Tag Archives: Boehner

Real Shutdown Increases Real Unemployment by 800,000 Real Americans. Unofficially: Unemployment Rate Now 7.82%. Actually: 1.8 Million Unemployed by Shutdown; Rate of 8.48%

Pres. Obama & Speaker Boehner

Old Picture of President Obama & Speaker Boehner

The NY Times Editorial Board describes the shutdown, here, as “John Boehner’s Leadership Failure.” USA Today wrote, here,

“This shutdown, the first in 17 years, isn’t the result of two parties acting equally irresponsibly. It is the product of an increasingly radicalized Republican Party, controlled by a disaffected base that demands legislative hostage-taking in an effort to get what it has not been able to attain by the usual means: winning elections.”

On Saturday Night Live, Saturday, 10/5/13, Miley Cyrus and the cast mock-umented the GOP celebration over the shutdown with “We Can Stop (The Government).”

But Art and Politics aside, what are the effects of the Shutdown on the Economy?

The Government Shutdown increased Unemployment by 1.8 million, the Unemployment Rate increased 16.2%,  from 7.31% on August 31, 2013 to 8.48% on October 2, 2013.  At the same time, GDP growth dropped 20%, from 2.5% to 2.0%. 

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Socialists v Stalinists

John Boehner, Eric Cantor, & a friend Follow LJF97 on Twitter Tweet The Washington Post reported, here, that John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and the “Young Guns,” their Republican comrades in the House of Representatives, PLANNED as far back as January, 2009 to use the debt ceiling to create a political crisis. It seems to have worked. The Republicans held fast, Obama and the Democrats blinked. The rating agency Standard & Poors, S&P, downgraded their rating of the credit-worthiness of the United States of America, President Obama’s core supporters seem to be abandoning him. And the stock markets are plummeting – the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1000 points in 3 days.

Allowing US debt to be downgraded – forcing it to be downgraded – will cause a rise in interest rates, an increase in unemployment and bankruptcies. Altho a rise in interest rates will benefit bondholders. This is not the fiscal policy I expect from the party that claims to be fiscal conservatives. Altho, as noted, it does benefit bondholders.

The government should be creating jobs.  Our elected representatives should be guiding the ship of state to a prosperous and sustainable future, not selling it short.

The NY Times reports, here, that S&P’s downgrade will spur the Republicans to demand more cuts in government spending, which will put more people out of work, furthor erode the economy. The only hope for the country is for Obama to realize that there is nothing he can do to win the love and admiration of the right wing, to ignore them and look to the center and to his base, and do what is good for the country, regardless of what Bachmann, Boehner, Cantor,  Ryan and the Young Guns, and Grover Norquist want.

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The Crash of 2011

US Capitol Follow LJF97 on Twitter  Tweet I thought the market would crash in the wake of the Earthquake / Tsunami / Nuclear Meltdowns at Fukushima. It didn’t. However, something much less serious may be bringing the market – and the economy – to it’s knees. Politics. The Voice of America reported here that Standard & Poors downgraded US debt from AAA to AA+. Click here for the S&P’s Special Report and here for the full report.

S&P’s analysts wrote:

The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.

John BoehnerIt is clear that the emphasis on cutting government spending, eliminating government jobs, eliminating benefits to unemployed citizens, rather than raising revenues and developing infrastructure is not in the long term or short term interests of the United States. As the 512 point drop in the Dow Jones Average, and the downgrade of US debt indicate, Republicans and the Tea Party should be careful for what they wish for – they just might get it.

In the discussions over the debt ceiling, John Boehner said something to the effect that if a family or a business is borrowing too much it simply must tighten it’s belt. Continue reading →

Roughing It

Interior of Pilatus PC 12.  Follow LJF97 on Twitter  Tweet A s they struggle to pay their bills, forced to work, the wealthy cope as only they can. By sending their children to summer camp in private jets. In  “To Reach Simple Life of Summer Camp, Lining Up for Private Jets” Christine Haughney, in the New York Times,  July 24, 2011, wrote:

 “A turboprop Pilatus PC-12 carrying Melissa T., her daughter, her daughter’s friend and a pile of lacrosse equipment took off for their home in Connecticut, following the girls’ three-week stay at Camp All-Star in nearby Kents Hill, Me. Shortly after, a Cessna Citation Excel arrived, and a mother, a father and their 13-year-old daughter emerged carrying a pink sleeping bag and two large duffel bags, all headed to Camp Vega in Fayette. … as the economy limps along, more of the nation’s wealthier families are cutting out the car ride and chartering planes to fly to summer camps. One private jet broker, Todd Rome of Blue Star Jets, BlueStarJets.com, said his summer-camp business had jumped 30 percent over the last year.”

A quick check on the Camp All Star web site’s “Dates & Rates” page suggests that 3 weeks will cost about $4500.  Trips, horseback riding and hockey are extra. Getting there on a private jet, would add $6,318 to  $15,240 per party, $2,106 to $5,080 per camper for a camper, his or her mom, and a friend.  As I tell people, it’s the trip, not only the destination.

Tell me again, Mr. Boehner, why the wealthy can’t afford to pay taxes?

Beechcraft 350, exteriorI did some checking. Went to Blue Star‘s website, priced a charter for three (3) from Allaire Airport in Monmouth County, New Jersey to Augsta State in Maine. I was surprised at how affordable it is. Blue Star offered 5 alternatives, all turboprops:

  • A Ratheon Super King BE 350, a 9-passenger aircraft, $6,318, which is $2,106 per passenger,
  • The BE-C90, a 6 passenger turboprop, $11,270, or $3,757 per passenger,
  • The BE-100, an 8 passenger turboprop: $12,151 for the trip, $4,050 per passenger.
  • The BE 200, in a 9-passenger configuration, for $13,043, $4,348 per passenger, and
  • The BE-200 in an 8-passenger configuration: $15,240, $5,080 per passenger.

These data are summarized in the table below.

Plane Trip Per Passenger, 3 passengers Per Passenger If Full
Ratheon Super King BE 3509 Passenger Turboprop $6,318 $2,106 per person. $702 per person for 9.
BE-C90, 6 passenger Turboprop $11,270 $3,757 per person. $1,878 per person for 6.
BE-100, 8 passenger Turboprop $12,151 $4,050 per person. $1,519 per person for 8.
BE-200 9 Passenger Turboprop $13,043 $4,348 per person. $1,630 per person for 9.
BE-200 8 Passenger Turboprop $15,240 $5,080 per person. $1,905 per person for 8.

I don’t know if the airline serves food, drinks, or offers in-flight movies. But caviar is only $115 per oz (Russian Sevruga, Caviar Express, Glendale, CA).