Obama's "Plan" for Failure

The following are segments from Obama's "plan" for our economy. This was copied directly off of http://barackobama.com/plan. My remarks are inline in red.

Energy Rebates

Obama and Biden will enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil company profits to give American families an immediate $1,000 emergency energy rebate to help families pay rising bills. Read more »

Listen carefully to what they are saying here. They are going to take an industry that, on average, makes about 10% profits on their revenues each year, and take those profits away. There are a goodly number of industries out there making higher profit margins than that! Should we also take away the profits of the Clothing and Retail industries? Some of which make 20% profits?

Ask yourself - who benefits from profits? Yes, the CEO maybe gets a bonus, but ultimately where do those profits end up? They end up as a higher stock price, as dividends, as expansion of the operations of that company. They end up as money in the shareholder's pockets. That's right - you, and me, and the rest of America that owns stock in that company benefit from those profits.

In this, Obama and Biden show truly as the bullies that they are. They've found an industry that has been villified by the Left and they want the entire schoolyard to help steal their rightful earnings. Who's next? Maybe YOUR industry is making too much profits and needs to be punished as well.

Create 5 Million Green Jobs

Obama and Biden believe that we should invest in innovation and manufacturing jobs in the growing clean energy market, freeing us from our dependence on foreign oil within a decade and creating 5 million green jobs. Read more »

Obama doesn't want to raise taxes on the Middle Class, but here he wants to spend more money on something that the free market has not demanded. He wants to dump your money at any and every crackpot "green" idea that comes down the pipe, in the hopes that "something" will free us from foreign oil in a decade. They want to dump money here, and money there, BILLIONs at this. But they're going to lower taxes?

Who pays for this? Who pays for the more expensive energy and technology that will be Federally mandated out of this? YOU do. YOU pay. The middle class will pay, the lower class will pay, and the "rich" (see my blog post here on the fallacy of raising taxes on the "rich") will pay through the nose. And in the end, we'll all lose.

New Jobs Through National Infrastructure Investment

Obama and Biden believe that rebuilding our highways, bridges, roads, ports, air, and train systems will create jobs, ensure safety, and bolster our long-term competitiveness. Read more »

Here's another $60 billion over 10 years to maintain our infrastructure. What happened to the monies set aside for this? Oh right, already spent by the Government on other things.

Technology, Innovation and Creating Jobs

Obama and Biden will increase federal support for research, technology and innovation for companies and universities so that American workers can lead the world in cutting edge jobs and products. Read more »

Even more tax credits! Are you keeping track? Lots of money going out so far...

Support Small Business

Obama and Biden will level the playing field for small business by eliminating all capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses. Read more »

So now these guys want to get a $500 per worker credit to small businesses, and have the business pay both sides of the income tax for those workers. I'm not even sure how that works. They also want to throw $250 million per year to "incubate small businesses in disadvantaged areas". So the market won't bear a business in that area, we need to make sure there is one there anyways by spending our tax dollars on it. Brilliant.

Labor

Obama and Biden will strengthen the ability of workers to organize for good wages, healthcare, and secure pensions. Obama and Biden will fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Obama and Biden will ensure that labor appointees support workers' rights and will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers. Obama and Biden will also increase the minimum wage and make sure it remains a real wage year over year. Read more »

Now this one gets my goad. This would essentially force companies to pay workers whatever the workers demanded. Not being able to permanently replace workers who are being unreasonable about their requirements on pay/benefits/etc. would essentially force most companies into bankruptcy, AND raise the prices of their goods and services should they remain in business to the point that no one would be able to afford them. The beauty of a free market is simply that if I have a group of workers that strike for higher wages, and I can replace them with similarly skilled workers that work for lower wages, the people demanding higher wages shouldn't be making higher wages in the first place! This part of the plan means that the inmates would be running the asylum.

While they're at it, they'd continue to impact the free market by demanding higher and higher minimum wages. Why not just go ahead and pay workers at Burger King $25/hour. They obviously deserve the house in the foothills and the plasma tv just like everyone else who actually went to school and worked hard to make something of themselves.

Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud

Obama and Biden will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders. They will make sure homebuyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options, and they will give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners. Read more »

More tax credits in this one. I'm still not seeing any "fiscal responsibility"...

Work/Family Balance

Obama and Biden will help working families by doubling funding for after-school programs, expanding the Family Medical Leave Act. They will provide low-income families with a refundable tax credit to help with their child-care expenses, and encourage flexible work schedules. Read more »

Obama wants to cut the size of companies required to comply with the FMLA from 50 to 25. This may result in critical positions in a small business being unfilled in the event that worker has an emergency for a long period of time. This is not good for small businesses, some of which couldn't survive in that state for long.

Obama also wants another $1.5 billion to provide monies to people taking time off work for certain charitable activities. While a nice idea in principle, I question it as being "fiscally responsible".

In this point also are doubling funding for after school programs, increase the amount of money given to low-income families for child care, as well as create other programs.

So I have one question for Sen. Obama. Where does all the money for this come from? It certainly won't happen from a "windfall profits tax", and I have a feeling that you couldn't squeeze the "rich" taxpayers for nearly enough to cover this.

Where does it come from?