One Year Later: Remember Obama’s Op-Ed on Regulatory Overreach?
It is customary as we greet a new calendar year to comment on notable events of the previous twelve months. Reviewing notes on 2011, I believe it’s appropriate to reflect on what President Barack Obama said about his approach to the regulation of business during a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty.
On January 18, 2011, our president authored an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal. In it he proclaimed his intention to attack “excessive, inconsistent, and redundant regulation” that could “stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive.” To underscore his sincerity, Mr. Obama wrote that he was ordering federal agencies to reduce the regulatory burden on small business.
This initiative, of course, was presented as part and parcel of the president’s efforts to foster job creation in difficult times. In the business community it was hoped that this signaled a more balanced approach to economic regulation. The president seemed to promise a rational approach to regulation that would enable businesses to invest, and hire, and create wealth with and for working Americans.
Obama’s article was criticized on the left, out of fear that this was indeed his intention.
After a full year, it’s fair to ask whether the president actually meant what he said in his Journal piece. What can we learn from the administration’s actions about the veracity of the president’s pledge not to “stifle job creation” and to attack “excessive” regulation? It turns out we can learn a great deal, as some illustrative news items from the past year reveal.
As the president’s op-ed went to press, regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies were swamped with the workload of issuing new regulations to implement the Dodd-Frank legislation, which dramatically expands federal power over the financial sector. Elsewhere, other federal regulators were busy writing regulations to implement the Obama administration’s statutory takeover of the health care industry and the student loan business. These and other projects expanding the regulatory reach of Washington are proceeding unabated as we enter 2012.
To be sure, the crafting of sweeping new regulatory regimes did not divert the administration from its focus on jobs. Take, for example, the thousands of jobs that would be created, directly and indirectly, by Boeing’s plans to open a manufacturing plant for the 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina. Boeing’s plans were cause for celebration in South Carolina. But the National Labor Relations Board reacted with an unprecedented and — many experts opined — unlawful action to block the project, at the behest of unions seeking leverage in negotiations with Boeing. For this administration, we learned some jobs were more equal than others.
We also learned in 2011 that, in this administration, similarly situated companies will not necessarily be treated similarly. In August, federal agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raided the Memphis and Nashville manufacturing facilities of Gibson Guitars, disrupting its business operations and subjecting the company to prolonged and expensive legal proceedings. This was all because ebony veneers for Gibson’s guitars were slightly more than 6 millimeters in thickness and thus in violation of a law in India, the country of origin for the wood.
At first blush, one might conclude this is an “excessive” regulatory action that could “stifle job creation.” One might think this especially so inasmuch as Gibson’s chief competitor, Martin, was reported to be engaged in essentially identical conduct but was not raided by federal authorities. But wait — the chief executive of Gibson had made campaign contributions to Republicans, while Martin was a Democratic Party donor. Apparently, the president’s op-ed pledge did not override his earlier pronouncement about punishing enemies and rewarding friends.
A lawyer who feeds off the Washington regulatory system finally realizes the parasite is killing the host. I guess that’s a little progress……
Stan, m’boy, don’t slam the author unless you know him and what he has been doing. I do; you don’t. Hartwell is a good man who has been a small-government conservative all his adult life.
John, m’boy, all czar composed op-eds puked by Obama for public consumption only his incompetent indoctrinated self destructive nature. Reliance on biased media backing merely serves to expose the undeniable puny administration guaranteeing his further executive usurpation of power facing both party and duty collapse. More stuffed ballot boxes, court delay defense and inevitable media desertion can be expected as their advertising support fades off the charts. No bar acceptance is required to recognize either their denial of history or current failure.
Consider that honor among politicians, lawyers and many other professions suffering from the malady of false pride has faded away in the pages of history along with their single most effective cure of public dueling. Without any such limiting risk this broadly accepted professional character flaw has metastasized throughout all media, political and government opportunities. The conservative political brand has been stricken with comparison to greater evils for 50 years with little substantiated difference.
Could “competition law” without specific definition possibly be yet another symptom parasite attached to the cancer of over regulation?
Unbridled government supported by rampant neurosis has been diligent in filling this honor void with undeserved wealth and morally corrupt social acceptance provided by all media whitewash and omission for more than a century of decline.
Until you are able to conclude with the reality that all lawyer pools striving to occupy such socially elite positions can never rise above their parasite classification in the minds of their overloaded hosts, you are more apt to follow the lead of TV media rather than that of common sense. Their historically documented national conspiracy of degradation has been available on the internet to all born of eternal patriotic vigilance for 25 years. Media whitewash can never withstand the incessant public demand for truth.
Only when professionals individually free themselves from their indoctrination of higher education and quest for level of luxury bled from the sweat of the governed can they qualify as genuine patriots rather than echos of some faction contributor to sewer grade status quo.
Perhaps Ray can realize that the effect of his service in a Washington law firm will be restricted by corrupt political and commercial superiors within all judicial government branches at all levels of endeavor and is no less controlled than was any action involved in military service for the same reasons excluding the severity of result. Neither distinguished service nor honorable death is apt to be genuinely recognized among his neurotic peers.
If Ray cannot blow a specific whistle in the rank and file at this time, what evidence exists that he ever will? Riding the coattails of political party rhetorical condemnation of obvious total system failure only demonstrates reluctance to provide real constructive criticism in another profession rooted in the suppression of information necessary for informed voter participation.
Professional allegiance is no less dominant in either criminal or civil law than any other politically affiliated parasitic disease ridden group. His newest chosen profession can only serve as an aphrodisiac for a latent manifestation of ego. Morally deficient character has always been blindly acceptable among the vast neurotic hordes shackled with condemning political aspirations without fear of fatal retribution. Beyond divine intervention no lasting change can be expected to flow from the top downward. All are subject to the abundant temptations. Few can withstand them. In this tumultuous time a law degree and a three piece suit Is more apt to represent a traitor than a patriot. True patriots seem to be most easily recognized by both TV media and misinformed echo character assassination when their history proves otherwise.
Remaining in denial and refusing to wise up merely contributes to the peace of mind of all others failing to identify the growing cloud of explosive sewer gas awaiting ignition.
Points for using the word ‘metastasize’ and spelling it correctly. However, I stopped reading after the first run on paragraph. Sorry but if you’re going to write a report-length comment, try to use the English language correctly. Some of your sentences make absolutely no sense at all. I understand what you’re getting at, but it’s much easier to argue effectively if you put the language to its best use. Otherwise, you come off as a bizarre eccentric who simply mimics what he/she hears, as a parrot does.
I remember the President’s article well. I thought it was great until I realized who wrote it. In response to Mr. Obama, I wrote a letter to the Wall Street Journal, which they printed on January 21. Reading it now, almost a year later, it still applies.
In his editorial, the president talks a good game about regulations; sorry I’m not convinced
Just look at what the administration is trying to accomplish by regulatory fiat.
He was unable to pass Cap and Trade legislation, so he has the EPA regulate CO2.
When a federal court decided the administration didn’t have the authority to impose “Net Neutrality,” he had the FCC redefine the Internet as a “telecom service,” which it will now regulate.
When he realized the union’s “card check” legislation would go nowhere he used “executive orders” and recess appointments to the NLRB to facilitate rule change.
The administration has now suspended the arbitrary “moratorium” on drilling in the gulf. It doesn’t matter, it’s all for show, because Obama has decided that there will be no new drilling and his regulators will make sure of that.
The need for passing congressional legislation to implement policy is a necessary constitutional constraint on governing. After all, we have a president not a king.
It was an excellent article, but with this president especially, it’s actions not words.
Precisely: “actions, not words.”
Every time Obama turns his “laser-like” focus onto jobs, another few hundred thousand jobs disappear.
It becomes increasingly clear that Obama is a pitch-man to the public and it’s important to him that the public likes, no ADORES him in typical fascista style, while behind our backs he does those things completely the opposite of what he has said out loud. There are times, however when his true intents are known because he verbalizes them. “Spread the wealth around”, “reward your friends, punish your enemies”, etc. He’s always off-prompter when this happens.
But in some parallel universe I think he actually believes the people (us bitter clingers) actually buy his garbage simply because it’s all gone through the proper channels. Since it’s in the WSJ, the white, religious conservatives will clearly see him as fiscally responsible.
At the end of the day his actions, not his words, as has been pointed out here and elsewhere are the telling information. His goal is to install a command and control economy, punish and destroy capitalism, make the middle class pay for the black man’s “struggle” etc etc etc. He’s just going about it in a most unusual way. But one must always understand that even when he tells the truth, which is rare, he is lying. It’s simply a truth he utters to get people to come to his side and think, ‘Hey that Obama guy…he’s on the ball…I think I like him’.
Most here recognized his intentions from the very start. He is a dyed-in-the-wool socialist who hates this nation with every fiber of his existence and goes to bed at night smirking at how he has further harmed us. Once he realizes he is no longer wanted here, a couple of things will happen. He will try to grab even more power and probably steal more money but when that fails, although it might also succeed. But if he’s finally relegated to uselessness, he will jet off to his hideaway in some foreign land to run their government and perpetually give the finger to the US from afar instead of doing it to us in our own backyard.
I think Jerry Brown made similar placating sounds. Didn’t turn out to be true either.
It would seem like the only jobs Obama has created is the employees businesses will have to hire to wade through the mass of new regulations. To see some stats on the paper work hours and the cost of regulation in 2011 check out:
http://americanactionforum.org/topic/2011-year-regulation-executive-summary
Does anyone with any sense think Obama read, let alone wrote, that piece of dreck in the WSJ? It was propaganda, and diametrically opposed to his true intentions.
“Does anyone with any sense think Obama read, let alone wrote, that piece of dreck in the WSJ? It was propaganda, and diametrically opposed to his true intentions.”
Without the teleprompter BHO makes GWB an orator on par with Winston.
No, I didn’t think he wrote it.
I thought he read it, and thought it was a fine joke, though.
“Thus many thousands of jobs were killed by the Obama administration’s capitulation to environmentalists, who are seemingly opposed to any and all domestic energy production beyond windmills and solar panels.”
I quoted this one part of your article just because it isn’t quite true. If I remember correctly, a bat flew into the blades of a windmill so the
environuts made them close down the whole windmill farm. Also, if i remember correctly, isn’t there complaints that the sunlight reflected from the solar panels is adding to the warming of the atmosphere or some such nonsense as that? It isn’t that they are not opposed to them it’s just that they haven’t gotten around to them fully yet!
There’s more:
“California’s Mojave Desert may seem ideally suited for solar energy production, but concern over what several proposed projects might do to the aesthetics of the region and its tortoise population is setting up a potential clash between conservationists and companies seeking to develop renewable energy.
“Nineteen companies have submitted applications to build solar or wind facilities on a parcel of 500,000 desert acres, but Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Friday such development would violate the spirit of what conservationists had intended when they donated much of the land to the public.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/21/feinstein-seeks-to-block-_n_177646.html
In Vermont, plans to build a windmill farm in the VT mountains are also being blocked by local environmentalists there.
If you want constant sunshine for solar power, you have to go to a desert.
If you want constant wind blowing for wind power, you have to go to the tops of tall mountains.
Declare deserts and mountains off limits to development for environmental reasons, and you kill renewable energy too.
Anyone who believes that Obama tells the truth, is suffering from delusions. I stopped listening to the Marxocrat a long time ago. He’s nothing but lies, more lies, and damned lies.
Most people are unaware of government raids made on small-medium sized farms. Raw, organic dairy farms have had their healthy dairy products seized and thrown out. At least one farmer has been taken away in handcuffs! Many people in a desperate struggle to regain their health (or not lose their health) know how IMPORTANT raw, organic dairy is in the battle for health.
American businesses and American jobs must be PROTECTED! The WAR against small-medium sized businesses must stop!
The new Animal Identification rule will act like a tax on every livestock animal that crosses state lines – something that happens THOUSANDS of times a day in the United States! This is incredibly hard on small-medium sized farms WHO CANNOT AFFORD THIS!
Family farmers and ranchers cannot afford additional paperwork and unnecessary expenses to please the industrial agribusiness lobby. We must stand up for our rights and the rights of farms! Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance is standing up for family farms and backyard livestock growers!
This is their internet address: http://farmandranchfreedom.org/
PROTECT American JOBS! PROTECT American BUSINESSES!
WAR is being waged on American BUSINESSES and American JOBS!
Americans must not be denied the human right to jobs and businesses!
FOXNEWS
Is Fed Raid on Gibson Guitar Company Enforcing Policy . . . or a Push to Target ‘Made in the USA’?
September 07, 2011
They are among the most sought-after musical instruments in the world.
Gibson is also a company that is proud to put the “Made in the USA” label on its instruments. While the company has lower-end lines that are made overseas, every guitar that bears the “Gibson” label is made in the U.S. by American workers.
Related Stories
Attacking U.S. Companies Is No Way to Create Jobs
Gibson: Feds Want Guitar Woodwork Done by Foreign Labor
Related Video
Gibson Guitar CEO: Don’t Know Why We Were Targeted
On August 24, armed agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Homeland Security raided the corporate headquarters and two factories of the Gibson Guitar company. The agencies took away 24 pallets of Indian rosewood and ebony, as well as a number of guitars and computer files.
“I think they’re taking the position that we should be shifting these jobs overseas,” says Bruce Mitchell, the chief legal counsel for Gibson.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/07/does-white-house-want-to-ship-jobs-overseas/
President Obama has Officially announced that while he “Would Like To Work With The Congress and the Senate” if they disagree with him, he will “Act On His Own” to write laws that he feels are “just and fair” for America. This can be construed to mean only one thing, that Barry Barack Husssein Subarkah Soetoro Obama intends to impliment Totalitarian Governance and rule by “DICTATORSHIP”
The USA was established as a “Constitutional Republic”, not a Democracy as the many Liberals and Democrats would like for you to believe. The USA has developed more technology and civilized growth in it’s two short centurys than all other country’s in existence combined for thousands of years. There’s a good reason for that, the USA was designed to have no single power, no monarchy or King or Parliament and sure as heck no Dictator. America was designed to be controlled and legislated by the “Will Of The People”. That’s very important to understand, there is no place for singular rule anywhere in our founding papers, our Declaration of Independence or our Constitution.
Every American should want their Government Officials to act by the law and the Constitution no matter which side of the isle you’re on. You Liberals better understand, everything Barry is doing right now will be equally used by the Republicans later because precedence will have been set. You don’t want that to happen anymore than we Conservatives want Obama to “Act On His Own”. Write or call you’re Representatives and DEMAND that they challenge these decisions being made and signed into law without The Congress and The Senates approval. It’s just as critical to you and you’re future as any American including those you don’t agree with here. If WE ALL don’t demand that this behavier be stopped, one day soon we will no longer be here or anywhere exercising our “Freedom of Speech”
I’ve heard people in the media say “Well Bush Did It Too” NO, BUSH DID NOT DO THIS.EVER. In fact NO President in history has ever done what Obama just did. He decided to start bypassing the most criticle pillar of our Repuplic, our Congress and our Senate
”We The American People” MUST STOP THIS LAWLESSNESS NOW !!!
O Must Go For America To Survive!
An inferior health care plan that no one wants and CANNOT afford to pay. The threat to jail and/or fine those who don’t purchase the government enforced plan.
Massive spending as if there is no tomorrow. Fighting wars we have no money for. Massive borrowing.
The Massive giving away of Billions of dollars every year to other countries, including the oil-wealthy Middle East, Hamas-controlled Gaza and the Palestinian Authority organization who fill their war chests, build mansions and laugh all the way to the bank with FREE infidel money. Whilst in America, homeless shelters are filled to capacity; tent cities have sprung up all over the U.S. filled with desperate, jobless, homeless, neglected Americans.
Massive debt. The massive printing of paper money out of thin air to DELIBERATELY create out-of-control inflation. There is no question that the total DESTRUCTION of America’s economy is planned. The results will be horrifying. In the once wealthy and great nation of America, millions of Americans will become destitute, hungry and homeless with no money or resources to help them.
Organic, non-GMO avocado, fruit and nut trees and berries must be planted in all of our nation’s cities’ and towns’ parks to help the many millions of Americans who will soon be in a desperate struggle to survive because of the frightening, highly destructive economic policies of our government.
Watch it. And weep for our great nation and people:
FALL Of The Republic – The Presidency Of Barack H Obama – The Full Movie HQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8LPNRI_6T8&feature=player_embedded
– tell us s’more lies…
Environmentalists have long been accustomed to calling the United States the Number One enemy of Mother Earth:
“The U.S. is the world’s Number One polluter”
“The U.S. is the world’s Number One producer of greenhouse gases”
“The U.S. is the world’s Number One promoter of genetically modified foods”
“The U.S. is the world’s Number One….”
“The U.S. this….”
“The U.S. that….”
“The U.S….”
“The U.S….”
“The U.S….”
etc. etc.
They don’t really care about the U.S. economy. They see themselves as Mother Earth’s bodyguards.
I disagree environmentalists do care about the US economy but their concern is in killing it. If the environmentalists first concern was really the environment then where is the outrage and condemnation over China’s and Eastern Europe’s record of pollution. No the econazi is primarily concerned with killing free markets and instituting socialism/Marxism. The truly scary part is so many people after the last three years are willing to reelect an antiamerican Marxist like Obama
Ah yes, January 2011. Those were heady days, when the President was moving to the center, (to hear the MSM tell it) fresh from the shellacking at the polls in Nov of 2010.
But by August of 2011, Obama had just decided to ignore the will of the people and go for a govt shutdown. In Jan 2012, he is in full-tilt Dictator mode and does not care much about appearances.
The man is a menace.
GOOOO 2012!
Get
Obama
Out
Of
Office
2012!
Obama lied. In other news; Dogs bark and beavers eat wood.
I once knew an old german who had lived through nazisim. He was opposed to any form of socialism. If you mentioned socialism to him his bald head would turn beet red, he would slam his fists down and spit would fly out of his mouth while he nearly screamed; ” Gotdam socialists! Der is only one vay to deal vit dem!”
Galloping Marxism in Our Schools
Karl Heinrich Marx was a brilliant man. The sage co-founder of one of the two principal social scouges of the twentieth century knew the surest path to godless tyranny was centralized control of schools, colleges, and universities.
Marx recognized Communism-Marxism’s critical need to propagandize the young in order to rid them of anti-proletariat ideas inculcated by parents and churches and for public schools to adopt curricula that denies God, morality, traditional family values, the concept of private ownership of property, and to stoke class warfare.
If any of that sounds familiar, it should. America is experiencing Marxism-in-action today as seen not only in tax policies but in the widespread, leftist radicalism on college campuses and public schools becoming hotbeds of social brainwashing to complement the deteriorization of standards and learning.
We are seeing the patently unconstitutional intrusion of the federal government into local education with dictates, mandates, and oversights by the U.S. Department of Education as it rapidly centralizes control of American education.
We are witnessing the leftist National Education Association busily engaged in discouraging parental choice and home-schooling and fully endorsing those federal intrusions while pushing for inclusion and diversity instead of more effective education.
We are burdened with local districts too feckless to denounce governmental encroachments and administrators too imbued with liberal doctrine to resist the leftward lurch toward the Marxist ideals embraced by our president.
To be sure, there were unmistakable signs of controlled centralization- indoctrination long before the election of Barack Hussein Obama.
Since 2009, however, those signs have developed into a full-blown tsunami of Marxist doctrinaires and godless subversives acting under the guise of educators, all of whom were committed adherents to Obama’s twisted Marxist philosophy, many of whom signed on to his carefully-designed cult of personality.
At first, it was comical when schools like one in Hempstead, New York re-named themselves after Obama even before he was elected. Another in Asbury Park, New Jersey did likewise, before it was closed last July.
Throughout the nation, countless schools, localities, school districts, and streets changed names in honor of someone whose primary claim to fame was his (partial) blackness, whose father was a Marxist, and who has governed as if he dreams the collectivist dreams of his father.
Indoctrination of children comes in many colors. One favorite ploy is the use of songs.
A classic was the ditty composed by a black New Jersey teacher in 2009 who forced her class to sing a paean to their new god. Its unmemorable lyrics included, Mmm, mmm, mm!/Barack Hussein Obama/He said that all must lend a hand/To make this country strong again. . .” It gets worse with, ”Mmm, mmm, mm!/ Barack Hussein Obama/Yes!”
The parody is a vast improvement: “Mmm, mmm, mm!/Barack Hussein Obama/He said we must pay the man/To make this country strong again/Taking your money doesn’t matter/’cause we know He can spend it better. . .”
That song is old hat now. Obamamarxists have expanded their musical vistas to incorporate anarchic elements in their efforts to undermine values and seduce children into believing chaos and revolution were superior to order and civilized behavior. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=12029.)
Based on pass performance, who in their right mind would believe anything Obama says. He’s told so many lies that even he is starting to believe them, and that is what I mean about being in your right mind.
0, not O
Mr. Hartwell please be reasonable and dont expect us mere peasants to remember all of obamas lies.