‘MATH STUFF’

[Geee]

Human Events:

In 2008, the mainstream media sold candidate Barack Obama as the ultimate pragmatist.

 

 

BUNK.

 

Once in office, Obama behaved as an ideologue. Instead of focusing on economic growth and employment, he was distracted by ideological goals: Obamacare, Green energy, amnesty for illegals, gay marriage, condoms for Catholics, etc. As a result, the economy is growing even more slowly than last year, while official unemployment stands at 7.8 percent, exactly where it was when President Obama was inaugurated.

Whoever wins the upcoming presidential election should focus on jobs and growth — not just in rhetoric, but in reality. He should do so not as an ideologue, but as a pragmatist. That means he should ask: What works to increase employment? What works to expand the economy?

When comparing the results of different policy approaches, a good place to start is Canada.

In 1993, Canada’s economy was in some ways worse than that of the United States today: Unemployment was 11.4 percent. Canada’s federal government was consuming 21.5 percent of GDP, running a deficit equal to 4 percent of GDP, and carrying a national debt approaching 80 percent of GDP. Canadian bonds were downgraded, losing their triple-A rating.

In 1994, Canada’s Prime Minister Paul Martin took bold action, announcing a spending freeze. The government closed some tax loopholes (Canada has no mortgage-interest deduction), but the ratio of spending cuts to tax hikes was seven-to-one. Canada slashed the number of federal employees by 14 percent over two years, cutting real program spending by 14 percent – from almost 22 percent to 19 percent of GDP.

The Canadian government did other things, such as eliminating wasteful and inefficient federal regulations, and devolving greater responsibility to provincial governments.