Obama The New FDR?
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Edward Johnson slams FDR,‘New Deal II’
Blames feds for crisis, derides U.S. spending
By Jay Fitzgerald | Wednesday, February 25, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Photo by Angela Rowlings
Fidelity’s Edward “Ned” Johnson jumped into the controversial debate over President Obama’s “New Deal II” and what Johnson called government “make-work projects.”
Without naming names, Johnson praised the administration’s effort to make economic recovery its top priority, saying it was “admirable.”
But Johnson, sounding like he’s never been a big fan of the original New Dealers from the 1930s, warned of too much government involvement in the economy and indicated Fidelity is beefing up its government-affairs unit to fend off possibly burdensome new regulations.
“We can only hope that the government’s cure doesn’t further sicken the patient,” Johnson wrote in his annual update on Fidelity’s performance over the past year.
“During the ’30s, Congress - with guidance from the president and the same kind of good intentions - shifted the country’s cash flow away from productive businesses to government make-work projects, which most likely prolonged the Great Depression,” wrote Johnson, arguably Boston’s most powerful business executive.
As for the financial-system crisis, Johnson also took a somewhat anti-government conservative view toward its causes, saying “this climate was caused by many well-intentioned policies - stimulated by individuals at high levels in government and sanctioned by regulatory structures.”
Those policies helped make “money ridiculously easy to obtain and business people eager to comply with the policies,” Johnson wrote.
Not surprisingly, others’ views on Johnson’s views depended on their interpretation of economic history.
Daniel Mitchell, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, said Johnson’s remarks were on the “right path,” though he said they might be “kind of risky” if they anger government policymakers.
Mitchell compared former President George Bush to Herbert Hoover and Obama to Franklin D. Roosevelt, the two presidents in office at the beginning and end of the Great Depression. Both failed to get the nation’s economy working, he said.
But William Cheney, chief economist at Boston’s John Hanc*** Financial, said he “very much” disagreed with Johnson’s version of FDR’s New Deal policies.
Roosevelt’s initial policies did boost the economy, which faltered after FDR tried to rein in government spending, Cheney said.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1154494
I’d like Texas to make political and economic history by seceding from the Obamanation, forming our own country, and Kay Bailey Hutchison being the President of Texas.
We would allow United States immigrants to move here only if they passed a certain type of intelligence test and we could send all of the Obama supporters, Socialists, and Democrats here in Texas to somewhere like Illinois (seeing as how Obama is from there, they would love it there).
Anyways, that is my silliness for the night. Jokes, criticisms, and silly comments are always welcome.
Most of the citizens of IL don’t care for Obama or any of the rest of their national leaders. Get outside of Chicago and the rest of the state is very conservative. They’re all held captive by the whims of the corrupt Chicago political machine. They much more proud that Reagan was born in IL than Obama sitting in the White House right now.
But if you Texans can pull off that secession thing, my family and I may move.Here’s an interesting website:
http://www.texassecede.com/ Part of me actually wants to do it!Spaceman Spiff, you are welcome in Texas anytime
and now_indy. I love that website.
Here is a video from another website:
http://www.youtube.com/v/qSgjoclLiAg&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01
www.texasnationalist.com
Got to love the ideas these people have. I’d certainly support it if it got serious.
Unfortunately, it might get very serious. I can only imagine the founding fathers sitting on some cloud somewhere remembering their conversations in places like Williamsburg or Boston feeling the birth pains of our nation. The only difference is that they were revolting against what they perceived as a foreign crown that had no representation in their new world. For them it was a matter of forming a new nation, not trying to pull their current one out of the grasp of a mad man and his socialist cronies. I’m sure the conversations then were very similar to some of the ones we’re having now.
I wonder if sitting on that same cloud is FDR screaming at the top of his lungs "DON'T DO IT YOU BIG IDIOT!!"To be honest, the President is more and more reminding me of LBJ, or perhaps Jimmy Carter. Neither presidency will be remembered for anything positive with the exception that they both ended.
I recognize some old names here. I used to post here a lot.
A fellow from my b/d affiliate was saying, maybe one third of our reps will be gone by the end of this year. Now, I'm starting to believe it. Obama: there's plenty of time to see what he'll be remembered for - bottom line, won't all of this spending be "stimulative" - eventually - and then inflationary? Inflation is not good for stocks and bonds, but I would imagine there will be panic money, once folks figure out the (printed) funny money is becoming worth less. So Obama could come out looking good for a while. At any rate, I believe it is time to dust off the old Mao suite from my visits long ago to China. It is nice to see some positive posts around here (the crying at the seminar post) amidst the carnage. I just wanna go home.[quote=Doksee] I recognize some old names here. I used to post here a lot.
A fellow from my b/d affiliate was saying, maybe one third of our reps will be gone by the end of this year. Now, I’m starting to believe it.
Obama: there’s plenty of time to see what he’ll be remembered for - bottom line, won’t all of this spending be “stimulative” - eventually - and then inflationary?
Inflation is not good for stocks and bonds, but I would imagine there will be panic money, once folks figure out the (printed) funny money is becoming worth less.
So Obama could come out looking good for a while. At any rate, I believe it is time to dust off the old Mao suite from my visits long ago to China.
It is nice to see some positive posts around here (the crying at the seminar post) amidst the carnage. I just wanna go home. [/quote]
Hey Doc! Whaddya say? Whaddya know? How’ve ya been?
“Edward Jones sucks!” “Edward Jones is like God!” (Some things never change, huh?)
Hey Philo, great post at the top. I can picture Jimmy Cahtah sitting shivering in his cold office in his sweatuh. Yeah, at least it ended. All of this makes buying A shares and just holding 'em look pretty attractive. (Right now Edward is like God.)
Those robo-censors crack me up...and after a day like today, I need that... Welcome back, Doc...I've been feeding your weekend joke thread regularly...if I don't laugh, I'm liable to cry...But William Cheney, chief economist at Boston’s John Hanc*** Financial, said he “very much” disagreed with Johnson’s version of FDR’s New Deal policies.
One Big American Made Atrocity…
his thirst for power and his reckless budget projections terrify me... 4% compounded gdp growth?!?!thetimes.co.uk The Times & The Sunday Times
News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times
Gotta love it.
Hey and he wants to take everyone else on his Magical Mystery Tour. Forget the Late Night Shows and all the other Bullsh!! …get to work. I think the word " Change " is going to come back to haunt this character.
Remove the Teleprompter and what do you get.....the real Obama.