Despite Promises, Stimulus Spending Slows

In early June, amid criticism that the stimulus bill was not working to stem the tide of job losses, President Obama promised to, "speed federal money into hundreds of public works projects this summer, vowing that 600,000 jobs will be created or saved."

However, according to a USA Today report, that has not been the case. In fact, stimulus spending has slowed by about 25% since June:

In the 101 days after Obama signed the stimulus package in mid-February, the government allocated an average of more than $1.3 billion a day to new grants and projects. Since then, that pace has fallen to an average of about $1 billion a day, a drop of about 25%, according to federal agencies' financial reports, current through Sept. 4.

The Administration continues to defend the spending that has occurred, however. In fact, they argue that despite spending less they have saved or created more jobs than then President promised in June:

The Obama administration said last week that if tax cuts are included, the amount of stimulus aid reaching the economy increased slightly during the summer. And Obama's Council of Economic Advisers estimated that the stimulus had saved or created more than 1 million jobs, significantly more than the target Obama set in June.

White House spokeswoman Liz Oxhorn said examining only spending cannot measure whether the White House met the president's target. Doing so, she said, is "selective accounting" that "fails to measure the actual progress" of the stimulus. The administration, she said, has "met and exceeded every goal set to speed up the Recovery Act."

Of course, there is still no way to prove those job numbers, particularly in light of this now famous graph:

NH Papers React to the President's Health Care Speech

Two area newspapers ran Sunday editorials this morning claiming that the President’s health care address to Congress has not yet sealed the deal with regards to his reform plans.

The Nashua Telegraph said the speech was productive, but far from a game changer:

Most of the post-speech polling reveals what you would expect. The majority of Democrats were positive; Republican perceptions were relatively unchanged; independents remain divided. …

Prospects for passage of a bill by October or November are now slightly improved or at least not damaged. The president did no harm to his cause and appears to have provided some much-needed momentum.

His opponents did their cause no good, and may have in fact created a backlash with their European-style catcalls, including the now infamous “You lie” from a South Carolina representative who seemed to confuse a joint session of Congress with a town-hall meeting.

While the speech wasn't a game-changer, it was a timely and necessary call to action on a historical imperative – that we reform health care in the United States now or forfeit the opportunity for another generation.

The Eagle Tribune was a bit more critical:

President Obama said "the time for bickering is over." But if we cannot have political disagreement about a change of this magnitude, what is there left to discuss?

The president too easily glosses over some of the real concerns Americans have about elements of reform. …

But the president neglected to tell Americans that the plans before Congress include a mix of rules, regulations and incentives that surely will result in some employers dropping their health insurance coverage, leaving employees at the mercy of whatever government insurance option is available. …

Americans have learned, through bitter experience, that government cannot be relied upon to realize those savings. Government is a haven for waste, fraud and inefficiency.

President Obama cannot simply will health care reform into being. He has to convince the American people his plan is right for the country.

So far, he hasn't done it.

US Less Competitive Because of Big Government Policies

In a report released today by the World Economic Forum, the U.S. has lost its position as the most competitive nation on the globe as a result of the big government policies instituted over the last two years:

The US government's sweeping intervention in the private sector has taken its toll on the country's competitiveness, according to an annual survey by the World Economic Forum.

The country lost its number one spot to Switzerland in the WEF report on global competitiveness, partly because of "particular concerns on the part of the business community about the government's ability to maintain arm's-length relationships with the private sector and in the perception that the government spends its resources wastefully".

Barack Obama, US president, has continued and deepened the government's involvement in private industry that was started by his predecessor, George W. Bush, as a response to the financial crisis, with bail-outs of the automotive and banking sectors. The WEF stresses that the US remains a considerable competitive force at number two in the rankings with excellent universities and a flexible labour market.

More on the State Democrats' Tax Plans

An op-ed in today's Union Leader presses for more information on the planned economic summit that House Speaker Norelli alluded to a few days ago.

The UL looks at Rep. Susan Almy's (the summit's organizer) record of advocating for new and increased taxes across the State:

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Susan Almy is putting together a joint legislative summit to consider changes to the state's tax laws. Almy is one of the most vocal income tax supporters in state government. But she doesn't stop there. She likes lots of other taxes.

This year her committee recommended, and she advocated, an estate tax and a capital gains tax. She's spent years searching for ways to raise taxes on Granite Staters. That she's organizing the summit is worrisome. That she deliberately kept it a secret because, she acknowledges, she didn't want the income tax information to get out, is troubling.

The Leader also calls on Almy to release the details of her secret summit and open that meeting to the very interested public:

Almy needs to release all the details about this summit immediately. The people need to know who will attend, who the presenters will be and what information our lawmakers will be given. She also needs to make sure it's open to the public. It's her job to do the people's business and do it in public, not form secret meetings to push her personal agenda on us.

The Wall Street Journal's Martin Feldstein takes an interesting look at the deficit and ObamaCare:

The deficits projected for the next decade and beyond are unprecedented. According to an assessment released in March by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the president's budget implies that deficits will average 5.2% of GDP over the next decade and will be 5.5% of GDP in 2019. Without the president's proposals, the budget office forecasts a 2019 deficit of only 2% of GDP.

The CBO's deficit projections are based on the optimistic assumptions that the economy will grow at a healthy 3% pace with no recessions during the next decade; that there will be no new spending programs after this year's budget; and that the rising national debt will increase the rate of interest on government bonds by less than 1%. More realistic assumptions would imply a 2019 deficit of more than 8% of GDP and a government debt of more than 100% of GDP.

Such enormous deficits would crowd out productivity-enhancing investments in new equipment and software as the government borrows funds otherwise available to private investors. The result would be slower economic growth and a lower standard of living.

In the nearer term, the projected deficits could cause interest rates on bonds and mortgages to rise sharply if bond investors fear that the government will not prevent inflation. This is a greater risk now that more than half of the U.S. government debt is held by the Chinese and other foreign investors. Such an interest rate rise could kill a recovery in 2010 or 2011 and depress growth in the years that follow.

Dropping the Obama health plan would significantly reduce fiscal deficits over the next decade and help restore public confidence in the ability of Congress to control spending. The CBO estimates that the House committee versions of the Obama health plan would add more than $1 trillion to federal deficits over the next decade. But the actual costs would be much higher.

For starters, $1 trillion of extra debt-financed spending would cause the government to pay about $300 billion of extra interest in the next decade. Moreover, the CBO's method of estimating the cost of such a program doesn't recognize the incentives it creates for households and firms to change their behavior.

Health Insurance Costs in NH

New Hampshire Public Radio points out that the Granite Staters pay the third highest insurance premiums in the United States:

The numbers are simple and stark: individual health insurance in New Hampshire costs about $5200 a year.

That’s up from about $3500 in 2003 – an increase of 47 percent, according to a new study by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund.

The numbers are drawn from the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, a federal database considered the gold standard for health insurance research.

New Hampshire’s dramatic growth in individual rates is almost double the nation’s average rate increase.

And it far surpasses the growth in individual health insurance premiums in any other state.

Families, too, have it tough.

It costs more than $13,500 to cover the average New Hampshire family, the third highest premiums in the country.

The full story is an interesting read, or listen, that highlights a number of causes that have driven up costs and lead to the current, complicated health care debate.

In the meantime, Rasmussen today released new health reform opinion numbers. The underlying message: confusion.

Rep. Hodes Phones It In

As Congress returns from its month long recess and again takes up the health care debate, Congressman Paul Hodes plans to wrap up his nontraditional health care forum series through a tele-town hall meeting tonight.

Hodes has been roundly criticized over the last few weeks for avoiding face-to-face meetings with his constituents.

Tonight’s call is scheduled to start at 6:50 p.m. Those interested should dial 877-269-7289 and enter 14631# as an access code.

Although the Congressman’s office claims callers will be given the opportunity to ask questions, high call volume at previous tele-town halls have resulted in only a small percentage of pre-screened constituent questions being answered.