http://blog.bbbeard.com/2009/04/21/the-ongoing-struggle-for-the-hearts-and-well-hearts-anyway/ A Peculiar, Yet Refreshing, Blog Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:06:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 http://blog.bbbeard.com/2009/04/21/the-ongoing-struggle-for-the-hearts-and-well-hearts-anyway/#comment-176 bbbeard Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:42:22 +0000 http://blog.bbbeard.com/2009/04/21/the-ongoing-struggle-for-the-hearts-and-well-hearts-anyway/#comment-176 <p>I think we have basically two interpretations available here: (1) Obama, like many lawmakers, has only a foggy concept of big numbers, i.e. the difference between a million and billion and a trillion doesn't mean much to him, and (2) this was a cynical ploy to mitigate his growing reputation as the most profligate spender in history, at least among the small fraction of rubes who also have only a foggy concept of big numbers. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive options....</p> I think we have basically two interpretations available here: (1) Obama, like many lawmakers, has only a foggy concept of big numbers, i.e. the difference between a million and billion and a trillion doesn’t mean much to him, and (2) this was a cynical ploy to mitigate his growing reputation as the most profligate spender in history, at least among the small fraction of rubes who also have only a foggy concept of big numbers. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive options….

]]> http://blog.bbbeard.com/2009/04/21/the-ongoing-struggle-for-the-hearts-and-well-hearts-anyway/#comment-175 dave Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:29:16 +0000 http://blog.bbbeard.com/2009/04/21/the-ongoing-struggle-for-the-hearts-and-well-hearts-anyway/#comment-175 This had me confused most greatly. Leaving aside that 100 million dollars is chicken-feed, and impresses no one, wasn't it just last month that we needed to spend 750 billlion like drunken sailors, just to be spending it?Stimulus now, worry about the budget (much) later?Doing this, and talking it up, gives markets the idea that they're already thinking of fiscal contraction. One wouldn't think that was the message du jour, but there doesn't seem to be a truly coherent strategy. This had me confused most greatly. Leaving aside that 100 million dollars is chicken-feed, and impresses no one, wasn’t it just last month that we needed to spend 750 billlion like drunken sailors, just to be spending it?Stimulus now, worry about the budget (much) later?Doing this, and talking it up, gives markets the idea that they’re already thinking of fiscal contraction. One wouldn’t think that was the message du jour, but there doesn’t seem to be a truly coherent strategy.

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