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Obamanomics: How Barack Obama Is Bankrupting You and Enriching His Wall Street Friends, Corporate Lobbyists, and Union Bosses
Obama Is Making You Poorer—But Who’s Getting Rich?Goldman Sachs, GE, Pfizer, the United Auto Workers—the same “special interests” Barack Obama was supposed to chase from the temple—are profiting handsomely from Obama’s Big Government policies that crush taxpayers, small businesses, and consumers. In Obamanomics, investigative reporter Timothy P. Carney digs up the dirt the mainstream media ignores and the White House wishes you wouldn’t see. Rather than Hope and Change, Obama is delivering corporate socialism to America, all while claiming he’s battling corporate America. It’s corporate welfare and regulatory robbery—it’s Obamanomics.
Congressman Ron Paul says, “Every libertarian and free-market conservative needs to read Obamanomics.” And Johan Goldberg, columnist and bestselling author says, “Obamanomics is conservative muckraking at its best and an indispensable field guide to the Obama years.”
If you’ve wondered what’s happening to America, as the federal government swallows up the financial sector, the auto industry, and healthcare, and enacts deficit exploding “stimulus packages,” this book makes it all clear—it’s a big scam. Ultimately, Obamanomics boils down to this: every time government gets bigger, somebody’s getting rich, and those somebodies are friends of Barack. This book names the names—and it will make your blood boil.
Congressman Ron Paul says, “Every libertarian and free-market conservative needs to read Obamanomics.” And Johan Goldberg, columnist and bestselling author says, “Obamanomics is conservative muckraking at its best and an indispensable field guide to the Obama years.”
If you’ve wondered what’s happening to America, as the federal government swallows up the financial sector, the auto industry, and healthcare, and enacts deficit exploding “stimulus packages,” this book makes it all clear—it’s a big scam. Ultimately, Obamanomics boils down to this: every time government gets bigger, somebody’s getting rich, and those somebodies are friends of Barack. This book names the names—and it will make your blood boil.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
4 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
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February 22, 2012
The first thing I want to say about this book is that while everything the author has to say is true it is a big mistake to make this a Democrat or liberal issue. Compared to Bush, Obama is a great leap forward. But BOTH parties have sold out the American people. Democrat versus Republican is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Ron Paul wrote the forward. “In reality, the typical corporate lobbyist opposes free markets and champions corporatism-an economic system where the government intervenes in the economy for the benefit of certain politically connected business interests.” He asserts that Obama is not a socialist, but a corporatist. RP again, “Every libertarian and free-market conservative who still believes that large corporations are trusted allies in the battle for economic liberty needs to read this book, as does every well-meaning liberal who believes that expansions of the welfare-regulatory state are done to benefit the common people.”
In my review I want to address the DISEASE and not just the symptoms. If the root of the problem isn't addressed then what is the point?
“Fascism should more properly be called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power.” Benito Mussolini
“Socialism is usually defined as gov ownership and/or control over the basic means of production and distribution of goods and services.” Gary Allen
And if corporate interests control the government as they mostly do in America then what is going on is socialist/fascist.
"In America," Obama said, "we have this strong bias toward individual action. You know, we idolize the John Wayne hero who comes in to correct things with both guns blazing. But individual actions, individual dreams, are not sufficient. We must unite in collective action, build collective institutions and organizations."
“The idea that socialism is a share-the-wealth program is strictly a confidence game to get the people to surrender their freedom to an all-powerful collectivist gov. While the Insiders tell us we are building a paradise on earth, we are actually constructing a jail for ourselves.” Gary Allen
So what’s really going on?
“We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine… whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the work is now much more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.” David Rockefeller
Did you get that? “The SUPRANATIONAL sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.”
In 1972, Brzezinski wrote that the "nation-state as a fundamental unit of man's organized life has ceased to be the principal creative force: INTERNATIONAL BANKS and MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS are acting and planning in terms that are far in advance of the political concepts of the nation-state."
"But why would some of the richest men in the world financially back communism, the system that was openly vowing to destroy the so called capitalism that made them wealthy? Communism, like plutocracy, is a product of capitalism. Researcher Gary Allen explained it was this way:
"If one understands that socialism is not a share-the-wealth program, but is in reality a method to consolidate and control the wealth, then the seeming paradox of super-rich men promoting socialism becomes no paradox at all. Instead, it becomes logical, even the perfect tool for power-seeking megalomaniacs. Communism or more accurately, SOCIALISM, is not a movement of the downtrodden masses, but of the economic elite."
Stillmans, Bakers, Paynes, Cullmans, Watsons, Tukes, Kleinwarts, Duponts, Warburgs, Phippses, Graces, Guggenheims, Milners, Drexels, Winthrops, Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Harknesses and other super rich Illuminated families generally get along “Yes, it is a fact: the Mellons, Carnegies, Rothschilds, Rockefellers, Dukes, Astors, Dorrances, Reynoldses, quite well with Communists, who supposedly want to take away the wealth of these men and give it to the people.
“However, this is only double talk designed to bolster the superstructure of delusion that Communists are the enemies of all Capitalists. But Communists, like the super rich families, are not the enemies of MONOPOLY CAPITALISM: they are the foes of FREE ENTERPRISE"
"The conspiracy facts are that Elite inner circle members of the Bilderbergs (BB), Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and Trilateral Commission (TC) are conspiring to POLITICALLY and ECONOMICALLY dominate the entire world under their New World Order, more recently called Globalization, or Global Union, Global Economy, Global Order, Global Environment, and like terms. When President G.H.W. Bush used the term New World Order in several of his speeches, it aroused suspicion and concern among the public. So, the Elite selected a generic term "Globalization" to use, and now Americans are no longer alarmed, because the business world uses this term daily, so it must not be so frightening. But, you cannot change a tiger's stripes. We're still talking about the New World Order."
So there you have it. The disease is the NEW WORLD ORDER.
The money powers (bankers and multinational co) own the government. They want the money and power, to reduce the common man to nothing more than a drone slaving for his daily bread. They are beyond borders in their unbridled greed.
"The American Union follows the first step, the European Union, and then the African Union, in the Elite's plan to control the entire world. Next will be the Asian Union, and the Soviet Union, all to be completed between the years 2010 and 2015. This is not my speculation, it's their stated plans, as detailed in a UN document titled Our Global Neighborhood (available in any bookstore, on special order)."
This book exposes the symptoms of this agenda, the partnership of big business and big government. One example, regulation doesn’t hurt the big guys. It squeezes out the competition. Obama care is corporate welfare. (Bush’s drug bill was a tax payer funded subsidy to the drug companies. Romney care is corporate welfare.) Carney takes on lobbyists, bail-outs, stimulus plans and the “green racket”.
“The Electric Car: A True Government Winner”
”Obamanomics is about Apollo projects and Manhattan projects. Big Ideas and Big Plans, implemented by Big Government, have always appealed to politicians, and apparently to Obama more than most. The new Big Idea in transportation: electric cars, a project that Obama has already supported with billions of taxpayer dollars.
Carmaker Tesla, in June 2009, got a $465 million loan from Obama’s Energy Department to work on electric cars. For the same purpose, the administration handed out even bigger loans to Ford ($5.9 BILLION) and Nissan ($1.6 BILLION). Ford president Alan Mulally praised the taxpayer funded loan as “the kind of partnership that will help American manufacturing not just survive, but thrive.”
(I have been reading a lot lately about these private/public “partnerships”. In general it usually amounts to the tax payer footing the bill and the private entity pocketing the profits. That is if there are any. Those energy companies (i.e. Solyndra) that went belly up after getting millions of stimulus money….I expect the CEO’s walked with millions nevertheless.)
But if these were investments in electric cars and not handouts, then why couldn’t the firms get the loans from a private investment firm? Why was the Obama administration the only willing investor?
The Energy Department did not disclose the terms of the loans, but the automakers indicated they were extremely favorable. A Ford spokesman said the interest rate on Ford’s loan would be based on the current U.S. Treasure rate of 3-4 percent. “If it were at market rates it would be in the double digits,” he noted. “That’s a huge thing for us”
So, while regular Americans were struggling under double digit credit card rates and resetting adjustable rate mortgages, their tax dollars were providing low-interest loans to automakers. Congress, at the time, was debating just which taxes to hike on the American people but Obama was declaring these loans “will create good jobs.”
I heard an economist from some liberal college say in response to each stimulus job costing 100+K....it was worth it! The lunatics are running the asylum now.
This book will give you lots of information about what the crooks are up to. I have two criticisms. One, both parties have sold us out. Two, he doesn’t address the root of the problem.
“For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it might cost, I am willing to know the
whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.” Patrick Henry
Ron Paul wrote the forward. “In reality, the typical corporate lobbyist opposes free markets and champions corporatism-an economic system where the government intervenes in the economy for the benefit of certain politically connected business interests.” He asserts that Obama is not a socialist, but a corporatist. RP again, “Every libertarian and free-market conservative who still believes that large corporations are trusted allies in the battle for economic liberty needs to read this book, as does every well-meaning liberal who believes that expansions of the welfare-regulatory state are done to benefit the common people.”
In my review I want to address the DISEASE and not just the symptoms. If the root of the problem isn't addressed then what is the point?
“Fascism should more properly be called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power.” Benito Mussolini
“Socialism is usually defined as gov ownership and/or control over the basic means of production and distribution of goods and services.” Gary Allen
And if corporate interests control the government as they mostly do in America then what is going on is socialist/fascist.
"In America," Obama said, "we have this strong bias toward individual action. You know, we idolize the John Wayne hero who comes in to correct things with both guns blazing. But individual actions, individual dreams, are not sufficient. We must unite in collective action, build collective institutions and organizations."
“The idea that socialism is a share-the-wealth program is strictly a confidence game to get the people to surrender their freedom to an all-powerful collectivist gov. While the Insiders tell us we are building a paradise on earth, we are actually constructing a jail for ourselves.” Gary Allen
So what’s really going on?
“We are grateful to the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine… whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the work is now much more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.” David Rockefeller
Did you get that? “The SUPRANATIONAL sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries.”
In 1972, Brzezinski wrote that the "nation-state as a fundamental unit of man's organized life has ceased to be the principal creative force: INTERNATIONAL BANKS and MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS are acting and planning in terms that are far in advance of the political concepts of the nation-state."
"But why would some of the richest men in the world financially back communism, the system that was openly vowing to destroy the so called capitalism that made them wealthy? Communism, like plutocracy, is a product of capitalism. Researcher Gary Allen explained it was this way:
"If one understands that socialism is not a share-the-wealth program, but is in reality a method to consolidate and control the wealth, then the seeming paradox of super-rich men promoting socialism becomes no paradox at all. Instead, it becomes logical, even the perfect tool for power-seeking megalomaniacs. Communism or more accurately, SOCIALISM, is not a movement of the downtrodden masses, but of the economic elite."
Stillmans, Bakers, Paynes, Cullmans, Watsons, Tukes, Kleinwarts, Duponts, Warburgs, Phippses, Graces, Guggenheims, Milners, Drexels, Winthrops, Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Harknesses and other super rich Illuminated families generally get along “Yes, it is a fact: the Mellons, Carnegies, Rothschilds, Rockefellers, Dukes, Astors, Dorrances, Reynoldses, quite well with Communists, who supposedly want to take away the wealth of these men and give it to the people.
“However, this is only double talk designed to bolster the superstructure of delusion that Communists are the enemies of all Capitalists. But Communists, like the super rich families, are not the enemies of MONOPOLY CAPITALISM: they are the foes of FREE ENTERPRISE"
"The conspiracy facts are that Elite inner circle members of the Bilderbergs (BB), Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and Trilateral Commission (TC) are conspiring to POLITICALLY and ECONOMICALLY dominate the entire world under their New World Order, more recently called Globalization, or Global Union, Global Economy, Global Order, Global Environment, and like terms. When President G.H.W. Bush used the term New World Order in several of his speeches, it aroused suspicion and concern among the public. So, the Elite selected a generic term "Globalization" to use, and now Americans are no longer alarmed, because the business world uses this term daily, so it must not be so frightening. But, you cannot change a tiger's stripes. We're still talking about the New World Order."
So there you have it. The disease is the NEW WORLD ORDER.
The money powers (bankers and multinational co) own the government. They want the money and power, to reduce the common man to nothing more than a drone slaving for his daily bread. They are beyond borders in their unbridled greed.
"The American Union follows the first step, the European Union, and then the African Union, in the Elite's plan to control the entire world. Next will be the Asian Union, and the Soviet Union, all to be completed between the years 2010 and 2015. This is not my speculation, it's their stated plans, as detailed in a UN document titled Our Global Neighborhood (available in any bookstore, on special order)."
This book exposes the symptoms of this agenda, the partnership of big business and big government. One example, regulation doesn’t hurt the big guys. It squeezes out the competition. Obama care is corporate welfare. (Bush’s drug bill was a tax payer funded subsidy to the drug companies. Romney care is corporate welfare.) Carney takes on lobbyists, bail-outs, stimulus plans and the “green racket”.
“The Electric Car: A True Government Winner”
”Obamanomics is about Apollo projects and Manhattan projects. Big Ideas and Big Plans, implemented by Big Government, have always appealed to politicians, and apparently to Obama more than most. The new Big Idea in transportation: electric cars, a project that Obama has already supported with billions of taxpayer dollars.
Carmaker Tesla, in June 2009, got a $465 million loan from Obama’s Energy Department to work on electric cars. For the same purpose, the administration handed out even bigger loans to Ford ($5.9 BILLION) and Nissan ($1.6 BILLION). Ford president Alan Mulally praised the taxpayer funded loan as “the kind of partnership that will help American manufacturing not just survive, but thrive.”
(I have been reading a lot lately about these private/public “partnerships”. In general it usually amounts to the tax payer footing the bill and the private entity pocketing the profits. That is if there are any. Those energy companies (i.e. Solyndra) that went belly up after getting millions of stimulus money….I expect the CEO’s walked with millions nevertheless.)
But if these were investments in electric cars and not handouts, then why couldn’t the firms get the loans from a private investment firm? Why was the Obama administration the only willing investor?
The Energy Department did not disclose the terms of the loans, but the automakers indicated they were extremely favorable. A Ford spokesman said the interest rate on Ford’s loan would be based on the current U.S. Treasure rate of 3-4 percent. “If it were at market rates it would be in the double digits,” he noted. “That’s a huge thing for us”
So, while regular Americans were struggling under double digit credit card rates and resetting adjustable rate mortgages, their tax dollars were providing low-interest loans to automakers. Congress, at the time, was debating just which taxes to hike on the American people but Obama was declaring these loans “will create good jobs.”
I heard an economist from some liberal college say in response to each stimulus job costing 100+K....it was worth it! The lunatics are running the asylum now.
This book will give you lots of information about what the crooks are up to. I have two criticisms. One, both parties have sold us out. Two, he doesn’t address the root of the problem.
“For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it might cost, I am willing to know the
whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.” Patrick Henry
August 14, 2021
I find it interesting to read political books that were written a while ago to see how their views and concerns weathered the test of time. When these types of books are written they usually deal with current events and because they project how those events will affect things in the future there is usually no way to know (at the time) whether their concerns are real or just politically based. But years down the road, it is pretty easy to see if the dire consequences of the issues they portrayed at the time came to fruition. Regarding this book it was much different than I had though it be. When I picked up this book I figured it would be a typical political book slanted to one side of the political spectrum or party (republicans) where everything the other guy or party (democrats) does is wrong and evil. However, although the book is very critical of the Obama administration and its policies and behavior in the early years of the administration it is equally critical of the Bush administration that preceded Obama. The book is really focused in general of how politics and big businesses interact and influence policy. The book provides a lot of details on how big corporations and the money they provide influences politics and policies. Focusing quite a bit on the health care and energy industries. The book mainly discusses the policies during the Obama administration (because those were the current concerns when the book was written) but they can easily be applicable to other administrations of both parties. The book provides an interesting insight into the hidden motives of some policies that are advocated by big business, particularly policies that on the surface would seem to adversely affect these businesses. And how these businesses promote these policies through funding and lobbying and how susceptible the people in charge (in this case the Obama administration) are to these influences. Overall it is an interesting book. I think the concerns and issues presented within the book are still relevant today and have withstood the test of time.
November 14, 2010
I disagree with the premise of this book: that Rand Paul-type libertarian economics is a good (or even plausible) way to run our economy. However I gave the book a 3-star “liked it” because of one thing. According to a July 2010 poll 55% of Americans believe Barack Obama is a socialist. This book demonstrates conclusively that he is not. The author makes the case that, far from advocating government ownership of production (socialism), a far more credible argument can be made that Obama defends corporate interests.
The author’s solution to this problem is to....wait for it. Elect Republicans! Of course! That’s the party that has proven track record of defending consumers and workers against big business! I disagree with that too, but at least if people would read this book and realize that calling Obama a socialist makes no sense, at least we could take one small step toward a coherent political discourse.
The author’s solution to this problem is to....wait for it. Elect Republicans! Of course! That’s the party that has proven track record of defending consumers and workers against big business! I disagree with that too, but at least if people would read this book and realize that calling Obama a socialist makes no sense, at least we could take one small step toward a coherent political discourse.
Read
July 25, 2013'If Obamanomics and the ideas that inform Carney’s writing infiltrate the tea-party set, American conservatism has a shot at becoming something worthwhile again. But the book may be just as important for self-styled anti-movement conservatives. Localists, traditionalists, and other politically endangered species usually turn against libertarian policy goals. They fear the unregulated corrosion of traditional norms and values by the market. Yet as Carney shows us, Big Business, far from regarding Washington as its enemy, sees the state as a “financier,” “champion,” and “partner”—to quote GE’s Immelt. If you want to whack big corporations, aim at Washington first.'
Read the full review, "Big Government, Big Business, Big Rip-Off," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...
Read the full review, "Big Government, Big Business, Big Rip-Off," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...
February 27, 2020
5/10
The issue with this book is that it points the finger at Obama, without remembering that big business in bed with big government is a bipartisan consensus, and did not arise with the Obama presidency, nor did it die with it. This is not to justify the obeisance that Obama gave to corporations, but it is to say that this is the norm, and not something republicans are immune to, as Carney laughably believes.
“How Obama is bankrupting you”, perfect, I’m sure we won’t see any bias here. Carney also thinks electric cars are a terrible idea, though hindsight casts a harsh light. Well Obama oversaw a strong rise in the economy over the course of his presidency, so I'm not sure who he bankrupted, and Tesla is doing slightly better than Carney anticipated. Though I suppose the point that Obama is certainly in cahoots with Wall Street is certainly true, and not exactly news. After all, he did bail them out, regardless of your take on reason.
Big business and big government are not enemies, but allies. They feed off of one another. The Big Myth, according to Carney, is that the two are bitter enemies.
In fairness to the obvious bias from Carney, he also kinda throws Bush under the bus, he just seems to enjoy it more when he does it with Obama. From my perspective then, Obama can be seen primarily as a continuation of the Bush policy of giving to big business. Most of the book is set up in showing how specific Obama programs always end up benefiting large companies more than taxpayers. He goes through half a dozen such programs, and the results are interesting, though rarely surprising. What Carney somehow fails to realize is that just because a company profits doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad policy. Though it is clear that the idealism of Obama did not last long into his presidency.
A throwaway comment made me like Obama more than I already do, “Obama refunded all lobbyist their checks”, this did not appear to make an impression on Carney however. “He (Obama) really was trying to help the country” Says Carney often, but his heart doesn’t seem to be in it.
"Raising the hoop at halftime is fair in that it makes shots just as difficult for each team, but is ultimately unfair because it benefits whoever was up at halftime." This in relation to regulating business, regulations large companies can more easily adapt to than small ones.
China buying US bonds, and so owning US debt is something I'm aware of distantly, but I want to look into more at some point.
The issue with this book is that it points the finger at Obama, without remembering that big business in bed with big government is a bipartisan consensus, and did not arise with the Obama presidency, nor did it die with it. This is not to justify the obeisance that Obama gave to corporations, but it is to say that this is the norm, and not something republicans are immune to, as Carney laughably believes.
“How Obama is bankrupting you”, perfect, I’m sure we won’t see any bias here. Carney also thinks electric cars are a terrible idea, though hindsight casts a harsh light. Well Obama oversaw a strong rise in the economy over the course of his presidency, so I'm not sure who he bankrupted, and Tesla is doing slightly better than Carney anticipated. Though I suppose the point that Obama is certainly in cahoots with Wall Street is certainly true, and not exactly news. After all, he did bail them out, regardless of your take on reason.
Big business and big government are not enemies, but allies. They feed off of one another. The Big Myth, according to Carney, is that the two are bitter enemies.
In fairness to the obvious bias from Carney, he also kinda throws Bush under the bus, he just seems to enjoy it more when he does it with Obama. From my perspective then, Obama can be seen primarily as a continuation of the Bush policy of giving to big business. Most of the book is set up in showing how specific Obama programs always end up benefiting large companies more than taxpayers. He goes through half a dozen such programs, and the results are interesting, though rarely surprising. What Carney somehow fails to realize is that just because a company profits doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad policy. Though it is clear that the idealism of Obama did not last long into his presidency.
A throwaway comment made me like Obama more than I already do, “Obama refunded all lobbyist their checks”, this did not appear to make an impression on Carney however. “He (Obama) really was trying to help the country” Says Carney often, but his heart doesn’t seem to be in it.
"Raising the hoop at halftime is fair in that it makes shots just as difficult for each team, but is ultimately unfair because it benefits whoever was up at halftime." This in relation to regulating business, regulations large companies can more easily adapt to than small ones.
China buying US bonds, and so owning US debt is something I'm aware of distantly, but I want to look into more at some point.
July 23, 2024
ARE SOME PEOPLE GETTING RICH FROM AN INCREASE IN GOVERNMENT SIZE?
Timothy P. Carney is the lobbying editor and a columnist at the Washington Examiner; he has also written 'The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money.'
He notes early in this 2009 book, "Obamanomics is the political strategy of partnering government with the biggest businesses in order to create new regulations, taxes, and subsidies... The economic law underlying Obamanomics ... is this: increased government control centralizes industries and favors the biggest businesses." (Pg. 3) He adds, "In brief, Obamanomics boils down to this: every time government gets bigger, somebody's getting rich." (Pg. 9)
Concerning the 2009 stimulus plan, he asserts, "The stimulus operates according to a pretty simple rule: the biggest companies with the most lobbyists get the most money." (Pg. 45) Obama's "cap-and-trade" proposals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is "a corporate welfare porkfest of nearly unprecedented proportions." (Pg. 107) Of the "green jobs" created, "these programs all spell profits for battery makers, contractors, coal companies, politically inventors, and others." (Pg. 118)
Interestingly, however, he admits, "Everything Obama has done to grow government---to boost spending, hike taxes, and increase federal control over our economy---is the legacy of President George W. Bush." (Pg. 152) He concludes that "the Big Business agenda is anything but a free-market agenda. Conservatives and Republicans need to start from principles of limited government rather than from the standpoint of being 'pro-business.'" (Pg. 227-228)
While hard on the Obama administration, Carney is consistent to his conservative principles in his criticism; it is one of the more thoughtful of critiques of the Obama presidency.
Timothy P. Carney is the lobbying editor and a columnist at the Washington Examiner; he has also written 'The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money.'
He notes early in this 2009 book, "Obamanomics is the political strategy of partnering government with the biggest businesses in order to create new regulations, taxes, and subsidies... The economic law underlying Obamanomics ... is this: increased government control centralizes industries and favors the biggest businesses." (Pg. 3) He adds, "In brief, Obamanomics boils down to this: every time government gets bigger, somebody's getting rich." (Pg. 9)
Concerning the 2009 stimulus plan, he asserts, "The stimulus operates according to a pretty simple rule: the biggest companies with the most lobbyists get the most money." (Pg. 45) Obama's "cap-and-trade" proposals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is "a corporate welfare porkfest of nearly unprecedented proportions." (Pg. 107) Of the "green jobs" created, "these programs all spell profits for battery makers, contractors, coal companies, politically inventors, and others." (Pg. 118)
Interestingly, however, he admits, "Everything Obama has done to grow government---to boost spending, hike taxes, and increase federal control over our economy---is the legacy of President George W. Bush." (Pg. 152) He concludes that "the Big Business agenda is anything but a free-market agenda. Conservatives and Republicans need to start from principles of limited government rather than from the standpoint of being 'pro-business.'" (Pg. 227-228)
While hard on the Obama administration, Carney is consistent to his conservative principles in his criticism; it is one of the more thoughtful of critiques of the Obama presidency.
December 23, 2012
More money for more government, this is a sad story of dishonesty in government and wholesale distrust, what do we elect people to do—to be honest and accountable, yet this story is full of government abuse of funds, beginning with cash for clunkers going from a 1B program to 3B program, shenanigans for stimulus might be accurate title or drunk on bail-outs, one follows the money trail to Goldman and GE roots with a corrupting effect upon election donations.
April 19, 2010
Big Business != business; I like business but not Big Business. This book discusses in detail the links between Obama and Big Business, and proposes a way forward. A very thoughtful book that anyone who thinks Obama is fighting for the little guy should read.
January 31, 2011
Hard to follow w. all the stats, but is very informative.
Want to Read
April 25, 2012I heard an interview with this author and realized I still have the "Big Ripoff" sitting on my shelf unread, so intend to read both.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews