Stan Geiger

Crazy Talk

It's time to put the crazy talk away. It's time to cut through the nonsense and get real. Unfortunately, politicians, in particular those running for president, haven't gotten the message.

Tim Pawlenty came out with his big economic plan. He promised 5 percent annual growth in the economy. Nobody paid attention because nobody saw any validity in his promise. Pawlenty is already out of the race.

Michele Bachmann gave a speech a few days ago promising gasoline priced below $2 a gallon should she be elected. Really? If a president could make that happen, don't you think Obama---a guy desperately seeking approval from anyone---would be all over it?

I can think of two ways gasoline prices could drop below two bucks a gallon. One would be a global collapse in demand---worldwide depression, in other words. I don't think anyone wants to see that. The other would be regulation. Gasoline priced at slightly below two bucks a gallon would equal the inflation-adjusted gasoline price from back in the day when the price of gasoline was regulated. Surely this tea party enthusiast, this free-market advocate, isn't calling for regulated gasoline prices.

Some folks might like the idea of going back to regulated gasoline prices. Bad idea. Gasoline might become more affordable if regulated. But, the problem would be, you wouldn't be able to find it. If it ain't profitable to produce, ain't nobody gonna produce it.

Obama is set to announce his latest economic "stimulus package," which basically means he's admitting the first one didn't work. Cash for clunkers II is at hand! Rejoice, America! It will work this time! So promises the Ivy League.

Part of the Obama plan is reportedly that of extending the payroll tax break for another year---at a borrowing cost of $175 billion. It hasn't worked yet. Why would it work now?

Obama adviser, David Poof, excuse me, Plouffe, went on national TV some days ago. He said not renewing the payroll tax break would raise the taxes of "every American" by a grand a year. That's a lie. That's a big lie.

For starters, the grand is an average. It's based on somebody making 50 grand a year. Someone making 30 grand a year gets a tax cut of $600---spread out over 52 weeks. That's not enough to alter anyone's spending habits. Second, terminating the temporary tax cut wouldn't up anyone's taxes. It would simply return their tax rate to where it was a year ago. Third, the last I saw, there are a little more than 150 million people employed in this country. People that aren't employed---about half the population---don't pay payroll taxes.

It's time to cut the crap, people. Let's get down to some serious business and knock off the bullshit.

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