I figured that maybe by segregating itself from the glare of the media and the influence of Congressional leaders, they'd reach a bargain to stem the tide of red ink, hopefully with spending cuts which are more effective in reducing debt.

But now time is nearly up leaving virtually no time for the CBO to score any proposal:

The Congressional Budget Office has previously said it would need to receive the outline of a plan by the end of October if it is to be scored before the committee’s November deadline. That would suggest that Hensarling’s remarks Tuesday morning may have been a tad optimistic.

 Soon comes the finger-pointing, grandstanding, inaction, and downgrade.

Workin' for a livin'

Good to know that Obama couldn't be bothered to pick up the phone while discussions on troop levels in Iraq faltered.  But then he's a very busy man.  Here's his schedule for today:

Fly to L.A.
Interview with Jay Leno
Fly to San Francisco
Fundraiser
Fly to Denver
Fundraiser
Fundraiser

The silence of the economists

Weekly Standard: "Where's the Administration's report on how Obama's first stimulus performed through June?"

As President Obama travels around the country at taxpayer expense to peddle his newest stimulus proposal, his Council of Economic Advisors has yet to release its 8th Quarterly Report on Obama’s first stimulus - you know, the one that cost a cool $787,000,000,000.00. Perhaps this is just a coincidence.

We don't want to upset the narrative.

Rhode Island and America's pending insolvency

I liked this paragraph so much from Walter Russell Mead's "Athens of America?" about Rhode Island's coming bankruptcy that I had to copy it here:

Let’s be crystal clear about this.  To tell a 50 year old pretty lies about the soundness of a pension plan is one of the most wicked and irresponsible things you can do without actually shedding blood; people who believe these phony promises will not make the extra savings, work the extra years or otherwise take steps to protect themselves until it is too late.  Telling those pretty lies is exactly what Rhode Island’s establishment has been doing for some time; it is what Ostrich Party legislators, trade unionists, journalists and governors are still doing across much of the country.

Emphasis mine.  This is institutionalized mendacity and millions of Americans have made plans for the future built on false promises.  The green-eyeshade types can sense the magnitude of our unfunded promises and are making the necessary adjustments.

Only in Washington - Hit & Run: "How can spending 30% more be 'austerity'?"

The kids need their self-esteem - Maggie's Farm has a great post about OWS, mass movements, and the philosophy of Eric Hoffer: "Adolescents at home and abroad, with Eric Hoffer."

Athens on the Narragansett

Guess which state is too small to fail?  The smallest, Rhode Island, has a huge public pension problem.  NY Times: "The little state with a big mess."

After decades of drift, denial and inaction, Rhode Island’s $14.8 billion pension system is in crisis. Ten cents of every state tax dollar now goes to retired public workers. Before long, Ms. Raimondo has been cautioning in whistle-stops here and across the state, that figure will climb perilously toward 20 cents. But the scary thing is that no one really knows. The Providence Journal recently tried to count all the municipal pension plans outside the state system and stopped at 155, conceding that it might have missed some. Even the Securities and Exchange Commission is asking questions, including the big one: Are these numbers for real?
“We’re in the fight of our lives for the future of this state,” Ms. Raimondo said in a recent interview. And if the fight is lost? “Either the pension fund runs out of money or cities go bankrupt.”

This is part of the same theme I rail about when it comes to runaway entitlement spending: state and federal governments have made a long line of promises that cannot be kept but nobody wants to do anything to fix the problem.  Does anybody sense a bold move that will restore Standard & Poor's AAA assessment of America's long-term credit?  The Congressional supercommittee?  Oh, please.

Keep talkin' chump, the aftermath - After all that jawboning, Gallup has the news: "Obama job approval average slides to new low."  I fear this may lead to more speeches, possibly involving Slurpees.

Leaving Iraq - I think this is probably a good thing since it's long past time for the Maliki government to stand on its own.  There will still be troops in the region if Iran starts acting up - which they may not, considering the state of their nuclear program.

The Obama rule - Victor Davis Hanson: "Anytime the president sermonizes about civility and the need to curb partisan rhetoric, this is a telltale sign that in a few days a savage partisan attack will surely follow."

Fun with charts - From Zero Hedge: Misery index at 28-year high and debt-per-capita to exceed GDP per capita this year.

All children left behind

Here's Robert Samuelson with "Our children's future doesn't look so bright":

The squeeze will continue. In 1990, there were 32 million Americans 65 and over; by 2040, that's reckoned at 80 million. Rising costs for Social Security and Medicare have created a new political dynamic: If benefits for the elderly aren't cut, burdens on the young will go up. Decaying infrastructure poses similar choices. Either pay for repairs or tolerate substandard roads and dilapidated schools.
Our children's futures have been heavily mortgaged. That's true even if the economy returns in a few years to "full employment" (say, 5 percent unemployment) and past productivity gains (about 1.7 percent annually since 1966) continue. If today's weak recovery persists, the outlook darkens. Unemployment will remain high, say 7 percent to 9 percent. Wage increases will remain depressed. Young workers will have trouble finding jobs to develop the skills and contacts that lead to better jobs. Productivity growth might falter.

President Spend-a-Lot repeats incessantly about how Republicans will have to look a teacher or construction worker in the eye when they block his jobs bill.  But nobody - certainly not the media - asks Obama to look a kid in the eye and tell that kid to bear the burden of trillions of dollars of deficit spending.

Graymail - Christian Science Monitor: "AARP's offensive new ad campaign."

We're still friends, right? - One of my favorite movie lines, for reasons I can't explain, is from "Three Days of the Condor": "What's the matter, Higgins?  Ain't we pals anymore?"  It's a moment in the movie when the protagonist realizes his putative ally is actually his mortal enemy.  In other news, Wall Street is less than thrilled with the Democrats trying to raise campaign cash by demonizing Wall Street; contributions may be less forthcoming.

Cut to the bone - Hit & Run: "The austerity myth": "Data released by the Treasury Department on Friday show that, so far, there hasn't been any spending cuts at all."

Keep talkin', chump - CNN "Record high say Obama's policies will fail": "President Barack Obama's job approval rating is holding steady, but a record high six out of ten Americans think his policies will fail, according to a new national survey."  Even so, Obama is back on the taxpayer-supported campaign trail to implore Americans to pass legislation they think won't work.  Like it didn't work before.  After Obama's incessant calls to "write, phone, and tweet" Congress, few are listening anymore.

Movie review: "Moneyball"



I saw "Moneyball" tonight and I don't exaggerate to say that this is one of the best movies I've ever seen.  Brad Pitt plays Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane who finds that necessity is the mother of invention when he has to fill out his player's list with one of the smallest budgets in baseball.  Beane is the protagonist of the story but he's not a one-dimensional hero as he cuts players without much compunction.  Great storyline, actors, characters, cinematography, everything - it should win Best Picture.

Warren Buffett: "I should pay more taxes."
GOP: "Yeah, what's stopping you?"