Milton Friedman at 100

Remembering Milton Friedman on the centennial of his birth.

Equality

Don Watkins:

Obama wants to wipe out the enormous difference between people like my grandfather, who succeed because they choose to think, create, work, and build—and those who don’t. In the president’s account, what makes us successful isn’t our intelligence, it isn’t our ambition, it isn’t in the end even the infrastructure: We all drive on the roads and go to school; we don’t all create a successful restaurant let alone a Fortune 500 company.

No, the real root of success is dumb luck. Some happen to get a lot from society, others happen to get a little. To borrow my colleague Harry Binswanger’s apt summary of Obama’s argument, “The only reason Joe Sixpack didn’t find the Higgs boson is that he didn’t happen to be provided with a large hadron collider.”

Hat tip to Instapundit.

Surprise!

Mary Katherine Ham: Obamacare Medical Device Tax Already Killing Jobs In the Industry.

Amateur Hour

White House caught peddling falsehoods about the Churchill bust Obama DID, in fact, return to Britain.
Hat tip to Instapundit.

Update:  The White House apologizes.

Just Imagine

Jacobson:  If Mitt Romney had talked about Palestinians the way Obama spoke about Pennsylvanians.

Who Could Have Seen This Coming?

Breitbart.com:  China Readies $15.1 Billion Canadian Oil Deal. 

Who indeed?

With the London Olympics Underway

A look at Obama's top ten United Kingdom Gaffes.

Liar-in-Chief

Hinderaker: 

Contrary to popular belief, politicians are not, as a rule, particularly dishonest people. But there are exceptions. On the current scene, it would be hard to find another politician as dishonest as Barack Obama. Currently, he is running an ad that says he has a plan to “pay down the debt in a balanced way.” He also tries to justify his call for a tax increase on the ground that the increased revenues will reduce the deficit.

But where, exactly, is Obama’s plan to “pay down the debt?” It is a figment of his imagination; or, rather, a convenient lie that he thinks will help him politically. The only plan Obama has authored is a budget so outrageous that no one–not one Republican, not one Democrat, in either the House or the Senate–will vote for it.

Me Too

Romney:  "I'm looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again."

Obama, of course, returned the Churchill bust, a symbol of the two nations' friendship following 9/11, to England shortly after assuming the presidency.

The Only Thing Surprising Is the Honesty

Jacobson:  WaPo columnist fears voters will think it's okay to vote against Obama "and not be thought of as a racist."

Great Expectations: 2008 Obama Supporter Interviews 2012 Self

Hat tip to Vodkapundit.

Obama's Public Equty Record

Patterico:  Government Motors Costs Taxpayers $35 Billion.

Of course, it would be even worse if Obama friend, Warren Buffett, hadn't invested $256.5 million in the company.

So It Begins

Nearly one in ten employers to drop health coverage due to Obamacare.

Hat tip to Common Cents for the link.

From Within

Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein:  National security leaks coming from White House ranks.

Context

After days of trying to defend his "you didn't build that" remark, Obama is now reduced to claiming that Mitt Romney "took it out of context."

As Romney noted yesterday, however, the context only makes the quote worse:

Plus, Michael Ramirez' take:

Change

"Voters blame president most for slow economic growth."  As they should.

Let America Be America Again

Barack Obama's Democratic Party is not John Kennedy's Democratic Party.  It's not even Bill Clinton's Democratic Party.

Mitt Romney's Moment

Salena Zito: 

Mitt Romney was fired-up.

“The president actually said, if you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that, somebody else made that happen.” He paused and threw his hands up before adding: “Really?”

Sitting in a small office attached to a local shale industry company for an interview with the Trib, Romney remained agitated and energized.

The agitation was personal because he is genuinely appalled by President Obama’s attitude toward business.

“I could not believe he said that. And it wasn’t just a twist of phrase, he actually goes on to explain what he meant by that,” Romney said, suddenly stretching forward as if finding it difficult to contain his feelings.

The energy came from what arguably was the presumptive Republican nominee’s best rally so far. More than 1,400 people packed a 4,000-square-foot warehouse – but it wasn’t the numbers, it was the event’s organic nature.

Hat tip to Instapundit.

Bill Whittle: It's a Miracle

Obama Runs Campaign Like He Runs the Country

Obama campaign spends more in June than it takes in.

Priorities

Breitbart.com:  Obama spends more time on golf than economy.

But remember, he has a lot on his plate.

My Thoughts and Prayers Go Out To the Victims of the Colorado Movie Theater Shooting and Their Families

These Hands

Only 1001?

1001 Reasons to Vote Against Barack Obama.  Feel free to add to the list.

Credit to Instapundit for the link (who in turn gives credit to Bill Whittle). 

A Question For the Obama Campaign

If it is so serious about promoting job growth, then why hasn’t its jobs council met in the last six months?

The Mask Has Come Off

I have been swamped by work/life the last few days, which means I have not had an opportunity to address Obama's revealing "If you've got a business, you didn't build that," speech.  I still don't have the time deserved to address it, but, fortunately, Romney knocked it out of the park in a speech yesterday.

Plus, Legal Insurrection has gotten straight to the heart of the matter: Obama views the state as master, not as servant.

Disability Nation

John Hinderaker:  In the Age of Obama, Americans may be better off faking disability than trying to find a non-existent job. Obamanomics reached the bottom of the barrel last month, when more Americans went on disability than found jobs. That is, apparently, the end point of the welfare state.

Officially Screwed: Small Business Owner

Vodkapundit:  You might ask yourself why President Obama is so hostile to small business, but the answer is easy. Obama — and the rest of the progressive left — hate small business for the same reason Caligula wished that all of Rome had just one neck. Big business is easier to squeeze, and easier to get in bed with, too. It’s the mom & pop shops you can’t push around, because they come and go too quickly — and because there’s not enough juice to squeeze out.

Obama's Risky Campaign Strategy

James Taranto: 

Mr. Obama cultivated an image as a unifier able to transcend partisan, ideological and racial divides.

Four years later, he is a divisive incumbent defending a grim status quo of his own. Having lost the broad appeal he enjoyed in 2008, he is making narrow appeals to particular voting blocs with the apparent aim of shoring up support and turnout. . . .

To appeal to single women, he picked a fight with the Catholic Church by refusing a conscience exemption from the ObamaCare birth-control mandate. For Hispanics, there was the promise of lax immigration enforcement against illegal aliens who arrived in the U.S. as children. His "evolution" on same-sex marriage seemed designed to appeal not just to gays but also to young voters, whose attitudes on the subject tend to be liberal.

But these calculated overtures carry risks. In appealing to particular demographics, the president may be alienating other Democratic or swing voters.

Read the whole thing.

How Much Has Debt Increased Per Taxpayer Under Obama?

By more than $64,000.  To put that into perspective, "the median household income in the United States in 2009, according to the Census Bureau, was $49,777. That means the median household would have needed to work all of one year and then the first 106 days of another year and then give all of their earnings from that time period to the federal government just to pay off the $64,219.88 in new federal debt per taxpayer piled up since Obama’s inauguration."

Plus, contributing every dollar that Americans have earned so far this year still would not cover the cost of government spending.  Cost of Government Day is not until tomorrow.

Obama Undermines Welfare Reform By Fiat

Mickey Kaus offers his initial reactions to  to the administration’s apparent surprising (and possibly illegal) attempt to grant waivers of the work requirements written, after great effort, into the 1996 welfare reform law.

Plus:  Romney's response.

The Real Class Warfare is Between Baby Boomers and Younger Americans

Nick Gillespie: 

Hey kids, wake up! . . .You're not getting screwed by billionaires and plutocrats. You're getting screwed by Mom and Dad.

Systematically and in all sorts of ways. Old people are doing everything possible to rob you of your money, your future, your dignity, and your freedom.

Here's the irony, too (in a sort of Alanis Morissette sense): You're getting hosed by the very same group that 45 years ago was bitching and moaning about "the generation gap" and how their parents just didn't understand what really mattered in life.

Plus:

One of the primary ways that President Obama (born 1961) is making the so-called Affordable Care Act affordable is by having you foot more than your share of the bill.

Think it through for a moment, especially given that younger voters seem to really dig him. The younger you are, the less likely you are to need health care, much less insurance (there is a difference). The smart move for most generally healthy younger people is to take out a catastrophic coverage plan that would cover you in the event of a big accident. Thanks to Obamacare, you've got to get covered, either by your parents' plan or otherwise. The predictable result is that plans for younger people are getting more expensive precisely at the moment they are required by law (finally, a case where correlation meets causation!). That all plans are going to have to conform to higher-than-before benefit schedules ain't helping things either. Some colleges are dropping student plans as a result. 

Remember When President Obama and the Democrats Promised That Obamacare Would Cost under $1 Trillion?

It was a blatant lie.

Wolf Blitzer Blasts President Obama for Being NAACP "No-Show"

"Romney did the right thing . . . the President did not."

There Is a War On Women

Obama's waging it.

A Friendly Reminder

The wealthy already pay more than their fair share.  Indeed, the United States has the most progressive tax system in the world.

The Good News For Obama: Americans Believe He Is a Transformative President

The bad news?  A majority believes he has changed America for the worse.

You can go ahead and count me among them.

Change

Gateway Pundit:  Youth unemployment rate soars to 16.8%.

Context

That's going to leave a mark:  Romney Campaign releases thirty examples of Obama saying "not to read too much into" monthly jobs reports.

Monitoring the So Called Recovery

From Greg Mankiw's Blog:


But don't worry, the President says that we are moving "in the right direction."  Feel better?

Now, If Only We Could Elect a Republican President

Report:  Unemployment rate dropped in all 17 states that elected a Republican governor in 2010.

Obama: Remember How I got Outspent in the 2008 Campaign?

Reality: 
     John McCain campaign — $238 million
     Federal matching funds — $50 million
     TOTAL — $288 million

     Obama campaign — $750 million

Beware Romney's Swiss Bank Account

It is the root of all evil (Twitter told me).

June Jobs Report: Just 80,000 Jobs Created

Pethokoukis:  The unemployment rate stayed at a lofty 8.2%.

As a research note from RDQ economics put it: “The good news is that employment growth is not slowing further but there is no sign of it picking up either. At this pace, job creation is not fast enough to lower the unemployment rate with the labor force growing at close to 150,000 per month on average.” Shorter: Stagnation Nation

This continues to be the longest streak — 41 months — of unemployment of 8% or higher since the Great Depression. And recall that back in 2009, Team Obama predicted that if Congress passed its $800 billion stimulus plan, the unemployment rate would be around 5.6% today.

Plus, Romney's responds:  "This kick in  the gut has to end."

On the other hand:

Broken Promises: Healthcare Premiums

The Romney Campaign recently released this chart:

  

This needs to become a key talking point for Romney and everyone pushing for Obamacare's repeal.

Happy Independence Day!

Plus, the Declaration of Independence, as annotated by Randy Barnett.

Flashback: Four Years Ago Today

Then-Senator Barack Obama blasted George W. Bush for adding $4 trillion to the national debt and spending from the “Bank of China” during Bush’s two terms in office, calling it “unpatriotic.” Obama repeatedly promised during that campaign to cut the deficits in half to slow down the rapid expansion of national debt.

  "The RNC certainly remembers this attack — and they’re featuring it in a new ad this week."

The Vetting: Obama Was For Private Equity Before He Was Against It

Breitbart.com:  "President Barack Obama has attacked Gov. Mitt Romney's record in the private equity industry as CEO of Bain Capital. But ten years ago, as he struggled to raise funds for his long-shot U.S. Senate campaign, then-State Senator Obama decided to embrace the private equity industry and its wealthy Chicago political donors. At one point, Obama even sponsored a resolution in the Illinois Senate calling calling private equity firms like Bain 'the best opportunity for long-term economic vitality' and for 'the creation of jobs.'"

Does this mean we can soon expect another about face?

75% of Obamacare Costs Will Fall on the Backs of Those Making Less Than $120,000 a Year.

“It’s a big punch in the stomach to middle class families.”

Flashback:  In 2008, Obama said "Healthcare should never be purchased with tax increases on middle class families.”

Disaster Relief

On the one hand, Romney sends buses, supplies, and staff.

On the other, Obama poses for pictures.

And sells tank tops.

Hattip to Dana Loesch and Instapundit for the links.

The Switch in Time That Shamed Nine?

Did Roberts switch his vote on the mandate?

Related:  SCOTUS ratings slip after Obamacare ruling.

Government - The Cause of So Many of Our Healthcare System's Problems (Even Before Obamacare)

Gaypatriot: 

Now, the system of course was never perfect. No human institution ever is, but, in trying to fix the small problems of that imperfect, improving and basically good system, our supposedly well-meaning legislators made the whole system worse.

Its problems (prior to the enactment of the Democrats’ overhaul) are not so much attributable to free markets as they are to the layers upon layers of government regulation implemented over the years.

In short, the Democrats tried to fix problems created by government programs with more government programs.

They always do.