Sunday, July 5, 2009

A look through Obama’s crystal ball

Barack Obama promised change for America. He went to the White House with an agenda that had been partially concealed in the flowery slogans “hope and change” and “Yes we can.” But to the observant, the promise was more government, less liberty and an ideology that makes Jimmy Carter seem like Ronald Reagan.

Now everyone can peer through Obama’s crystal ball and see his vision for America’s economic future. It isn’t hopeful; it’s change for the worse. He wants America to emulate California.

He has praised California’s history of “energy efficient” mandates. California is producing jobs, according to Obama. And their economy is on pace with the rest of the country while consuming less energy.

Why is it that every time Obama speaks about producing or “saving” jobs the unemployment rate rises? And California’s economy is keeping up the rest of the country? Congratulations, I guess.

“Wait a minute,” you say. “What’s wrong with California? It’s warm, sunny. It has big trees, mountains and Hollywood.” All true. But California’s economy is nowhere near as attractive. Reasons abound why we should want no part of Obama’s “California Dreaming.”

First, Obama’s portraits of California are either misleading or downright false. The state’s budget is $26 billion in the red and their credit rating is the worst in the country. There’ve been no dreaded tax reductions, yet California has seen a steep drop in revenue. That’s because less people are working and more people are leaving.

California’s unemployment rate is 11.5-percent, fifth highest in the country and 2.5 times that of Nebraska and North Dakota. One-fifth of their manufacturing jobs had disappeared before the current recession began and their “dot com” boom was a bubble.

The state has suffered from the housing bust, too. Open space and anti-sprawl initiatives previously drove housing prices sky-high. Prices have now plummeted, eliminating more than $1 trillion dollars in private wealth. And yet homes remain unaffordable for most people. The great economic model that Obama would have America imitate is driving people out of the state.

California has become the land of population flight. People are leaving for other states faster than they’re coming in. And it’s not an anomaly; it’s a trend.

What’s driving people out of the Golden State? It's a combination of things. Traffic congestion doesn’t help. An eroding school system and unchecked illegal alien infiltration are problems, too. But among the best reasons to leave California is their exorbitant tax rates. State income taxes are among the highest in the nation and property taxes on a three-bedroom house can run $4300. But the state’s broke. Go figure.

You might also recall California’s blackout and brownout problems, which were blamed on the state’s deregulation of utilities. However, wholesale energy prices were deregulated while retail prices and power production were capped and controlled. Power companies were forced to buy electricity from other states, on the open market, and sell at a loss on a controlled market. Some deregulation.

This government manufactured situation prompted then-Governor Gray Davis to say, “Never again can we allow out-of-state profiteers to hold Californians hostage.” Better to be held hostage by the state, I suppose. Davis even threatened to commandeer the utilities and run them himself. Now, doesn’t that remind you of the Obama administration’s acquisitions in the automotive and financial sectors?

This is Barack Obama’s vision of economic prosperity? Contentment is high levels of government manipulation, rising unemployment, financial insolvency and an exodus of productive people. Housing prices should drop precipitously while remaining over-inflated, taxes should rise and every state should welcome an unbridled influx of illegal aliens. Oh, and we’ll enjoy these benefits with the occasional electrical brownout. This is preferable to liberty and self-determination.

That’s California as it exists today, Obama’s shining example for what America should be. Mr. President, put away your crystal ball.

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